Those who design schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutional buildings are less likely to be laid off during slow periods. During the 1980s, too many commercial buildings were built. Thus architects have spent less time designing office buildings, shopping malls, and hospitals recently. These buildings are now filling up and architects will begin designing more of them. However, the demand for office buildings will not be high because of recent changes in the work world.
Many employees now work at home and use the Internet to send information to work.
This means that fewer employees are in office buildings and it will take longer to fill them up. In the next ten years, architects are expected to be busy redesigning existing buildings. Many buildings are old and in need of repair, especially in big cities. Architects will be needed to figure out the best way to renovate the buildings. Other areas of growth will be the design of schools and health care facilities.