One in four practices has had work put on hold in the three months to May, according to the latest RIBA Future Trends Survey.
The monthly healthcheck on the architecture profession also revealed that optimism had fallen, with slow economic growth, rising inflation and a war in Ukraine overshadowing business prospects. Even so, nearly a third (30 per cent) of practices said they still expect workloads to increase in the next three months, compared with just
11 per cent which thought the amount of work would shrink.
The survey reveals that 26 per cent of practices reported having at least one project put on hold in design stages, while 17 per cent say they have had one or more projects abandoned in the past three months. Almost a fifth of practices say they have had a project put on hold during the construction stages. A further three per cent reported projects being abandoned completely at this stage.
However, reports of stalled or abandoned projects arise mostly from smaller practices, which suggests they are likely domestic. Large and medium-sized practices ‘remain firmly positive about future workload’, with 52 per cent of larger practices expecting workloads to grow.
