Spurred by the ability to access information that intermediaries such as banks traditionally provided, consumers are increasingly able to price and locate goods and services themselves, eroding traditional intermediaries market share of these services. But for every trend there is an equal and opposite re-trend. Because of the glut of information that goes along with disintermediation, we are now seeing signs of reintermediation. We are now entering a new economy that needs intermediaries who can define and bring together the specialties that have been created. It s a fundamentally new way of working that is knowledge based, as opposed to information based.
Information can sit in a drawer, but knowledge has to reside in a human head.
Knowledge is more difficult to pick up and transfer than information. Knowledge requires assimilation, understanding, and commitment. Happily for architects, this client awareness is happening just as many firms are looking to expand their range of services as a growth strategy. The answer for you might lie in the approach you decide to take. They are beginning to value a holistic development pro-cess over the project s life cycle, as opposed to just wanting a building.