The Association of Consulting Architects (ACA) hopes to gauge the state of architectural practice as the ramifications of the COVID-19 outbreak on the industry and the wider economy become clearer.
The survey, which was sent to ACA members on Sunday 15 March and is set to close on Tuesday 17 March, is intended as a “pulse check” of the industry as the health crisis escalates. It asks questions about how advanced plans are for responding to the outbreak, how easily work can be undertaken at home, and how the emergency will effect contracts.
In a message to members, ACA National President John Held said, “We need to understand how ACA can help you and your people, and we need to get this information to policymakers over the coming weeks. We’ll probably repeat the survey to gain more data in a few weeks’ time.”
A seperate message from the ACA noted that “Many architects will find that simple directives to ‘work from home’ are not as easy as just unplugging your BIM/CAD workstation from the office and taking it home. Many of your contract agreements won’t necessarily allow for extensions of time, and stimulus packages won’t pay the bills for long if projects are cancelled or delayed.”
Both the ACA and the Australian Institue of Architects have begun posting resources relating to the COVID-19 outbreak. ACA resources relating to employment can be found here, while the Institute is updating its HR Hub portal for members. The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects is running a survey with similar aims to ACAs. The AILA survey can be found here.
Founded in 1987, the ACA represents the interests of architectural employers in industrial matters. It maintains branches in all states and territories.
For more information, go here.
