Architizer's <\/i>diverse jury of global experts<\/i><\/span><\/a> is currently reviewing submissions to<\/em> the <\/i>14th A+Awards<\/i><\/span><\/a>! Sign up to <\/i>receive updates<\/i><\/span><\/a> on Public Voting and spring winner announcements.<\/i><\/i><\/p><\/p>\n The economic impact of the pandemic has been especially devastating for recent graduates and young professionals. For architectural assistants in the United Kingdom, it was the tipping point that made an already tenuous system scarcely recovered from the 2008 recession unbearable. A survey of over 150 architectural assistants by the Future Architects\u2019 Front (FAF)<\/a> captured this frustration and revealed troubling labor practices that are increasingly commonplace: zero-hour contracts, unpaid overtime and below-living wage salaries.<\/p>\n Much of the group\u2019s criticism is aimed squarely at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)<\/a>. FAF blames RIBA for failing to advocate for the interests of emerging architects and regulate its chartered members. In spite of RIBA\u2019s position as the premier organization for British architects, only 4.2 percent of architectural assistants surveyed reported feeling supported by RIBA. These statistics along with specific complaints are laid out in an 18-page formal letter<\/a> that includes over 1500 signatures and an appendix with grievances.<\/p>\n The campaign condensed their concerns into five demands of RIBA:<\/p>\n On the Architecture Social podcast, FAF\u2019s co-founder Charlie Edmonds revealed that RIBA was targeted as it \u201csets the standard of how architectural practices should organize and be run”, and thus possesses the power to set better practices for the industry.<\/p>\n\n
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