Tim O’Callaghan of nimtim architects asks why salaries and fees have stagnated while the profession’s responsibilities have increased – and when will architects value themselves properly?
Wealdstone Youth Workshop in London, 2018. Photograph: Thomas Adank
Words by Nisha Kurian
Here in the UK, architecture as a profession is predominantly white, male and middle class. To be anything other than this means you often feel like an outsider. In my experience this gets worse the longer you’ve been in the industry. Under-representation of BAME people and women, especially in more senior positions, is a huge issue.
The problem of a lack of diversity in architecture starts early, with the level of exposure to or interaction with the profession. If you don’t have any contact with architects in your lifetime, as the majority of people outside of our professional bubble don’t, then it may not even occur to you that a career in architecture is an option.