Over the last 6 decades, the single most significant cause of the erosion of relevance has been the constant and ever-increasing prospect of risk. More precisely, it is our response to risk – essentially avoidance – that is the cause.

The bottom line is that clients – private and public – want certainty over project outcomes, particularly with regard to project cost and time. If designers can’t offer that certainty, clients will go to, and pay, people who do.