The flight for urbanization is a continuous process affected by different factors and players in the industry. Architects, for example, are huge proponents of projects that ensure the plans for urban development. The decline in the number of architectural firms and architects in Europe in the previous years has exponentially slowed down the push for urbanization. The good news, however, is that the architectural market is gradually recovering, taking with it the rise of urbanism once again.
A survey of the Architectural Council of Europe (also known as ACE) economic trends proves that this year is encouraging for the architectural profession as the level of optimism in the profession continues to rise compared to the first survey conducted in 2009. 1 The situation of the architectural market is better than ever, showing that satisfaction rates of architectural buildings are up as opposed to the 100% dissatisfaction rate it revealed years ago. A non-profit organization, the Architects’ Council of Europe is the governing body that “maintains and ensures a high level of effectiveness within the realm of European architectural and professional policy”.2 Studies by the ACE show that even though the market trend is different from country to country, the whole market is homogenous.
Barcelona Photo © Tatjana Medvedev/UrbanismAU
What can that trend mean for the development of cities in Europe? For one, the rise from the slump now affects forecasts in staffing. That means in terms of employment, architectural-based jobs are expected to increase. That can be good not only for the economy but also for the academe. If there are job demands, then it would be a domino effect and positively impact the curriculum of students studying architecture courses. For one, the high quality of European architecture will be ensured, and sustainable development can be fostered.
However, the positive result of the survey will significantly affect the society to whom all the advancement of the area is for. This ACE survey is not only a study of the market trends, but also a glimpse of what the future of a nation might be, depending on what we do with the data. In the end, as we expect to have a more positive view of the architectural profession, we can expect better buildings built and sustainability integrated in the building designs. This slump is slowly coming to an end because the positive outlook of the people in the industry is one of the first steps to recovery.
Barcelona Photo © Tatjana Medvedev/UrbanismAU
Reference:
1 “A Gradual Recovery of the Architectural Market” http://www.ace-cae.eu/uploads/tx_jidocumentsview/Press_release_economic_trend-survey.pdf
2 “ACE About Page” http://www.ace-cae.eu/about-us/mission-and-objectives/
