How is the current economic situation affecting you in locations and the roles and field you work in, as an architect/drafter/designer/builder/etc.?
Myself: I'm in Eastern Europe, where we do mostly medium sized residential and commercial projects for local money and Eastern European Clients, with various 1st world nation investors. Almost all our foreign clients are residential investors, and mostly from places like the UK.
The market has almost died in the last 2 months (it is now February 2009) with no new clients in sight, which was my bread and butter previously in the roles I played with various firms.
I've talked with long-time peers and friends on the Pacific Coast, USA (PNW, USA, Oregon to Vancouver, B.C.) and they are not only hurting bad, but most are out of work and all the construction firms are only finishing up old or big-time clients, with no new building projects coming in. Like 99% dead. These are places (can't name names of firms, but well known, big and big commercial successes on the USA West coast!) where people are really wondering what they're going to do. Various solutions of course come to mind (Singing on street corners? Sketching buildings for food? Will BIM for BEER?)
...I know a lot of us are all over the place, and all over the globe...
-How's things in YOUR neck of the woods, so to speak?
-Jena
(edit-. I know how much you all like questions and polls and surveys, so I added one here. *munch munch munch*)
Well Ok...
We are a small firm, less than 5 people, in the South West of England. Specialising in one-off houses and conversions for private clients and small developers.
Things are crap at the moment. Unless exceptionally cash rich, clients cannot raise any money to do the work. Even when rich, banks are being very reluctant to give them their money! Several projects put on 'hold', projects mid-build clients are getting worried.
Several contractors we have worked with in the past have gone under. None of the big commercial developers are building any houses either. Hearing stories of practices all over the place reducing staff numbers by substantial percentages.
To make things more difficult we are also commercial landlords, and the tenants are all finding it difficult to pay rents etc due to the slowdown of their business also.
Family members also affected, one is in property rental - nobody renting anymore, one as a chef - nobody eating out anymore!
Conversely, talking to an architecty friend recently who works at another practice nearby (40+ architects), business for them is more-or-less unaffected! They do more large scale work like schools, hospitals and so on, so these areas seem to be more immune.
And I hear things will get even worse before they get better!
Oh well, lets be positive, at least the mortgage repayments are dirt cheap at the moment.
Bank of England base rate now at 1%!!!
We are a small firm, less than 5 people, in the South West of England. Specialising in one-off houses and conversions for private clients and small developers.
Things are crap at the moment. Unless exceptionally cash rich, clients cannot raise any money to do the work. Even when rich, banks are being very reluctant to give them their money! Several projects put on 'hold', projects mid-build clients are getting worried.
Several contractors we have worked with in the past have gone under. None of the big commercial developers are building any houses either. Hearing stories of practices all over the place reducing staff numbers by substantial percentages.
To make things more difficult we are also commercial landlords, and the tenants are all finding it difficult to pay rents etc due to the slowdown of their business also.
Family members also affected, one is in property rental - nobody renting anymore, one as a chef - nobody eating out anymore!
Conversely, talking to an architecty friend recently who works at another practice nearby (40+ architects), business for them is more-or-less unaffected! They do more large scale work like schools, hospitals and so on, so these areas seem to be more immune.
And I hear things will get even worse before they get better!
Oh well, lets be positive, at least the mortgage repayments are dirt cheap at the moment.
Bank of England base rate now at 1%!!!
I just spoke last week to a firm in Washington, USA and two Eastern European colleagues. All did a large spectrum of projects, and have only experienced a slow down (completely dead) in the residential remodeling/design sector and newer commercial rentals/office projects.
The City (civic/government) and State funded jobs are essentially unaffected, though budget proposals and costs have become more important than usual. City work and hospitals and schools (in the USA) seem to be picking up actually. Here in Eastern Europe, the big money clients are just more cautious, but in my perception, they’re more like sharks circling for the kill- As people loose property and projects get stopped, they see opportunity and even want designs and ideas on things they don’t own yet.
Most of my associates here no longer have offices full of house plans, but have city and road and park plans going on- renovations for civic and public buildings and property.
This week 7 projects I'm involved in, backed by UK investors, while not stopped, now need
There’s a firm on the west coast of USA that specializes in public school renovations, and they’re hiring and looking for help, and word is business will be overwhelming soon for them, if Obama is good on his word and can get the programs moving to modernize the USA early-grades school buildings and such (I’m hoping he isn’t more intent on silly computers in the classroom and rather wants to make the actual buildings and education better and help the teachers more).
A colleague of mine here in Europe is working almost exclusively on civic works now- city planning all over Europe (renovations, prettier towns, road-way changes, etc). They rarely got this kind of work in the past and now it’s the only work they have outside of churches and state buildings.
It seems here either we’re working on civic projects, or those of us lucky enough to have independent-money clients (the bankers themselves, eh?) who are doing personal projects, still have residential work happening. Least on the USA West Coast and here in East Europe and the UK.
However, the two projects I have been working on FOR civic/government/city improvements IN MOSCOW, have stopped dead. Little word comes out of that part of the world even over here, except rumors. Maybe the old USSR is even worse of outside of private money sector?
Maybe with a lot of us experiencing slow-downs, it's a great time to get better at what we do and finally perfect those master templates and our AC skills, wot?
I am quite curious about other areas in the world too.
The City (civic/government) and State funded jobs are essentially unaffected, though budget proposals and costs have become more important than usual. City work and hospitals and schools (in the USA) seem to be picking up actually. Here in Eastern Europe, the big money clients are just more cautious, but in my perception, they’re more like sharks circling for the kill- As people loose property and projects get stopped, they see opportunity and even want designs and ideas on things they don’t own yet.
Most of my associates here no longer have offices full of house plans, but have city and road and park plans going on- renovations for civic and public buildings and property.
This week 7 projects I'm involved in, backed by UK investors, while not stopped, now need
There’s a firm on the west coast of USA that specializes in public school renovations, and they’re hiring and looking for help, and word is business will be overwhelming soon for them, if Obama is good on his word and can get the programs moving to modernize the USA early-grades school buildings and such (I’m hoping he isn’t more intent on silly computers in the classroom and rather wants to make the actual buildings and education better and help the teachers more).
A colleague of mine here in Europe is working almost exclusively on civic works now- city planning all over Europe (renovations, prettier towns, road-way changes, etc). They rarely got this kind of work in the past and now it’s the only work they have outside of churches and state buildings.
It seems here either we’re working on civic projects, or those of us lucky enough to have independent-money clients (the bankers themselves, eh?) who are doing personal projects, still have residential work happening. Least on the USA West Coast and here in East Europe and the UK.
However, the two projects I have been working on FOR civic/government/city improvements IN MOSCOW, have stopped dead. Little word comes out of that part of the world even over here, except rumors. Maybe the old USSR is even worse of outside of private money sector?
Maybe with a lot of us experiencing slow-downs, it's a great time to get better at what we do and finally perfect those master templates and our AC skills, wot?
I am quite curious about other areas in the world too.
Still looking?
