Archinect - Features

Archinect's 2024 Mental Health Survey Results: 11 Key Takeaways

2024-11-21T12:01:00-05:00

On October 10th, we marked World Mental Health Day by launching Archinect's 2024 Mental Health Survey. Over 120 people participated, sharing their experiences of the past year, where mental health issues are arising from, and what steps they are taking to improve their own mental health.

This year’s survey results reveal both progress and persistent challenges. While 2023 highlighted an increasing awareness and openness about mental health, the 2024 findings emphasize a continued struggle with stressors such as workload, compensation, and burnout. Notably, the stigma around mental health discussions has further diminished, with many participants reporting improved comfort in seeking support. However, the data also underscores significant gaps in institutional resources and support systems.

Compared to last year, the community shows incremental improvements in mental health metrics, with a higher proportion of respondents ranking their mental health above average. Yet, the ongoing pr...

Being Laid off Is Tough; So Is Waiting To Be

2024-08-26T08:00:00-04:00

Findings from our recent Archinect Business Survey suggest that many architecture employees do not feel secure in their current roles. For those facing the looming prospect of layoffs in the coming weeks or months, the emotional strain can be as taxing as that experienced by those who have already lost their jobs. What can employees and employers alike do to mitigate such anxiety?

The Pandemic Is History, but for Architects, Its Impact on Office Design Remains

2024-08-21T08:45:00-04:00

Our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey highlighted concerns among architects that their business health has been impacted by the ongoing adoption of remote and hybrid working patterns across the U.S. in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore in more detail how the supply and demand of workplace real estate has changed in recent years, where it is heading, and what opportunities and challenges it presents for architects.

Are Architectural Workers More Pessimistic About the Economy Than Firm Owners?

2024-08-19T08:00:00-04:00

In our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey published last month, we observed a distinct divergence between how firm owners and workers were feeling about the business health of their firm, industry, and the wider U.S. economy. Across the board, our survey suggests that firm workers felt more pessimistic and insecure about today’s economic landscape than firm owners. Why?

There is likely no ‘one size fits all’ answer to this question. However, a number of trends playing out across the economy, including architecture-specific trends previously reported by Archinect, offer several lines of speculation.

10 Views on Architectural Licensure From Archinect Readers

2024-07-29T13:28:00-04:00

As we continue our ongoing Archinect In-Depth: Licensure series, we highlight perspectives from individuals with extensive research backgrounds on the topic, as well as those in positions to lead, guide, and evolve the licensure pathway. Additionally, we launched a survey among Archinect readers, many of whom are either experiencing or have completed the path to licensure, to hear about their own views and challenges.

We have now analyzed and collated the responses shared by our community into a series of ten key reflections. Stay tuned for more Archinect In-Depth: Licensure features, which will include commentary on some of the reader perspectives shared below.

Five Big Factors Behind the Architecture Industry’s Economic Slowdown

2024-07-05T12:59:00-04:00

Earlier this week, we released Part One of our findings from the Archinect Business Survey, which invited you to share how you were feeling about the economic outlook of your firm and sector. Our analysis found that across the United States, architects have seen business conditions decline in the past year and are downbeat about their firm’s business health, the health of the architecture industry at large, and the wider U.S. economy. Meanwhile, clients are cautious about starting or continuing projects.

While Part One offered an insight into how architects and clients are faring within the architecture industry’s current economic slowdown, this article, Part Two, explores the potential causes of the slowdown itself. The five factors set out below reflect what respondents to our survey, and economists and commentators from within and beyond the architecture industry, have identified as driving forces behind today’s business climate.

While each of these factors deserves to be isolate...

Architects and Clients Downbeat About Economy: Archinect's Business Survey Results Revealed

2024-07-03T08:29:00-04:00

Throughout May and June 2024, we invited our community to offer us insights and feedback on how you were feeling about the economic outlook of your firm and sector. As we explained at the time, this project was motivated by several observations from economists within and beyond the AEC industry that the U.S. may be “sleepwalking” into a recession.

To investigate how the architecture profession was fairing against such headwinds, we asked you a series of questions on the economic health of your firm, your sentiments on the wider sector, your experience of the job market, your conversations with clients, your plans for the future, and more.

Having analyzed your feedback, Archinect can now reveal our findings, which will be published in two parts. Part One, below, offers an overview of how both architects and clients are feeling about the industry, in addition to how they are responding to the challenges they are facing. Part Two sets out some of the key factors and driving forces behi...

How to Understand Architecture Business Conditions Using the AIA's Architecture Billings Index

2024-05-20T08:23:00-04:00

Since 1995, the American Institute of Architects has conducted a monthly index detailing trends in billings by architecture firms in the United States. Over time, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has become a valuable metric for charting the economic health of the profession, with Archinect reporting on the index monthly since 2012.

To help readers better understand how metrics from ABI translate into the reality of design and construction and to equip them with the tools to interpret the numbers, understand their source, and delineate between various categories, we have assembled a series of questions and answers pertaining to the index.

Architects, How Is Work Feeling These Days?

2024-05-16T10:45:00-04:00

We want to hear from our community: How are you feeling about the economic outlook of your firm and sector? How easy or difficult are you finding it to secure projects? What is your employment outlook? What are you hearing from clients?

Fill out our anonymous survey below.

Archinect's 2023 Mental Health Survey Results

2023-10-10T15:45:00-04:00

To create a space that discusses and shares insights on mental health within the industry, Archinect recently conducted our latest Mental Health survey to better understand how our community has navigated the stressors inherent to the architecture industry. On this October 10th, World Mental Health Day, we share the results of this survey.