Mounting job losses for architects

DEVASTATING JOB losses across many architectural practices will have architects praying that the Budget will create a way forward.

All sizes of practices have been hit. One large firm recently had to lay off 30 people and is about to instigate a second round of job cuts, while smaller practices have seen staff cuts in varying degrees with one well-established firm dropping from around 18 to just two architects.

In the 1980s recession many architects headed abroad with graduates taking the first planes out to New York, London and Paris. One upside was that they worked for some world-class architects and came back with the skills to meet the building boom with some stunning designs. It would be a shame to see this skillbase head elsewhere now, and where would they go?

Evidence that people have headed north came from one Belfast practice which said it had been inundated with CVs from the south, while the RIAI recently took a number of architectural practices to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to see what work is available there.

A quick scout round the net has found a number of big players advertising jobs across the world with Rem Koolhaas wanting staff in New York, Beijing and Dubai; Foster and Partners seeking staff in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, NY (and Dublin); Richard Meier in NY and Santiago Calatrava in Zurich, NY and Valencia.

On home ground, this would be an ideal time for the Government to get some good quality public projects built but, while architects have been wary of PPPs, they could be a ray of hope now. And expect to see lots of architects setting up their own practices: with many people opting to stay at home rather than sell up, we could see the extension boom continuing.