Amid the hyper-generalist era generative AI is ushering in, architects can be specialists maximising their social value and pushing for transformative change, argues Muyiwa Oki
It’s 2025, and my friend – let’s call him Jose – quips, every time he’s about to lose an argument, ‘Let’s see what ChatGPT has to say about that.’
It’s funny, but also a sign of the times. We live in the era of the hyper-generalist, where artificial intelligence (AI) begins to democratise information so thoroughly that everyone knows a little about a lot. Expertise, once a mountain, now feels like the movie Holes (2003), a landscape of shallow puddles stretching to the horizon: broad, but lacking depth.
But when everyone else is going broad, going deep has value. For me, the future belongs to folks with a focus on hyper-specific niches. It’s true for culture, technology and certainly architecture. Our ability to lock in, to resist distraction, will signal purpose and clarity. That will make architects indispensable in the age of the hyper-generalist.
Take Tokyo. Unlike the many cities that have succumbed to samey global retail chains and AI-curated trends, Tokyo thrives on its hyper-specific identities. Our recent Royal Gold Medal recipient SANAA, the established Tokyo-based collaborative practice, embodies an obsessive commitment to detail that resonates beyond aesthetics.
Its specificity on minimalist, human-focused space speaks to a deep understanding of architecture’s power to shape society. Our values should be heading not towards homogenised skylines but towards spaces reflecting singular, evocative ideas.
Rethinking value: beyond the building envelope
Value and fees in architecture are traditionally placed as premiums based on past performance. I’d argue they need to be discounted on future revenue, growth and benefits to our clients and users.
To support this shift, we must harness new technologies and analytical tools that demonstrate this discount, and push our influence well beyond the building envelope. Our integration of advanced computational tools, generative AI and reciprocal systems analytics opens exciting possibilities.
Consider the concept of policy impact analytics, a framework that leverages data-driven insights to inform policy decisions through to design outcomes. This approach not only optimises project delivery but enables architects to contribute upstream to policymaking and planning. In this new era, our profession can extend its reach to deliver measurable outcomes, around health, environmental sustainability or social equity.
Recent events remind us of the stakes. The tragic loss, and now rebuilding efforts, following the fires in Los Angeles, California, underscores the importance of measuring and predicting the future value that transcends mere aesthetics.
The real value of our work must be assessed through its long-term impact on community wellbeing and environmental resilience. This means designing buildings and places that do not not only serve immediate needs but foster sustainable growth and public safety over time.
Reimagining architects' role
Architects are uniquely positioned to address some of society’s most pressing challenges, by linking advanced design with policy impact and whole-ecosystem evaluation, to move beyond a narrow focus on physical building envelope. Reimagined through this lens, architecture becomes a vehicle to deliver transformative economic, environmental and social value.
As we enter this generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) era, I invite fellow architects and stakeholders to reimagine our role. Let us champion a model that prizes deep expertise and innovation, and is rooted in rigorous, purposeful analysis.
The era of the hyper-generalist may be upon us, but we have an opportunity to be experts who shape the skylines – and the future. We can rebuild architecture as a career that is both inspiring and viable economically, socially and environmentally – where professionals can pursue personal aspirations alongside ambitions to be agents for lasting change.