A glance at past recessions gives us good reasons to be optimistic today. The U.S. construction industry is so intertwined with the well-being of the economy as a whole that even a hiccup in one can quickly cause nausea in the other. Consider that in 2006 there were $689 billion worth of construction starts. By the end of last year, that number dropped by $134 billion. When so much money is pulled off the table, the repercussions bounce around the globe. Architects make up a tiny part of this massive food chain, but that doesn’t matter if you have been
With layoffs sweeping the profession, architects of all stripes should prepare for the worst. Stephanie Houston’s saga is all too common these days. Armed with a master’s degree in architecture and six years of professional experience, Houston currently is hunting for work in San Francisco after getting laid off from a U.K.-based firm in October. She is taking all of the necessary steps: finessing her resume and portfolio, scouring the Web for job openings, networking at full-throttle. She even printed her own business cards. Ever determined, Houston has contacted 30 firms in the Bay Area; so far, only one has
With layoffs sweeping the profession, architects of all stripes should prepare for the worst. Stephanie Houston’s saga is all too common these days. Armed with a master’s degree in architecture and six years of professional experience, Houston currently is hunting for work in San Francisco after getting laid off from a U.K.-based firm in October. She is taking all of the necessary steps: finessing her resume and portfolio, scouring the Web for job openings, networking at full-throttle. She even printed her own business cards. Ever determined, Houston has contacted 30 firms in the Bay Area; so far, only one has
Firms Still Moving Forward Brazil Builds was the title of the Museum of Modern Art’s famous 1944 exhibition on Brazilian modern architecture, a show that offered a promising design panorama at a dangerous moment in world history. Today, the world faces a different kind of moment, but one similarly shadowed by economic fear. In Brazil, architects are trying to maintain a steady perspective—neither optimistic nor gloomy. Rendering courtesy Aflalo & Gasperini Prosperitas Building in S'o Paulo, by Aflalo & Gasperini. Related Links: Global Report: Brazil Global Report: China Global Report: Germany Global Report: India Global Report: Japan Global Report: Spain
Architects Hope to Benefit from Stimulus Package Correction appended April 3, 2009 Despite hopes that the casino business would weather the economic storm, almost all building sites in Macao have gone quiet—a stark reminder that not even China is immune to the impact of a global recession. “We look at this crisis with shock and horror,” says Keith Griffiths, Asia and Middle East chairman of Aedas. The firm recently halted work on its projects on Macau’s formerly booming Cotai Strip, including the Four Seasons Hotel and new phases of The Venetian mega-casino. Like other foreign firms operating in China, Aedas—which
Looking Farther Afield for Jobs It takes 12 hours to fly from Frankfurt to Hanoi, and Bernhard Franken is getting to know the route very well. Franken has a half-dozen projects in Vietnam. If his struggling Frankfurt practice has an angel looking out for it, she comes from the East. With startling speed, the German economy has turned sluggish and dyspeptic. Architects from Berlin to Bonn say small practices are shutting down or on life support. Larger ones are shedding staff, and Foster + Partners just closed its Berlin office. Image courtesy Bernhard Franken Tan Lab Green City in Vietnam,
'New' India Bows to Newer Realities In the past five years, as India’s hunger for glass-encased IT parks and marble-swathed gated communities appeared insatiable, architects designed supersize projects dreamed up by Indian developers. Then the money disappeared. As the global economic crisis has snowballed, the country’s banks have turned skittish. Image courtesy B+H Architects Survam Knowledge Park in India, by B+H Architects. Related Links: Global Report: Brazil Global Report: China Global Report: Germany Global Report: India Global Report: Japan Global Report: Spain Global Report: U.A.E. Global Report: U.K. “The first to get hit are large projects,” says Mohit Gujral, whose
Storm Clouds Gather In Most Parts of Country Architects are feeling the chill of an economic recession and the effects of the U.S. subprime crisis. Despite an estimated 2.2 percent drop in GDP in 2008, a decrease in housing starts, and a reluctance on the part of banks to lend, design firms large and small are hoping to wait out the storm. Due to its dependence on foreign financing, speculative housing has been particularly hard hit, falling 5.8 percent in December from the year before. As a result, developers are going bankrupt and projects are dying. Image courtesy PAE Design
Construction Grinds to a Halt Burdened by a meltdown in its overheated real estate market, Spain has been severely affected by the world financial crisis, and its architects are feeling the pinch. The boom in housing construction, fueled over the past decade by low European Union interest rates, was dealt a fatal blow by the crisis this past fall. According to the Madrid College of Architects, a professional association, permits for new construction virtually came to a halt in 2008. Paloma Sabrini, head of the organization, estimates that at a national level, the market will require three years to absorb
Sverre Fehn Sverre Fehn, the prominent Norwegian architect, died on February 23. He was 84. Fehn, known for fusing Modernism with traditional Scandinavian architecture, was the recipient of many of the profession’s highest honors, including the Pritzker Prize, which he received in 1997. In the Pritzker award citation, juror Ada Louise Huxtable lauded Fehn’s work for its “extraordinary richness, perception, and quality” and said it “represents the best of 20th century Modernism.” After graduating from the Oslo School of Architecture in 1949, Fehn joined a group of designers devoted to finding a uniquely Norwegian expression of Modernism. In 1954, he
RSS