Foster + Partners remains the UK’s largest employer for architects, but second-place BDP is getting closer, according to the latest Architects Journal survey.

The annual bellwether survey conducted just before the corona crisis hit the UK revealed that 2019 was another stable year for the country’s major practices, with both architects and revenues both marginally increasing.

It is clear that the economic and business landscape has changed significantly since the data was completed at the beginning of the year. The RIBA recently forecast job losses in nearly a third of architectural practices over the next three months and recently sent some of the workers on leave due to the coronavrius.

As the blockade subsides, the AJ100 findings provide an intriguing snapshot of the state of the profession before Covid-19 and provide a new insight into how climate change is addressed with this year’s 104 practices.
Norman Foster

According to the data, the workforce of Norman Foster grew making it number one in the rankings for the ninth consecutive year.

The practice employed 381 qualified architects in the UK at the time the latest figures were collected, up 19 from the 362 reported last year. Meanwhile, BDP had 361 architects on the books, up 31 from the 330 the previous year. The difference between the two is now only 20. In 2016, the gap between the agencies was more than 130.

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris has returned to third place – a position it last held in 2015 – with a leap forward over Zaha Hadid Architects. The company reported 285 qualified architects, up from 19 since the previous results were announced.