Five years ago to the week, the UK was plunged into the first of two Covid lockdowns; a response to an unprecedented type of force majeure event. The lockdowns altered lives all over the world in different and often fundamental ways – schoolchildren, parents, and teachers had to get used to homeschooling; people conversed via Zoom; while businesses of all kinds reeled from a sudden halt to productivity, customers, and contracts. A new word and concept – furlough – entered the lexicon.
The profession of architecture was no different - architects worked from bedrooms or single-person isolation stations in the office (if they were working at all and had not been furloughed). Meetings and team collaboration went virtual and remote working arrangements went from infrequent to the norm. Sadly, some practices didn’t survive, but others changed the way they worked and survived.
Five years on from that first Covid lockdown, many things have changed since the spring and summer of 2020. To mark the anniversary and to find out what the learning lessons were, RIBA asked five practices of different sizes from different parts of the country what their memories from this period are, how they met the challenges that were thrust upon them, and what - if anything - they have retained.
Then sole trader Stefanie Stead - Director of Otley-based Stead & Co - suddenly found herself a work-at-home parent, while Bev Dockray, co-founder of Coppin Dockray in north London, felt like a self-confessed “tag-team” parent. Conservation architect Adam Grant had actually set up Norton Studios in Letchworth only a month before lockdown; Managing Director Sarah Tunnicliffe was in Norwich with Hudson Architects; and Katie Atkinson, People Lead (Europe) at Grimshaw, had different types of challenges to navigate because of the size of practice.
How did your practice adapt during the lockdown period, and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
Stefanie Stead: “My two greatest challenges were childcare and workload. In a way, childcare was doable – my son was only 18 months so I didn't have to deal with home schooling. However, the biggest challenge was that I was so busy. Work was really coming in and I had no support at that time. I wasn't able to access the furlough grant as I didn't have premises, which I would have used to invest in a person. I genuinely feel quite bitter about that. I know so many practices that didn't need the money and just put it into savings, and I really needed it but because I worked from home, I didn't qualify.”
Bev Dockray: “The biggest challenge for us and our staff during lockdown was managing a very busy period in the office with looking after young children at home and helping them with homeschooling. During the first lockdown we were detailing a large project for tender so we were incredibly busy trying to get this work completed without causing delay to the project.
Everyone’s experience of lockdown was different – friends who were furloughed experienced a not always welcome slowdown in the pace of life, but for us it was the opposite. Having two working parents at home meant around the clock working as a tag team; passing childcare and learning back and forth so that we could get as much ‘office’ work done as possible. For us, as for many working parents, it was a tricky and exhausting time.”
Adam Grant: “I started as a sole trader. Creating a new business on my own without the usual face-to-face networking and friendships was tough. The amazing RIBA East Small Practices group that Sasha Edmonds (Liv Architects) and Luke Butcher (BBA Architects) set up with the assistance of Juliet Talbot from RIBA was a lifeline.”
Sarah Tunnicliffe: “Our IT infrastructure wasn’t fully set up for remote working. We had to quickly change the way we accessed our BIM software and how phone calls were handled. We also had to ensure our network could cope with almost everyone working from home. The initial furlough process was a challenge to manage, with only the choice of being furloughed or not raising concerns with those still working facing possible burnout. Many projects were put on hold and construction sites closed, which resulted in a lack of income with overheads still to pay.”
Katie Atkinson: “The transition to working remotely happened very quickly but was surprisingly easy. We had recently rolled Zoom out across the practice and had structures in place to enable remote working but there was still some infrastructure changes around running certain programmes and enabling access to our servers. It was fascinating to see the speed of change ripple across the industry, lessons were learned and best practice shared which meant adapting was far quicker. Our biggest practice challenge at the time was that one of our largest projects went on hold but when the furlough scheme was confirmed this enabled us to retain staff and over time new roles emerged and individuals were released from furlough. Operationally, we also had to, on a daily basis, monitor our resourcing and financial planning with limited ability to plan beyond the next two-three weeks at a time.”
What aspects of your workflow had to change the most during that time?
Bev Dockray: “We have a small practice of people who have worked together for many years. Since we founded Coppin Dockray in 2012, we’ve successfully managed to work remotely, which has suited us well and was considered quite an unusual structure for practice at that time. We have always found that we communicate and design very well together. This meant that when the pandemic restrictions were introduced, our working day remained largely unchanged as we were fortunate to have remote systems up and running already.”
Katie Atkinson: “The daily flow of work changed a lot with all meetings moving online, virtual design meetings supported, and particular actions put in place to ensure everyone was able to participate effectively. Other processes become more formalised to ensure that specific needs and actions were recognised, taken, and supported. Leadership meetings became more frequent than before, team check ins and one-to one meetings were formalised to ensure a duty of care. Significantly, meeting new people for employment interviews or project and competition interviews all had to be done remotely.”
Stefanie Stead: “Not too much changed. I had always had flexible hours, they just became more flexible!”
Were there specific projects that evolved or adapted because of pandemic related restrictions?
Bev Dockray: “We were lucky that our workflow wasn’t affected by Covid. It did, however, affect projects on site as some materials became unavailable. We spent a lot of time researching alternative materials and products that were available to see whether substitutions could be made. The fluctuations in material prices affected the contractors we worked with over this period and we did try to help by looking at alternative timber species, for example, where there would be little impact on aesthetics and durability.”
Adam Grant: “Luckily not – the project I had on site at the time was a timber frame farmhouse external repair project. The contractor was a father and son who lived together, which simplified matters.”
Sarah Tunnicliffe: “There was a reduction in typical architectural work and an increase in finance, IT, administrative, and supporting services. Project programmes had to be adjusted to respond to the availability of staff. Our focus was on delivering later stage work, as earlier stage projects were put on hold and there was a lack of new work.”
Stefanie Stead: “The Fitzherbert Community Hub in Brighton really came into its own. It was sort of on the cards the year before, and we were questioning whether a northern team could do a project on the south coast, but then lockdown came along and we were all forced online. It proved that we didn't need weekly meetings in person. It set the tone for the project going forward (and the follow up project) and we just adapted. Since kids and dogs turned up on Teams calls, we all got to know each other really well, and a really solid client/design team developed.”
Katie Atkinson: “The obvious changes were within the workplace and housing sector design, an evolution that is still recognised today, as we all operate in a more hybrid working/living environment. We also managed to secure projects despite the whole selection process happening remotely.”
Find out more about regional RIBA events, networking meet-ups, and peer support.
How did you maintain collaboration between team members and clients while working remotely?
Stefanie Stead: “WhatsApp came into its own and we use G Suite (Google Apps) so collaboration in terms of documentation worked well.”
Bev Dockray: “Like everyone else, we were not able to have face-to-face client and design team meetings and this is where we felt the impact on our work, because we were no longer able to sit around a table together. For all the benefits of online calling, there are some meetings that are always better done face-to-face.”
Sarah Tunnicliffe: “Team members were flexible in using their own IT and communications equipment until appropriate equipment was available. Using Microsoft Teams and Zoom ensured it was easy to continue to meet with clients. We ensured the office remained safely open for team members who were unable to work from home due to poor internet connection – unfortunately not all areas of Norfolk have adequate internet speed.”
Were there any unexpected benefits or creative breakthroughs that emerged from remote working?
Bev Dockray: “In our view, one of the most positive changes that came about during lockdown was that it became a little easier to be a working parent.
In many online meetings over that period, clients, contractors and consultants would often have children in the background or even occasionally in the foreground.”
Stefanie Stead: “I had to take my son to meetings (on site or online) so he became part of the team. He won us work, and on the two occasions where he lost me work, it proved they weren't the clients for us. The whole process taught me that it was absolutely fine to be a working parent, that children are here to stay, that clients are relieved that they can work round their own families as well, and we are now known as being a super family-friendly practice.”
Bev Dockray: “We think this helped us all collectively to appreciate that the people we work with have lives and commitments outside of work. Our practice structure of hybrid and remote working is also no longer considered unusual, and we no longer need to explain it to others. We could not have imagined that pre-Covid.”
Adam Grant: “I started the practice a few months before Covid and had already decided that I would ensure that as the practice grew, remote working would be possible. With a young family, flexibility was key.”
Katie Atkinson: “Access to flexible working for all employees was always part of our working practices but with lockdown it came into practice more often and the effectiveness of the policy is evident. Also remote and location-based working. There has become more flexibility in where individuals live in relation to studio, recognising the ability to work remotely.
Personal, deeper relationships were built across the practice, and there were higher levels of inclusivity for those unable to be present in our studio. We all know the lockdown impact on parents but the opportunity to take the shared parental leave allowance has been very welcome.”
Are there tools, processes, or habits that your practice has kept post-lockdown?
Stefanie Stead: “Better spreadsheets that prioritise work. Before, it was all in my head or in a list, but having clear priorities in very constricted working hours meant that productivity went up.”
Adam Grant: “We are now a team of five and still work primarily remotely, but we meet up two or three times a week in a hired meeting space at a wedding venue.”
Katie Atkinson: “There has been a reduction in business travel as remote working has shown to be effective in many instances. Our IT infrastructure is now entirely cloud based to enable easier remote access. Elsewhere, online recruitment interviews have made the hiring process a lot quicker for both the business and the candidates.”
How has your approach to office space, hybrid working, or team dynamics evolved?
Stefanie Stead: “While everyone else was moving back home, I moved out and set up a proper office with people. It was the best thing I did. In terms of hybrid working, the practice has always been flexible, but clients are now more receptive to us being flexible. They understand that if we're not available, we're not available. And likewise, we're working around them too.”
Adam Grant: “I wanted the practice to offer flexibility to team members, and our hybrid flexibility works well. We treat Teams calls as quick chats between the team as if we were in the office together.”
Sarah Tunnicliffe: “We’ve recognised that our office space is still important to maintain collaborative working, as well as highlighting that tacit knowledge is gained by being in a workplace, particularly for our junior team members. However, the ability to work remotely is incredibly beneficial for the days team members need to work from home.”
Katie Atkinson: “While we adapted our office immediately during Covid to allow for social distancing there is still a consideration to how people want to come together more effectively and we have adapted our spaces to accommodate this with different (not always closed) environments to collaborate. We now offer a greater variety of spaces - individual booths for calls, small booths for groups of two-to-four people, standing tables, less traditional workstations, and moved to hot desking, quiet zones. We also established meeting guidelines to ensure that everyone’s voice was heard, this is something that we have continued to do to the benefit of everyone in the studio.”
What’s one positive change you wouldn’t have predicted before lockdown that’s now part of your practice’s identity?
Katie Atkinson: “The change in how we interacted with each other and looked after each other during the pandemic has created positive change. Everyone has a voice and is encouraged to use it, we prioritise mental health and a healthy work life balance and have created and advocated for progressive lines of communication across all levels of the studio.”
Sarah Tunnicliffe: “The ability to work nationwide and internationally has become easier.”
Adam Grant: “I think it is having flexibility and autonomy for the team – letting them flourish in what they do, and being mindful of how work life can acutely impact your own health, be it mental or physical health. Having been through difficult times myself, I am now very aware of the pressures I put on the team.”
Stefanie Stead: “That family matters. We are known as being very child friendly – we design for families and communities. Also, that it’s ok to say ‘no’ to clients who don’t get that.”
Thanks to Stefanie Stead, Director, Stead & Co; Bev Dockray, co-founder, Coppin Dockray; Adam Grant, Norton Studios; Sarah Tunnicliffe, Managing Director, Hudson Architects; Katie Atkinson, People Lead Europe), Grimshaw.
Text by Neal Morris and Paul Hirons. This is a Professional Feature edited by the RIBA Practice team. Send us your feedback and ideas.
RIBA Core Curriculum topic: Business, clients, and services.
As part of the flexible RIBA CPD programme, professional features count as microlearning. See further information on the updated RIBA CPD core curriculum and on fulfilling your CPD requirements as a RIBA Chartered Member.
This article was amended on 21/3/25.
