Industry provocateurs Sam Jacob, Beatrice Gallilee and Cath Slessor shared their forthright views on where the industry is at from their own unique perspectives.

Sam Jacob of Sam Jacob Studio and the Illinois School of Architecture shared his ‘10 Step Programme on How to be a Modern Architect’. While Step 10 was to ‘Distrust 10 Step Plans’, among Sam’s tongue in cheek delivery were salient points about what it means to be an architect today. Starting with ‘Design Yourself’ Sam advised emerging architects to “invent and construct what your idea of an architect is instead of accepting what the industry determines for you”.

Sharing examples from his own projects around the world, Sam emphasised the importance of realising your ideas whether as buildings, rooms, drawings, publications, blogs or even T-Shirts defining architecture as representation and embracing the opportunities inherent in projects with a lack of space/time/money.

Beatrice Galilee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York gave an insight into her work providing platforms for architects in roles as varied as Biennale curator in Shenzen, China, Gwangju South Korea and Lisbon, Portugal, founder of The Gopher Hole in London and her work for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Beatrice’s talk highlighted the creative routes used to engage public, artists and architects and how successful temporary projects gained momentum and lives of their own.

“The challenge for biennales is to find out how to activate the city in different ways while providing platforms for architects,” she said.

Beatrice also spoke about working with artists Wolfgang Tillmans (Book for Architects) and Cornelia Parker (Psychobarn).

Finally, critic Cath Slessor gave a humorous and withering take on the state of architecture criticism today. Mapping out the media landscape using Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell as a guide Cath unpicked the many layers of architecture criticism from architectural magazines and websites to the ‘televisual boulevardiers’ to be found on our TV screens.

Cath said: “As an old school journalist, I still have a soft spot for magazines, but the ground has shifted so abruptly and so fundamentally for them. They’re a bit like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, a superannuated actress refusing to acknowledge that the world has changed around her.”

In discussion, Sam, Beatrice and Cath spoke about positive changes in the industry, how some of the media landscape changes were for the better and the benefits of political will behind public engagement projects.

The changing nature of the industry was underlined by Sam Jacob stating “there will not be another Norman Foster” or perhaps Zaha Hadid as the role architects and architecture practices play are changing.

In summation Cath Slessor underlined the breadth of discussion by stating that “architecture is a social act that affects everybody” as audience members departed with a broader understanding of the infrastructure of architecture and our place within it.

Organised by a grassroots collective, the Architecture Fringe is a festival created to change Scotland for the better. Following the success of the inaugural event in 2016, this year’s festival has expanded to host over 50 events from 1 – 23 July in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, the Scottish Borders and Highlands. A series of participatory events, exhibitions, installations, talks, tours, debates and of course parties have been programmed to help broaden our understanding of architecture, how to engage with it and improve our lives in Scotland and beyond.

Speaking at the Closing Lecture, festival co-producer Andy Summers said: “We’re thrilled with the response we’ve had for festival events. From rigorous debates, thought provoking exhibitions and practical events to immersive experiences and installations the festival continues to find new ways to broaden our understanding of and connection to architecture. As an end to tie our explorations within the festival together it has been a privilege to welcome three of architecture’s most vocal personalities to put the discipline under the spotlight. Cath, Sam and Beatrice are all eager champions and earnest critics and the insights shared here in Scotland has given us festival organisers and the wider public plenty of food for thought and, most importantly action.”

The Architecture Fringe Closing Lecture is supported by University of Edinburgh and British Council Scotland. The Architecture Fringe is supported by Creative Scotland.