Development in Europe or halt?
Shed of New Light: The Architectural Profession in Europe 2014
With its rich architectural foundation, Europe has been the home of some of the most stunning architectural pieces here in the globe. From the famous Acropolis in Athens, astounding Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the continent is truly an inspiring haven for architects and architecture lovers. Europe exhibits its hybrid mix of classical and contemporary style that is deep-rooted from its turbulent past.
But starting in 2009, Europe experienced an economic crisis that resulted in a difficult national situation even rigorously affecting the architectural profession. Architects were hardly hit by the mounting economic troubles as they suffered from less work due to lack of new assignments and just swerved into accepting renovation projects for their financial stability.1
The crisis surprisingly did not drag down the inner drive of the people involved in the European architectural profession. The Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) Sector Study in 2014 which is a biennial survey concerned with the economic, sociological, and statistical data of European architects, markets,s, and practices stated an unexpected result. The study involving 18,000 architects in 26 European countries showed that despite the hardships, the respondents still see the European architectural occupation as a growing, flexible, resilient, and international profession.2
The research confirmed that there is a significant 6% increase in the number of architects in Europe since 2012 and that the growth is now also becoming more equal as 39% of the architects account for women. Another encouraging result from the survey is that the architects believe that there are more work opportunities awaiting them in 2015, the first time in the ACE Sector Study to display a positive balance figure. Architects are also showing flexibility and resiliency by establishing alone and doing single-person practices. Revenue and profits for these one-person practices solely increased compared to larger practices and those in the public sector. ACE Sector Study also showed that 35% of the architects are open to training and landing a job in the neighboring countries while 5% already did making European architecture an international profession.
Europe’s architectural history has been molded by its countless rises and falls in the past giving it its distinct character. European architectural profession can dwell on this to further enrich their passion despite the present difficulties that are coming their way. With the study showing architects’ rejuvenated optimism, new light can be seen that the profession can use this daunting reality to transform, evolve and create a brighter future.
Reference:
1 “Economic Crisis Hits European Architects”
http://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/economic-crisis-hits-european-architects_o
2 “Architectural Profession in Europe”