The Management of Internet Use, in UK Architectural Practices

The architectural profession has been slow to adopt new innovations in such areas as buildingtechnology, management, and CAD, as earlier research has shown. The Internet presents a particularchallenge. With even greater changes to the Internet expected in the near future, it is timely to ask howthe profession is adapting.Field research conducted by the author has found shortcomings in the way that architects use Internettechnology in the U.K. These involve the decisions to adopt the Internet, the management of its dailyuse, and forward planning for future adaptation. U.K. architects under-use the services available, andexperience problems with the services they do use. Their resultant dissatisfaction with what the Internetcan offer leads to a reluctance to adopt and use further Internet services.This paper discusses one aspect of that research, which is how architects are managing Internetresources in their practices. It argues that many of the difficulties that architects have are related topractice management. The paper presents these under the headings of the knowledge and attitude ofthe staff, and the decisions made by practice managers. The paper highlights features that needattention from practices and from the architects who guide them