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*)
Chazz wrote:Just read arabianbusiness.com:Djordje wrote:I was hoping you would speak up. I couldn't really imagine what was going on in your neck of the woods. Thanks.
It is bleak sunshine around here.
It is all there.
Be sure to read between the lines, and all the comments! ;D
And the expression is "in the neck of the desert"
Green...
Well I've been gone some time, but checking back on this thread with an update.
In E. Europe, almost ALL projects are stopped- or if they were at 100kmh, they moved to about 1kmh. Every EVERY SINGLE firm and group or independent I worked with has almost NO work. The firmly established architectural firms either let everyone go or they keep them on at dirt wages, and have little work to do. There's some civic work still happening and permits processing work for older jobs, but that's it. A few village and town remodels of sidewalks and main streets or traffic flow, some renovations of small budget things, a few BANKS finishing up their projects...
(what, the banks still have money? LOL! oh THAT's what that "bail-out" money was for- so the BANKERS wouldn't have to change anything about their lives. DUH!!!)...
...Back in the good ol' USA, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE I HAVE EVER KNOWN (500+ people and firms) are dead. And I mean if they still go into the office, it's to get their mail and check phone messages, if they haven't disconnected the lines or routed them to an answering service they can call into. NO ONE is getting paid. The only jobs I know of are some of the biggest firms who have cut staff by 2/3rd and still have too many people. Almost all the USA builders either are bankrupt, foreclosed or out of business. The best small firms, who have been doing "green" work for the last 10-15 years are squeeking by on no income and narrowly avoiding bankruptcy by selling all their spec homes. They are hopeful but no real clients insight yet (not enough for me to even spend an hour giving them an idea of what they could do with what they might be able to afford).
I've heard that "renovation and remodels" are still happening, in a severely reduced number, as people still want changes in their homes, and a few big LEED and commercial projects are still happening, but they are left over from investments from the last 5+ years, and in the final stages of construction.
I see a few projects here and there, but knowing what I know, they were designed and built over 2 years ago and the money committed and possibly paid for or into an account or project, in a way that it's already been paid for. Even there I see that pauses happen while changes get made to the original designs, or again, the buildings and renovations get put on hold, in what looks like an E.European way- indefinitely.
So, pending smaller clients with renovations and remodels, or helping other designers and architects out with my AC skills, I'm looking at going back to school to do something else.
I believe for most of the world, that we won't need new architects for a few decades- there will still be plenty that need work many, many years from now.
On a more positive note, if you don't mind working for free, or for chickens and goats, there's some cool things happening in community and sharing resources and helping out. It won't pay your mortgage but it sure is fun. We're the people who can show others how it will or might look and fit in, or not. That's a skill that will always be in demand, even if there's not much pay!
Peace and hope everyone is weathering the changes in a good way.
-JP
Well I've been gone some time, but checking back on this thread with an update.
In E. Europe, almost ALL projects are stopped- or if they were at 100kmh, they moved to about 1kmh. Every EVERY SINGLE firm and group or independent I worked with has almost NO work. The firmly established architectural firms either let everyone go or they keep them on at dirt wages, and have little work to do. There's some civic work still happening and permits processing work for older jobs, but that's it. A few village and town remodels of sidewalks and main streets or traffic flow, some renovations of small budget things, a few BANKS finishing up their projects...
(what, the banks still have money? LOL! oh THAT's what that "bail-out" money was for- so the BANKERS wouldn't have to change anything about their lives. DUH!!!)...
...Back in the good ol' USA, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE I HAVE EVER KNOWN (500+ people and firms) are dead. And I mean if they still go into the office, it's to get their mail and check phone messages, if they haven't disconnected the lines or routed them to an answering service they can call into. NO ONE is getting paid. The only jobs I know of are some of the biggest firms who have cut staff by 2/3rd and still have too many people. Almost all the USA builders either are bankrupt, foreclosed or out of business. The best small firms, who have been doing "green" work for the last 10-15 years are squeeking by on no income and narrowly avoiding bankruptcy by selling all their spec homes. They are hopeful but no real clients insight yet (not enough for me to even spend an hour giving them an idea of what they could do with what they might be able to afford).
I've heard that "renovation and remodels" are still happening, in a severely reduced number, as people still want changes in their homes, and a few big LEED and commercial projects are still happening, but they are left over from investments from the last 5+ years, and in the final stages of construction.
I see a few projects here and there, but knowing what I know, they were designed and built over 2 years ago and the money committed and possibly paid for or into an account or project, in a way that it's already been paid for. Even there I see that pauses happen while changes get made to the original designs, or again, the buildings and renovations get put on hold, in what looks like an E.European way- indefinitely.
So, pending smaller clients with renovations and remodels, or helping other designers and architects out with my AC skills, I'm looking at going back to school to do something else.
I believe for most of the world, that we won't need new architects for a few decades- there will still be plenty that need work many, many years from now.
On a more positive note, if you don't mind working for free, or for chickens and goats, there's some cool things happening in community and sharing resources and helping out. It won't pay your mortgage but it sure is fun. We're the people who can show others how it will or might look and fit in, or not. That's a skill that will always be in demand, even if there's not much pay!
Peace and hope everyone is weathering the changes in a good way.
-JP
Still looking?
