Site Delays and Side-Eyes: What’s Stalling the Studio?
Over the past year, the UK architecture and construction industries have faced unprecedented regulatory and economic pressure. The combined effects of the Building Safety Act 2022, the implementation of Gateways 2 and 3, and deteriorating global market conditions are contributing to a landscape of delayed projects, financial strain, and—most acutely—a growing threat to job security within architectural practice. In the coming months, redundancies are expected across a range of firms, regardless of scale or specialism. This paper reflects on how current reforms intersect with global instability and challenges the profession to critically reassess its systems of resilience.
1. Regulatory Compression: Gateways and the Burden of Compliance
The Building Safety Act was introduced in response to systemic failures brought to light by the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Central to the Act is the creation of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), tasked with overseeing the design and construction of Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs)—defined as residential buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys, as well as hospitals and care homes (RIBA, 2023).
The Act’s Gateway system adds three new regulatory checkpoints across the design and delivery process. These include:
Gateway 1 (planning): Submission of a fire statement at planning stage
Gateway 2 (pre-construction): Full design submission for approval before work can begin
Gateway 3 (completion): Certification that the building meets all safety requirements prior to occupation
While the objective of improving safety and accountability is clear, the practical consequence has been one of deceleration and increased uncertainty. According to the Home Builders Federation (2023), over 60% of developers have reported severe disruption caused by Gateway 2, with many schemes either delayed indefinitely or abandoned due to the opacity of the process and resourcing gaps within the BSR. For small-to-medium-sized developers, in particular, the cost and time burden of regulatory compliance now significantly compromises project viability.
For architectural practices, these delays directly affect workload stability and resourcing. Firms heavily involved in residential delivery—especially mid-rise or high-rise developments—now face increased liability, longer pre-construction phases, and fewer projects reaching site. This disruption is disproportionately impacting early-career architects, design technicians, and those working in compliance-adjacent roles, who are often the first affected by staffing cuts.
2. Market Volatility and Professional Precarity
This regulatory shift is not occurring in isolation. Rather, it compounds existing market volatility triggered by macroeconomic instability, geopolitical conflict, and construction sector contraction. According to the Construction Products Association (2024), UK construction output is projected to fall by 2.1% in 2024, following a similar decline in 2023. Rising interest rates and inflation have suppressed investor appetite, particularly in residential, commercial fit-out, and publicly funded capital projects.
Architectural firms—whose revenues are largely dependent on forward pipelines—now find themselves caught between longer design phases, increased regulatory risk, and diminishing client confidence. While design quality and regulatory compliance are under closer scrutiny, fee structures have not adjusted to reflect the added burden. Consequently, some practices are re-evaluating their staffing models, often resorting to redundancy or hiring freezes to maintain solvency.
This creates a feedback loop of professional precarity, in which talented architects are lost not due to performance, but because of broader structural conditions that devalue the intangible labour required in compliance-heavy environments.
3. Reframing Architectural Resilience
Beyond the project-by-project impact, this moment demands a broader reassessment of what constitutes resilience in architectural practice. The convergence of stringent regulatory obligations and unpredictable market forces is not a temporary phase—it is increasingly a defining feature of contemporary practice.
This situation raises critical questions:
Are our educational systems preparing graduates for the technical and legal competencies now required?
How can professional bodies support small firms in navigating compliance without overburdening them?
What collective action is possible to ensure that regulatory clarity, not opacity, becomes the standard?
Furthermore, there is a cultural question: how can the profession avoid equating architectural value solely with capital return, rather than long-term social performance, safety, and adaptability?
4. Conclusion: Solidarity in Transition
In the short term, redundancies are likely to continue. This moment may feel profoundly disorienting, especially for those at early or mid-career stages. But it is also a time to reaffirm the collective identity of architects as civic contributors, not just service providers. Regulation and reform are essential—but they must be implemented with transparency, proportionality, and collaboration, or risk undermining the very workforce that upholds them.
Firms, educators, institutions, and individuals all have a role to play in easing this transition—whether through open dialogue, knowledge sharing, mentorship, or advocacy for smarter, more inclusive policy.
The profession may be entering a more cautious, compliance-heavy era. But that need not mean one devoid of care, creativity, or community.
Works Cited
Construction Products Association. Spring Forecast 2024: Construction Output to Fall for Second Year in a Row. 18 Apr. 2024, www.constructionproducts.org.uk/news/cpa-spring-forecast-2024-construction-output/.
Home Builders Federation. Building Safety Reforms Pose Significant Threat to Housing Delivery. Dec. 2023, www.hbf.co.uk/news/hbf-building-safety-reforms-pose-significant-threat-to-housing-delivery/.
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Understanding the Building Safety Act. 2023, www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/understanding-the-building-safety-act.
