UK architects bemoan new trends of big-firm fee ‘undercutting’ and competition from non-registered designers

2023-07-27T03:00:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has issued a new report detailing a troubling new phenomenon affecting small office practitioners in the UK.

The Architects’ Journal has details on some of the newfound challenges for design contracts from those not included on the UK’s official register and licensed architects who are reeling in a business climate beset by increased competition on the part of their non-professionalized rivals and a dual culture of “constant undercutting” for fees from better-positioned large firms.

RIBA’s Future Trends report from June was the first published indicator of the concerns, which come at a time when market conditions have turned sour across all spectrums of the design sector. Speaking to AJ, London-based NIKJOO principal Alex Nikjoo explained the problem.

“We’ve recently experienced a client looking to use less experienced non-qualified designers for early concept stage design work to keep the consultant fees down, then seeking our help...

The promises and problems of a Cuban architecture market

2015-08-10T21:09:00-04:00

Would-be investors would face other obstacles even if the embargo were lifted... Cuba is still tightly controlled by its Communist government. [...] In any case, most architectural work in Cuba today focuses on the restoration of Havana’s immense historic building stock—two-thirds of which is in disrepair—and on bringing Havana into the 21st century without imperiling its heritage.

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UK architects bemoan new trends of big-firm fee ‘undercutting’ and competition from non-registered designers

The promises and problems of a Cuban architecture market