The End of Year Blog

Our profession is intrinsically linked to the economy. The economy of central London is affected by both national and global politics. It does not need saying that history will record 2016 as the year when populism took hold throughout  the democratic world, challenging the old political orders. It looks as if 2017 will continue that trend, with elections in France and Germany, and political turmoil in Italy shaking up Europe even more.

This uncertainty affects confidence, which in turn undermines the development and investment markets. As we suspected this time last year, it is not going to get any easier for architects working in these markets.  Property development needs a long term view.  We are still building projects planned and funded two or three years ago. The impact of these times will really start to bite next year.  Funding for new builds will be difficult without a pre let, and pre lets are difficult without a building.  As a result I think we will see a switch to refurbishment and re-imaging of existing buildings.

It is not all gloom, the government will invest in infrastructure projects, with a rapidly growing population, schools, hospitals and housing has to be built. The weaker pound has once again encouraged foreign money, and some significant projects have been committed to in the City of London indicating belief in London as a global financial capital.

The political populism is mirrored at a local level.  We are spending a lot more time and energy discussing our schemes with local communities, action groups and councillors.  Public consultation reflects the concern that many communities have about the pace of change of the last few years. The backlash against the unaffordable is gaining momentum, and this will be reflected with architecture that is perhaps less bombastic, and is more thoughtful and modest. Newport Street Gallery was a worthy Stirling prize winner this year that reflects this trend.

On the face of it 2016 has been a tougher year for S+T, but it has been just as busy and in many ways as successful as the last few years. The larger commercial projects such as 131 Sloane Street, 207 Kings Cross Road, 55 Victoria Street, and Love lane have all completed. In the restaurant and retail our showroom for Clarks opened, as did restaurants for Rick Stein in Marlborough and Chucs in Westbourne Grove. Our work with The Office Group has produced completed projects at Great Portland Street and Eastbourne Terrace, and the private residential sector seems to be holding up well.

40 Beak Street, 15 Bishopsgate, Paul Street, Cannon Bridge House, and Valentine Place SE1 all complete in 2017. We hope that some of the significant planning consents we achieved this year will progress too, and recent months have shown an increase in activity with some great new clients and projects coming into the studio.

So cautious optimism is the watchword for 2017, it will be a difficult year and it will need all of our skills and experience to negotiate our way through.