Addendum Three

Architecture is changing-and the forces reshaping it reach far beyond design.

In Architecture Without a Scar: Addendum Three, architect Leaford L. Blevins Jr. examines the growing concentration of power within the profession, the changing relationship between architects and owners, and the systems of procurement, risk management, technology, and corporate consolidation that increasingly determine who receives major commissions-and what ultimately gets built.

Drawing upon more than five decades in private practice, corporate leadership, government service, and architectural education, Blevins considers how responsibility for cost, quality, and professional judgment has gradually shifted. He explores the rise of the large multidisciplinary firm, the narrowing opportunities available to smaller practices, the promise and danger of artificial intelligence, and the continuing importance of independent thought within even the largest organizations.

Supported by original project research and graphic analysis of major university and institutional construction programs, Addendum Three moves beyond theory to reveal how architectural work is actually distributed-and how increasingly few firms command an outsized share of it.

This is neither a nostalgic defense of the past nor a prediction of professional decline. It is a practical, candid examination of architecture at a turning point-and an argument that the profession's future is not predetermined.

The forces shaping architecture may be powerful, but the future is still ours to design.