GLOBAL PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE: The Impacts of Globalization of the Architectural Practice

INTRODUCTION

We live in a world that is constantly changing, with change being the only constant thing. The recent changes in the global market, characterized by easier availability and exchange of goods and services, the interconnectedness of people, and wider access to knowledge and information, moved countries around the world to capitalize on their labor force to maximize the economic benefits of globalization. The new millennium is confronting the tension between the forces of globalization, which has been widely debated as a distinguishing trend of the present moment, and its impact on local architecture and the efforts to ensure local identity and distinctiveness through architecture, where globalization is seen as a multidimensional phenomenon. The concept of a borderless community influenced the strengthening of regional integrations such as the Association of Southeast Nation or “ASEAN”.

DISCUSSION

The ASEAN integration is set to bring significant changes in the labor landscape of the Southeast Asia region. With the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) that primarily aimed to make the region an alternative capable player in the global market by creating a single production base; the skilled labor mobility and its effect to the labor force of ASEAN state members is becoming a top concern. This is particularly relevant for a third world country like the Philippines, which has bigger compromise and risks to assume in the integration compared to the more economically progressive members. The pursuit of global markets for architectural services goes well beyond the setting up of project-based offices for overseas clients. Faced with a globalizing economy, firms must address how best to complement competitive advantages that have been developed in home markets with additional advantages that can be gained from worldwide operations. For advanced business and professional services, the relevant options include mergers, strategic alliances, joint ventures, and the creation of overseas regional and national offices of various kinds, all of which have contributed to the contemporary development of a world city network. There are reasons to think that architectural firms will have globalized differently from advanced financial and business service firms. First of all, despite their growth in recent years, most major architectural firms remain smaller than the equivalent advanced business service firms. This makes provision of a global office network more difficult. Reinforcing this is the project-based nature of the architectural practice.

CONCLUSION

The practice of Architecture in the Philippines is threatened to extinction by the continued bias of clients against them, the threat of illegal Filipino practitioners, the invasion of foreign consultants, and the exodus of Filipino designers to better-paying jobs overseas. But by providing better opportunities in our country, they may find it sustainable to stay and practice here.