When unveiled a few months ago, the federal economic stimulus bill tantalizingly hinted at heaps of jobs for architects building schools and retrofitting federal buildings to make them more energy efficient. The $787 billion version that ultimately became law in mid-February, though, had fewer opportunities for design professionals, at least explicitly, as lawmakers had pared it along the way to garner support. Specifically, school construction-aid was removed from the final bill. Photo ' Danielle Austen/Architectural Record Ideas for how the federal government can help create work for architects have been discussed during recent forums at the Center for Architecture in
Like thousands of architects today, Merritt Palminteri is out of work, a victim of the severe economic downturn. “Every single job we had last year was put on hold,” says Palminteri of her former firm, New York’s Anik Pearson Architect. Even though she saw the writing on the wall, it was no use: her headhunter was laid off, too. “It was kind of ridiculous,” says Palminteri. Photo ' Paul Warchol/courtesy Architecture Research Office The Princeton School of Architecture (pictured above) has seen a 50 percent increase in applications this year. Now, like many of her colleagues, the 29-year-old is applying
Like thousands of architects today, Merritt Palminteri is out of work, a victim of the severe economic downturn. “Every single job we had last year was put on hold,” says Palminteri of her former firm, New York’s Anik Pearson Architect. Even though she saw the writing on the wall, it was no use: her headhunter was laid off, too. “It was kind of ridiculous,” says Palminteri. Photo ' Paul Warchol/courtesy Architecture Research Office The Princeton School of Architecture (pictured above) has seen a 50 percent increase in applications this year. Now, like many of her colleagues, the 29-year-old is applying
Like thousands of architects today, Merritt Palminteri is out of work, a victim of the severe economic downturn. 'Every single job we had last year was put on hold,' says Palminteri of her former firm, New York's Anik Pearson Architect. Even though she saw the writing on the wall, it was no use: her headhunter was laid off, too. 'It was kind of ridiculous,' says Palminteri. Photo ' Paul Warchol/courtesy Architecture Research Office The Princeton School of Architecture (pictured above) has seen a 50 percent increase in applications this year. Now, like many of her colleagues, the 29-year-old is applying
Like thousands of architects today, Merritt Palminteri is out of work, a victim of the severe economic downturn. 'Every single job we had last year was put on hold,' says Palminteri of her former firm, New York's Anik Pearson Architect. Even though she saw the writing on the wall, it was no use: her headhunter was laid off, too. 'It was kind of ridiculous,' says Palminteri. Photo ' Paul Warchol/courtesy Architecture Research Office The Princeton School of Architecture (pictured above) has seen a 50 percent increase in applications this year. Now, like many of her colleagues, the 29-year-old is applying
The construction industry should brace for a steep drop in business over the next six months, according to the latest Consensus Construction Forecast, released in January by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The semi-annual forecast, which is compiled in conjunction with top economists, predicts that there will be an average 11.1 percent drop in non-residential construction spending in the first half of 2009. The rate is more than 10 times that of the last six months of 2008, when non-residential construction output was forecasted to dip 1.2 percent, for the first decrease in years. In the current forecast, which
As the ongoing recession eviscerates college endowments, even at those schools whose investment gains during the boom years were legendary, it is stalling ambitious construction projects. One recent casualty is Yale. The Ivy League school, which is the nation’s second richest university, lost 25 percent of its endowment over six months, from $22.9 billion to $17 billion, and so has shelved multiple plans for new buildings and renovations, many involving brand-name architects. Construction of a new 246,000-square-foot business school designed by Foster + Partners, which was to be completed by fall 2011, has been postponed “until funding is secured or
In moves that will surprise no one who has followed the barrage of grim economic news, architecture firms across the country are laying off workers at unprecedented levels. Over the past few months, Perkins Eastman, one of the country’s largest firms, has let go 10 percent of its staff, or about 80 of 800 employees, according to Bradford Perkins, FAIA, firm chairman. “It’s very unfortunate when this happens,” says Perkins, adding that the cuts are the deepest in the firm’s 24-year history. Meanwhile, FXFOWLE cut six percent of its staff in October, leaving 185 in New York and 15 in
On December 6, President-elect Barack Obama revealed key elements of his sweeping economic-recovery plan, part of which calls for building roads, greening federal offices, and making schools more high-tech, all of which should bode well for those in the design and construction industries. Photo ' Tannen Maury/EPA/Corbis Barack Obama's economic-recovery plan calls for building roads, greening federal offices, and making schools more high-tech, all of which could bode well for architects. “This has to be great news for architects,” says Robert Dunphy, who studies infrastructure issues for the Urban Land Institute, based in Washington, D.C. Advocates have made the case
In recent, years, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has stepped up its advocacy efforts in Washington on behalf of the design profession. With Barack Obama taking office in January, the association is anticipating more legislative victories in the next four years, from an administration that appears to have architects’ best interests at heart, says Andrew Goldberg, the AIA’s chief lobbyist. Photo ' Happyme22/Wikipedia With Barack Obama taking office in January, the AIA is anticipating more legislative victories in the next four years, from an administration that appears to have architects' best interests at heart. Though details are lacking, the