{"id":731075,"date":"2026-06-12T02:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T02:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/731075\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T02:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T02:49:11","slug":"architects-should-look-at-smartphone-creators-like-steve-jobs-for-business-clues-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/731075\/","title":{"rendered":"Architects should \u2018look at smartphone creators\u2019 like Steve Jobs for business clues | News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Image credit: Tessa Charles<\/p>\n

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Former HOK<\/a> CEO and Chairman Patrick MacLeamy<\/a> has encouraged architects to think more like the creators of smartphones<\/a> when navigating the future of the profession. The comments came as part of a wide-ranging discussion Archinect had with MacLeamy<\/a> last month on business and economics in architecture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cArchitects must become relevant by rescuing what good design really means and what good service means,\u201d MacLeamy told Archinect. \u201cGood design is not superficial. It\u2019s not about style or the latest colors. It’s about buildings that work really well, that serve their clients\u2019 needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy \u2018Exhibit A\u2019 is the iPhone<\/a>,\u201d MacLeamy added. \u201cIt\u2019s well designed, it fits in my hand, and it\u2019s useful as hell. It is indispensable now. Steve Jobs and his team came up with a great design that not only looks good but works exceptionally well. The indictment of the architect is that when you hire an architect, buildings sometimes end up costing more than they should and don\u2019t work as well as they should.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Related on Archinect: ‘Architects Are Lost as a Profession’: Former HOK CEO Patrick MacLeamy Speaks Out<\/a>. Image courtesy: Patrick MacLeamy<\/p>\n

MacLeamy went on to note that there are over seven billion smartphones on the planet, and that the technology has unlocked business and entrepreneurial opportunities for users in the developing world. He suggested that architects should \u201cthink much more like\u201d the designers and manufacturers of smartphones and put the needs and problems of clients and customers at the center of their business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk what is working, and what isn\u2019t,\u201d MacLeamy added. \u201cThink outside the profession and look at how manufacturers do things. Look at the smartphone creators and at technology companies. Don\u2019t be afraid of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can read our full conversation with MacLeamy here<\/a>. Back in 2024, in a separate interview with Archinect, MacLeamy also offered architects advice<\/a> on steering through recessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\tSimilar articles on Archinect that may interest you…<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" anchor Image credit: Tessa Charles Former HOK CEO and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-731075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}