The Stirling prize goes to the Everyman theatre
Behind the glamour, Europe's architectural profession is going through rapid change
AT A glitzy £180 ($288) a head reception held on October 16th, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) declared that the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool (pictured) by Haworth Tompkins had won this year's Stirling prize, Britain's most prestigious award for architects' buildings. It had fought off a tough set of competing designs, which included Zaha Hadid's London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic games and the Shard, Britain's tallest skyscraper. The glamour of the six buildings shortlisted for the award may at first make the architecture business seem that it is going from strength to strength. But behind the glitz is an industry suffering from shrinking demand and rapid structural change.
The market for architectural services in Britain and across Europe has been hit hard since the financial crisis. Between 2008 and 2012 the sector shrank by 28% according to the Architects Council of Europe (ACE), an industry body—much faster than falls in GDP or construction output. In Britain, architects suffered much worse, as the demand for their services shrank by as much as 40%, the RIBA reckons.