Yes almost all architects have horrible websites. It can be so difficult to find their contact information that you even give up trying to contact them.

There are few exceptions.

A web site with a splash page is like a house with a lobby.

Exakt. Just give me the info, please. If I want flash games, I know where to go.

Could not agree more - I've lost track of the number of architectural firm websites I've tried to link to after seeing an interesting project, only to run into endless flash gimmicks and un-navigable links. Now, as soon as the flash starts, or the links are not immediately clear, I instantly leave the site.

Landscape archtects' websites are much better.

It IS green. More time spent messing with weird windows or sitting through a splash screen equals more power being wasted by the screen, processor, etc.

Although you are most likely wasting milliwatts :)

Oh my god, this drives me so crazy! I actually feel embarrassed for them. It's like pretentiousness on such a juvenile level. And yes; I always say "These people are actually architects?!"

You can add Ad Agencies and Art Galleries to the list of groups with generally maddening, unnavigable, Flash infested websites too. Remember these simple words - Never let design get in the way of information and usability. Also, pure Flash websites are invisible to search engines (you did want your website to show up in Google, right?).

Architects are "DESIGN" people. Their tool of preference is their DESIGN skill.
They apply their DESIGN skill to everything (see the "If Cars Were Designed by Architects" http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/another-reason-we-like-prefab.php )

This is all a tool-using characteristic of man.
Give a man a HAMMER and everything starts looking like a nail...
Make him an ARCHITECT and everything can and needs to be re-designed...

I actually like architect's websites. Yes, some get out of hand, but great architects usually have great websites. I find that the complexity of their website is a direct reflection of the kind of work they do and how they think about their architectural process. Great architect's are intelligent, creative people, and they challenge visitors to their buildings (and their websites) to think deeper than just what's on the surface. From the sounds of these posts, I guess most people would like all websites to look the same so no one has to think. Maybe we should all live in cookie-cutter homes with beige vinyl siding in suburbia and drive a gray ford taurus. :)

Ha ha! As an architect, I heartily agree. I have to say Will Alsop's is my favorite though, because it is willfully unusable, though in a totally playful and (relatively) unpretentious way. My favorite recently (to remain nameless) had enormous pictures of its staff which looked like they had been taken in a photo studio. "Now look off into the distance, and think - what would Corb do?".

hear hear!

i work in architecture, and invariably researching another firm to collaborate with or even something as mundane as finding their phone number is nearly impossible. flash is neat, but it has NO place on a professional website until you get into a portfolio type of situation, or a game.

not to mention it seriously nerfs your search engine optimization.

I see this happen to a lot of firms whose specialties are something other than computers. They're sold on a big Flash animation because it makes the contract bigger, which means more money for the firm that designs it.

They buy it because it does look impressive, especially if you're unfamiliar with the Internet and especially if it's your company.

Gosh, I agree with you completely! I had no idea other people were similarly frustrated and that I'm not alone. We've been trying to find an architect to plan and build our home, and I'll tell you, any crazy, user-unfriendly website owner is probably not going to get our business.

also with the flash sites you get annoying redirected pop ups to their site.

one that i have always hated is:
http://www.asymptote.net/

This post is indeed rant-y even if it was in a more adequate place- an architecture or design blog.

Two of the biggest and more mediatic architectural firms in the world right now - SANAA (Museum of Contemporary Art-NY) and Herzog and DeMeuron (de Young Museum- SF) don't even bother having a website. Does it really mean anything?
Would you hire or judge your doctor by a website design?

Why does TreeHugger feel frustrated about flash intros?

Absolutely dead-on! How often have I just x'd out of a site because of the problems ("design") you just described... It's as though some have to prove their minimalist cool street cred by playing these games, because heaven forbid they should just come out and say something plainly. The irony is that all that "cool" is totally uncool and frustrating for the user.

I have the dubious distinction of having designed one of the sites mentioned above (which shall remain nameless, although it is not too hard to figure out). I work in architecture by day and design web sites on the side - I am familiar with both worlds.

For the site in question, the client was hung up on a photo based flash site, hung up on fullscreen, and hung up on fades and transitions. I attempted to talk them into a clean, accessible, open source CMS driven site (like the others that I design) and they weren't at all interested. I don't even want to get into some of the other features they requested and that I sidestepped. The resulting project is not in my commercial portfolio, but at the end of the day sometimes you have to give the client what they ask for.

I recently blogged about a great example of web design for architecture by sayFINN in LA. I'm very interested in the idiosyncrasies of archiving design work, unfortunately I don't think the intersection of this altruistic curiosity and the market make for a very interesting web presence for most architecture firms.

All of this said, if you think Architecture sites are the worst. spend some time sourcing out furniture, lighting, or tiles from Italy - the mecca of incomprehensible flash interfaces.

All I can say to Lloyd Alter is— amen.

Amen, indeed! I thought I was alone in hating all the gratuitous use of Flash by architects. Now, if only we could start an on-line campaign against it...

@Mojo: that is exactly the problem with modern architecture. I don't want a home or an office building that "challenges" me. I want a pleasant and comfortable home and workplace, that preferably does not look like a bunker or oversized shoebox.

Hey all - you guys know that Google and Yahoo have worked it out with Adobe so flash files can be found by web spiders. It is changing how people work with flash as you would expect and something that our agency, Lightmaker, is spending considerable time perfecting for major clients.

We are very interested in web design that both contributes to the sustainable movement through our processes and internal business operations but also how design can help our clients capture the essence of their sustainable practices and initiatives in a tangible and factual way to their customers and employees.

Keep the conversation going and thanks for the insight. Love Treehugger.com! - J