Start from possibility, not precedent.
The future belongs to architects who think technology before design.
Buildings last for decades. The technologies, businesses, and behaviors they serve can change in years. Yet we still begin many projects with inherited assumptions about what needs to be built.
Tech-first thinking offers a different approach. Start with the outcomes that matter. Explore what technology makes possible. Challenge conventional solutions. Then decide what to design and build.
It's not about adding more technology to architecture. It's about creating buildings that remain relevant, resilient, and valuable in a world that won't stand still.
A DIFFERENT WAY TO THINK ABOUT DESIGN
Tech-first thinking begins by asking different questions.
01. What are we really trying to achieve?
Start with the outcomes that matter, rather than assuming the proposed building or program is the right solution.
02. What has technology made possible?
Explore how digital technologies, networks, and new capabilities might change what's needed—or make entirely new solutions possible.
03. What should we actually build?
Challenge inherited assumptions and design the physical response around the best available possibilities.
ABOUT ME
I'm an architect and project manager with over 25 years of experience designing and delivering major airport projects.
Somewhere along the way, I came to realize that many of the most consequential decisions we make about buildings have little to do with architecture itself. Technology is changing what buildings need to do, how they operate, and sometimes whether we need to build them at all.
That realization has shaped how I approach architecture and led me to explore tech-first thinking through my writing at Form Follows Tech and my book Design Is Dead.
This website is where I share the ideas, principles, and lessons behind that work, in the hope that others might find them useful.