Teaching the Value of Work

Abstract

Within the architecture profession, issues of pay inequality, lack of diversity, the rising cost of architecture education, and the stagnation of wages has led to research and advocacy from the perspective of the ‘Architect as Worker’. This paper explores the complexities of the value prescribed to architecture work by considering three different value systems – economic value, professional value and personal value – to suggest practical ways that the architecture design studio teaching can be augmented to better provide students with skills in the learning environment that will help them thrive in the labor environment.