Future Architects Front and RIBA Demands

Future Architects Front challenged the architecture profession to talk more directly about unpaid overtime, low pay, role clarity and the treatment of architectural assistants. Whether someone agrees with every demand or not, the issues are hard to ignore.

In this Architecture Social conversation, Stephen Drew speaks with Charlie Edmonds about why the campaign pushed RIBA and the wider profession to take working conditions seriously.

Watch: Future Architects Front and RIBA demands

This conversation is direct, but the useful point is practical: what should architectural assistants, practices and professional bodies do when the work culture is not working?

Listen: unpaid overtime, role clarity and reform

The audio version gives more room to the campaign context, the pressure on architectural assistants and the kind of changes being argued for.

You can also open the related Architecture Social podcast page.

What the campaign was really about

The central point was not just frustration. It was accountability. If architectural assistants are expected to carry serious responsibility, work long hours and absorb pressure, then the profession has to be honest about pay, support and progression.

• Unpaid overtime should not be normalised as proof of commitment.
• Architectural assistant roles need clearer expectations and boundaries.
• Pay and progression should be easier to understand.
• Professional bodies, practices and educators all shape the culture people enter.

Why architectural assistant roles matter

Part I and Part II roles are often where people learn the habits of practice. If the first years of work teach people that exhaustion is normal, it damages confidence, retention and trust in the profession.

That is a recruitment issue too. Candidates compare practices based on salary, workload, learning, mentoring and whether the opportunity feels honest.

What practices can take from it

• Write job adverts that explain responsibility, support and salary clearly.
• Track whether overtime is occasional or structural.
• Make mentoring and feedback visible, not accidental.
• Do not rely on passion to excuse poor planning.
• Give junior staff a route to learn without being left to sink or swim.

Common mistakes

• Treating overtime as a personality test.
• Writing vague assistant roles and hoping candidates decode the expectations.
• Assuming low pay is balanced by prestige.
• Waiting until people leave before asking what went wrong.

Architecture Social view

Stephen’s recruiter view is that fairer expectations help both sides. Candidates can make better decisions, and practices are more likely to keep people who understand what they are joining.

Next step

If you are applying, compare job adverts for salary clarity, progression and workload signals. If you are hiring, check whether your role description would make sense to the person you actually want to attract.