UK architect Foster + Partners has suggested that it may leave its London home due to Brexit.
Less than a quarter of the staff at the firm’s London headquarters are UK nationals, and Foster + Partners are concerned about the reduced draw London will have on the best architectural talent when the UK leaves the EU.
Matthew Streets, Foster + Partners’ managing partner, said in an interview with the Architect’s Journal: "We don’t want to leave London, but we – like any business – would have to consider that.
"If Brexit means we can’t attract world talent then we would have to go to somewhere where we can.
The interior of Bloomberg’s City of London HQ (Foster + Partners)
"Bluntly, the government needs to give us some more clarity on residency, immigration and on the framework for professional services."
Some of Foster’s clients are experiencing similar doubts. Speaking about their Foster + Partners designed headquarters in London last year, media agency Bloomberg said it may not have commissioned the £1bn project had they known about Brexit.
Image: A Foster + Partners’ office (Foster + Partners)
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Foster and his company are great ambassadors for the UK and in various ways here and worldwide are generators of employment- not sure why ‘good riddance’ – do tell.
Good riddance to Carillion and all the companies, clients and individuals they’ve ruined along the way, but surely any company of good reputation and high talent needs to be encouraged to stay in the UK.
Whether pro- or anti- Brexit, the incompetence of the UK government and the churlish pique of the European negotiators is just doing irreparable damage to our international businesses.
Brexiteers don’t care about anything. As long as they get rid of Johnny Foreigner, up yours to all the consequences.
I wonder where they think they will find such a vibrant works space outside of London ?
Not Europe that’s for sure (and I work here) tax’s and employment laws prohibit work to be frank and they don’t seem to be moving forward, mass unemployment and a 2 hour lunch !! Also as I remember we where brining in people from all over the world before you joined the EU dictatorship and I’m sure nothing will change after we leave !!
Get a grip of yourself you halfwit. Shall we get rid of everyone with something to offer, so that you can dream of the New Empire?
That says it all. “You don’t care” . You’re a very sad person.
Good Riddance to them – we don’t care no matter how much they think we should – good luck over there.
75% of Foster + Partners are non-UK nationals… so, what has happened here is either UK architects are not good enough for employment at F+P or it is much cheaper for F+P to recruit internationally for ‘talent’- thus abandoning the UK talent pipeline and leaving local architects excluded from employment and UK architecture schools wondering where they got it wrong.
Do the same demographics show up in architecture school academic grades? Do foreign students claim 75% of the B+, B and A grades for Design achievement?
See ya and good luck.
This is undemocratic political posturing under the guise of singular business interest.
One of the principles of Brexit is that we take control of our immigration, and especially that we don’t continue to prejudice non-EU nationals in favour of EU nationals; especially qualified ones.
If Fosters can demonstrate that they can’t get enough native talent (despite earnest efforts) then the new rules ought to allow them to put forward justification for recruiting inward from a global resource base.
It’s not enough to perpetuate a hollow scare tactic; lobby positively for the right future policy and encourage the development and education of our own skills.
What a shame Helena has a closed mind, the whole of the UK building industry could learn from the EU, especially the building services section, I have spent my life in that section, and whilst the EU is not perfect, about the only part the UK is slightly in advance of the EU, is in sanitation