Autumn’s recovery in architects’ workload expectations has come to a definitive end as the resurgence of covid-19 and the second national lockdown take their toll on the sector, the latest RIBA Future Trends survey has found.

Workload expectations dropped from an index figure of +9 in October to zero in November, the lowest since June and the first fall seen since April at the height of the pandemic when the figure nosedived to -82.

The findings are a stark contrast to October’s survey, which was unexpectedly optimistic as the sector fought to get back on its feet after lockdown restrictions were eased over the summer and construction output staged a dramatic 41.7% rebound in the third quarter of the year.

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