From Public Service to Private Practice The Centre for Urban and Built Ecologies

The relationship between the architectural profession and the public and private sectors has changed significantly since the end of the war. In 1953, the London County Council (LCC) Architecture department was the largest in the country, employing 1,577 people, including 350 professional architects and trainees. During that time, 45% of architects in Britain worked in the public sector. 

Today, fewer than 1% of architects work in the public sector. Over the years, there has been a significant change in the role of the state and the private sector in shaping the built environment, impacting how architects practice. The reasons for these shifts and the evolving nature of the profession are not well-researched. 

This project aims to address a gap by producing a book and a podcast. The book will explore the changing relationship of the architectural profession with the public and private sectors in Britain after the Second World War. The podcast will feature historians and practicing architects discussing their experiences in public and private employment. The aim is to examine what the profession can learn from its history and what history can understand from contemporary practice.