Six months after the United Kingdom’s surprise decision in June 2016 to leave the European Union, a membership survey by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) revealed the immediate impact on the construction sector: 60 percent of architects had seen work delayed, and 37 percent reported canceled projects. This initial wobble did not turn into a full-blown crash, and the latest data from the influential research firm IHS Markit shows continued expansion in the sector, albeit with slowed growth attributable to Brexit uncertainty. Now, with less than six months remaining until the scheduled withdrawal date of March 2019, the UK’s future economic prospects remain hotly contested, but there is also growing concern that the terms of departure will be damaging to its architectural profession—with one of the country’s most prominent firms, Foster & Partners, even thinking about relocating.
There is, as yet, no agreement on new rules on trade, migration, or regulation to replace those enacted over the last 45 years. For the UK’s construction sector as a whole, this raises the threat of costlier imported materials and labor shortages. More than a quarter of London’s construction workers come from elsewhere in the EU, though the proportion is lower outside the capital. For architects specifically, there are unanswered questions over matters ranging from the mutual recognition of qualifications across the EU to the tariff-free trade in services within the single market.
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