Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
How are architects faring as we head into the second wave of the pandemic" Two surveys in late August?one by the Ontario Association of Architects, the other by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada?took the pulse of the profession.
401 members responded to the OAA?s survey, 79 percent of whom work in practices of two or more people. The survey found that 38 percent of practices were able to take advantage of government programs to maintain staff levels during the first months of the pandemic. Many respondents saw an initial drop in work, but business picked up over the summer. Overall, 34 percent experienced a decline in business, 28 percent saw no overall impact, and 15 percent had more work than usual?particularly in healthcare projects. In Quebec, Nicolas Demers-Stoddart of Provencher_Roy says that healthcare work allowed his firm to avoid layoffs. ?We?ve taken on projects that helped us push through, like rapid and temporary hospitals,? he says. ?It speaks to the resilience and the capacity of the firm,? adds colleague Caroline Jerabek. ?It?s satisfying to be helping out the first responders in the health sector.?
Ex-urban home design is another area that is faring well. ?In some ways, we?re busier than before,? says Omar Gandhi, who heads offices in Halifax and Toronto. ?People have become faster and bigger dreamers,? he says, noting that house clients have moved long-term projects to a shorter-term horizon.
At the end...