Architecture Tomorrow: Resilience in Practice
Architecture Tomorrow:Resilience in Practice
04.02.25
The built world is changing: Are UK architects ready for the challenges that lie ahead?
With the economic landscape ever-changing, it is critical that architects understand the market forces at play and how these impact their business. This is not always the case – perhaps simply because the data is not presented with the sector in mind.
ING has experienced many economic cycles over our first 25 years. We have seen the difficulties that downturns can inflict upon architecture practices. If investment slows, development falters and projects go on hold. Being further down the food chain – and relying on those above – makes business planning challenging.
That’s why ING has created this report. We want to help practices navigate market fluctuations, be resilient in the face of economic turmoil, and pivot to sub sectors with the most robust growth prospects.
We are firm believers in the adage that ‘knowledge is power’. By understanding where the best prospects lie, practices can strategically focus business development and communications activity – ultimately maximising chances of success. We therefore hope that this report will become a valuable tool for practice leaders, as well as business development and communications managers, by providing insights that enable you to thrive now and long into the future.
“The UK architecture sector employs around 80,000 people and contributes £4.8bn to the economy each year. Architects play a unique role in the formation of the built world, bridging the gap between the sometimes competing stakeholders involved in delivering buildings and infrastructure. As investor priorities evolve and the Government’s agenda for growth becomes clear, practices face opportunity as well as risk.”
How practices are leveraging their skills and offer through communications
For many years, ING has tracked online conversations about the built world, cities and investment, to understand perception and visibility.
Effective communications are vital for architects – not only for building the pipeline of future project work, but also for securing fees in alternative building sectors and attracting investment from different sources. Here, we analyse how mentions of AJ 100 practices break down by sector across media, online platforms and social media.
Practices that align themselves to sectors which are not yet dominating the conversation, such as industrial and logistics and retail, are more likely to stand out and attract interest.
Both housing and health conversations have increased as a share of digital output from last year, while office and retail related conversations have reduced slightly since 2023. Therefore, with the greatest proportion of digital content being aligned with housing, practices that monopolise on the conversation gap are more likely to win work from emerging development in those sectors.
To download a copy of the report and read our recommendations for building resilience in practice, fill in the form below.
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