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Source:&nbsp AlamyArchitectural headcount in the public sector has nosedived since the 1970s. Yet for those remaining, their impact is significant. Anna Highfield spoke to five architects working in central government about their work Private sector practices know the importance of media coverage, competing fiercely to snatch their share of the limelight. For public sector architects, drastically reduced in numbers since their mid-20th-century heyday, this battle is even trickier.Im not sure that many in the architecture sector know about us, says architect Crawford Wright, head of architecture and design for schools and colleges in the Department for Education (DfE). If it were in the private sector, he says, his 30-strong design team would probably be in the AJ100.Wright has also been integral in re-establishing a cross-departmental Government Architects Network which now boasts 50 members across 13departments.AdvertisementWhile the numbers are not insignificant, theres no denying that the UK public sector is not the architectural powerhouse it once was. In 1976, its workforce included almost half (49 per cent) of all UK architects. By 2017, this figure had plummeted to around 1 per cent in England, according to Public Practices then-chief executive Finn Williams.We get involved in all aspects of construction and not just bureaucracyYet many government departments retain an ambitious core of architects who, like Wright, spend their days grafting to improve the built environment.The opportunity to make a real difference across society is something that doesnt come about working on just a handful of buildings in a career, says Wright, who has been involved in school design for the DfE for 18 years, spearheading it for the pasteight.Wrights challenging role involves leading the team responsible for design and construction standards in schools and colleges in England, assisting design on the DfEs new school programmes, and leading sustainability policy.The team has collaborated on exciting projects, including the worlds first biophilic primary school with Hawkins\Brown and prototypes for low-carbon educational environments with Waugh Thistleton Architects.Advertisement Source:Matthew LingSt Marys Voluntary Catholic Academy, Derby, the worlds first biophilic schoolThe key aspect of his job, he says, is to manage the day-to-day pressures with a long-term view of how things change anddevelop.He notes how dramatically the DfE design team has changed since its inception in the 1940s, when civil servant architects such as David and Mary Medd led post-war schooldesign.Wright says that while headcount in the last 10 years has remained thankfully pretty static at around 30 architects, a major change has been the shift from local government as the main builder of many new schools to the DfE itself, amid a more complex landscape. The work, insists Wright, is far more than just bureaucracy. Fellow civil servant and architect Mark Sykes is equally keen to dispel this myth. The biggest misconception about working in the civil service is that were mainly administrators, he says. Less than two years after joining the public sector, he is far from paper pushing, as head of UK operations for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan a role overseeing the UK Pavilion, including designing, building, operating, maintaining and decommissioning the structure for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). Source:Woo ArchitectsWOO architects 2025 World Expo pavilion for the UKIts an exciting job, enthuses Sykes, who, as far as he is aware, is the DBTs sole architect. Asingle days tasks can range from dealing with major design decisions, and logistics affecting the pace of construction on-site in Osaka, to coordinating what food and drink will be on offer at the pavilion all whilst collaborating with multiple suppliers working across timezones.Sykes had been in private practice for more than a decade, including at HTA Design and Pollard Thomas Edwards, when he joined the civil service in 2021, initially in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).He says adapting to the more rigid structure within government was a culture change but ultimately a rewarding one.The range of experiences Ive had in my short civil service career has been a real eye opener, he says. These have ranged from collaborating with industry experts on construction policy and sitting around heated negotiation tables to Union Jack-bearing at international conferences right at the centre of world events.Right now, the scope of the job makes it a no-brainer for Sykes although he would definitely consider a return to private practice oneday.Skills architects often take for granted problem-solving, strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement make them very sought-after in governmentConversely, Andrew McKay, a space planning manager for DWP Estates in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), says the scope for learning and development in government would make it difficult for me to return to private practice.There are a lot of opportunities for architects with a variety of design, property, technical and even policy roles, says McKay. He is one of five architects in the DWP and says the skills architects often take for granted problem-solving, strategic thinking and effective stakeholder engagement make them very sought-after in government.The former Levitt Bernstein and Hawkins\Brown architect leads a talented design team working across the DWPs huge estate, spanning 800 buildings in England, Scotland and Wales. McKay says tasks can range from producing initial feasibility and concept designs for new Jobcentres and office refurbishments, to being out and about surveying the estate, understanding how colleagues use the space they work in [and] how the department could use space more efficiently.He says the biggest difference is that in private practice I was used to making many design decisions myself and taking the lead on a project from start to finish. [Whereas] in government there is wider team engagement, including with stakeholders, and important governance to follow, before a project can even begin.And change is a constant. In the past three years there have been four different work and pensions secretaries, he says, adding: Regardless of the change, we continue to serve the government of the day without fear or favour, in line with the core value of impartiality as set out in the civil service code.For the MHCLGs head of architecture and urban design, Sarah Allan, sometimes known as the governments chief architect, the draw of the public sector lies in the range and scale of the work, with significantly larger and more complex challenges compared with private practice.Allan leads a team of planners, urban designers, researchers and architects supporting the planning system to ensure that new placemaking policy and guidance not only reflects the governments priorities but also considers how policies and guidance will be implemented.In my role, I have delivered change that affects every building project in EnglandShe says that engaging with stakeholders, particularly to understand how things work in practice, is vital to public sectorwork. Her teams current mission is to improve the speed and consistency with which planning applications are determined, by updating national design guidance and developing digital tools.Allan, whose impressive CV includes several small practices (FAT, Koetter Kim, Satellite Architects), as well as design leadership roles with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and East Hampshire District Council, says she has always enjoyed zooming out and seeing the whole of something rather than focusing on the parts.Like Sykes, she says the shift was an adjustment. It took me some time to understand the boundaries and opportunities of my role in relation to the wider work of the department and the role of ministers, she says.These days, she adds, she has greater autonomy to push a design-led approach to the governments ambitions. Government departments are large and part of the art of working here is navigating your way around to find the right people to help make things happen, she explains.Civil service veteran Luke Turner left behind a run of private practice roles, including Aukett Fitzroy Robinson (now Aukett Swanke) and Haverstock Associates, to join the Foreign Office 19 years ago.The call to public service appealed and I chose not to work for the ambitions of private business owners but to serve the government elected by the people of our country, he says.Turner progressed to become the departments head of architecture and design before moving into planning and housing policy for the MHCLG. Since the Building Safety Act was introduced in 2022, his role has evolved into technical adviser within the new Building Safety Regulator where he develops statutory guidance to support English buildingregulations.Turner says public sector work is the antithesis of being a sole practitioner. Unlike individual projects, he explains, policy change can move the dial of many aspects of all buildings.Indeed, he adds, In my role, I have delivered change that affects every building project inEngland.But while experiences vary, there is one thing all the architects can agree on. I have a great work-life balance, says McKay, mentioning flexible hours, hybrid working, and a nine-day fortnight while Turner mentions flexible and reasonable hours and good pay.My memories of working in practice were bouts of long hours, adds Allan. She still works long hours in the MHCLG but mostly to enjoy quiet problem-solving outside the day-to-day to and fro.So, would the civil servants encourage private practitioners to make the leap?I would encourage any architect with a willingness to serve to work for public service, enthuses Turner, who insists the sector offers amazing and varied opportunity for anyone willing to try different roles.Sykes has witnessed first-hand the impact architects can make to so many areas of focus for government, be it housing and planning policy, schools and hospitals, or even solving the challenges presented by climatechange.One architect who seized this opportunity was the late Beech Williamson, whose 40-year tenure in the DfE design team positively influenced schools across the country for generations of young people.As for making the leap, the civil servants praise initiatives like Public Practice, the growing non-profit organisation that provides a route into the public sector for architects and designers, and has placed 172 UK architects in public sector roles since 2018.Allan describes it as an excellent innovation, helping to build skills and capacity in local authorities crying out for built environment expertise. And Wright even suggests its great work expanding the public sector talent pool could move beyond local authorities to central government.Equally, says McKay, architects in the private sector bring tremendous value to public projects Without having them as part of our professional services team, it would be impossible for the government to refurbish existing buildings and to deliver new, sustainable, inclusive and high-qualitybuildings.Life as a civil servant architect might be more graft and grind than glitz and glamour but it has a work-life balance to make most architects turn green, opportunities in abundance and the chance to effect change at a much greater scale. Architects in the private sector could be forgiven for having their headsturned.2025-02-26Anna Highfieldcomment and share
