What this occupation does
Architects plan and design structures such as private residences, office buildings, theatres, factories, and other structural property. The role spans concept design, technical drawings, code compliance, client liaison, and on-site coordination across building projects.
The exposure score in context
The ILO 2025 refined Generative AI Occupational Exposure Index places architects, except landscape and naval in the moderate exposure gradient. ILO 2025 places architects in the moderate exposure gradient. Standard drafting and routine code-checking are exposed; design judgement, client briefing, regulatory negotiation, and on-site judgement are augmentation-prone but not displaceable at task level.
The mapping uses ISCO-08 code 2161 (BLS-published SOC-to-ISCO crosswalk). The full methodology, including the dominant-match rule for one-to-many crosswalks, is at /methodology/#algorithm.
The top five tasks, classified
The top five O*NET 30.2 tasks for this occupation, each tagged Displaceable / Changing / Growing per the Brookings 2024 task-level rubric. The tag definitions are at /glossary/#displaceable-task, /glossary/#changing-task, and /glossary/#growing-task.
- Changing: Prepare scale drawings. AI-assisted drafting is widely used; final technical-drawing accountability remains human.
- Growing: Consult with clients to determine functional or spatial requirements of structures. Client briefing is augmentation-prone per Brookings 2024 and grows in importance as AI handles drafting.
- Changing: Plan layout of project. Generative-design tools produce candidate layouts; final design judgement remains human.
- Displaceable: Prepare contract documents for building contractors. Standard-form contract documentation is technically and contextually feasible for current generative AI.
- Growing: Direct activities of workers engaged in preparing drawings and specification documents. Studio leadership is augmentation-prone and grows with AI-augmented team productivity.
What is growing in this role
The BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035 outlook for architects, except landscape and naval is average (+4% projected change). Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035.
Per the WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025, the top three growing skills relevant to this role are: Creative thinking, AI and big data, Environmental stewardship. The skills are mapped to the occupation's O*NET skills profile.
Brookings 2024 places architecture across the spectrum: drafting is exposed; design judgement, client work, and on-site coordination are augmentation-prone.
Similar occupations
O*NET 30.2 lists the following related roles. Each links to its own deep dive where one is published.
Industry context
This role sits primarily in the Creative Industries industry. The industry-level rollup includes the cross-occupation exposure profile and the BLS-published industry-level outlook.
How this assessment was made
The full methodology is at /methodology/: ILO 2025 refined index for the gradient, Brookings 2024 rubric for the task tags, BLS 2025-2035 for the growth outlook, WEF 2025 for the skills demand. The pre-empted critiques are at /how-to-argue-with-this/.