This post is an abridged version of the article “What Makes a great architect”

For me this question arose even before I enrolled at the University of Melbourne, knowing that I wanted to be an architect from the age of eight. It’s certainly not an easy one to answer and it is only after a few decades of experience and running a successful practice that I can even attempt to answer such a question.
Architecture is a unique profession because it requires scientific precision and expertise to blend with artistic vision. Artistic and scientific processes are governed by opposing sides of our brain and most of us are dominant on one side. Architects who can excel in both areas are quite rare. Some of the most successful practices are ones where several directors or partners combine their strengths to create a complimentary balance, especially as our industry grows and becomes more complex, requiring greater specialization.
Due to economical reasoning, practical thinking has prevailed over that of the artist, making it increasingly rare to find architects who are truly artistic in vision and ability. Plenty will try to sell themselves as artists but in reality, are just putting on an act because that is what they believe the title of architect demands.
It is often the client with the artistic dreams and the architect’s role is simply to ground those dreams into a product that is practical and functional. Unfortunately, artistic architects have developed a reputation for being too slow, impractical, and too expensive. This is why much of the housing industry has fallen into the hands of builders, drafts-persons, and construction companies, creating low cost “cheeseburger” houses. The only architects who seem to survive are the practical ones who might have limited creative talent and work desperately just to stay afloat.
I can design, draw, paint, sculpt, and build things to exceptional standards, but for each of these disciplines there are plenty of people I would regard as being far more talented than myself. My true talent, or gift, is in bringing all of these things together to create great architecture. Through my life experiences I have learned that talent is only useful if it is nurtured and combined with with focus determination and hard work.
Being practical and having comprehensive knowledge in areas such as regulations, construction, time-frames, and build cost is as much about experience as it is about research and study. For the artistic architect, those these skills might seem unexciting, but at least they are attainable through discipline. Whereas a practically minded architect may never achieve a high level of creative artistry or good taste. Hard work and discipline are all that stand in the way of a talented or gifted person from becoming great.
Hard work has always felt more like play to me because I’ve always loved what I have done, and am very fortunate to be able to align my talents with my career. I’ve always loved drawing, designing, and creating all of which feed naturally into architecture. Being passionate, I’ve always been happy to go the extra distance, and have never been afraid to get my hands dirty.
The answer to what makes a great architect starts with the ability to balance a creative and artistic mind with one which excels in function and practicality. Combining this with hard work and perseverance there is no reason why greatness cannot be achieved. The ability to be a great architect does not necessarily equate to success, the intention behind the work is crucial. The point of being a great architect should be to affect lives in a positive way. It’s is about good Karma… but that is a different topic for another day.