WA100 2026: The best get better

Despite volatile times, architects are the most optimistic they’ve been about prospects for the year ahead since the post-covid bounce of 2022. Although optimism on growth dropped sharply back in 2023, this has steadily increased each year to almost match that of 2019. This is reflected in the number of architects employed by the world’s 100 biggest practices, which grew by 8.2% over the year. As in previous years, the expansion of the top 10 firms was proportionately greater than the rest as their numbers increased by 35% over 2025. All the signs are that this trend will continue in the year ahead, as our recruitment survey shows 40% of firms expect to hire 11-30 architects this year and 20% to hire more than 50 architects. 

A closer look at the data shows a more mixed picture of some sectors and regions performing strongly and others less so. Arcadis dropped from second to third place in the rankings, thanks to a fall of over 100 architects, the biggest reduction among the top 10 firms. Arcadis has been affected by a slowdown in the North American residential market, whereas firms operating in sectors such as technology, healthcare and aviation have done well. Second-placed HDR, which displaced Arcadis into third place, reports that growth in demand for healthcare facilities, a sector in which it specialises, has been particularly strong. 

Optimism about already strong markets has increased this year in North America, where 57% of architects are positive about growth prospects, and in the Middle East, where the figure is 85%. Central Asia including India is also strong with 81% of architects expecting growth, while 71% say the same about Africa – both up on 2025.

Optimism about already strong markets has increased… On the flip side, optimism about already weak markets has slumped even more

On the flip side, optimism about already weak markets has slumped even more. Optimism about growth in Western Europe, which has been perceived as the weakest market by architects for several years, dropped from 41% last year to 35% for 2026. Optimism in the Pacific Rim, which includes China, has ticked up this year from last year’s 41% to 49%. But many architects in our survey have all but given up on China as a growth market, with many Western firms pulling out of the country and Chinese firms looking for work outside in places like the Middle East. This is unlikely to change soon, as the new five-year plan focuses investment into electric vehicles and battery technology, robotics and AI. Real estate, which enjoyed a long boom followed by the bust over five years ago, doesn’t get a look in.

What are the risks that could dent architects’ optimism about 2026? When asked this question, architects identified negative macro-economic conditions impacting on the markets in which they operate as the biggest risk. Following closely behind, and inextricably linked, were concerns about the impact of geopolitical events including tariffs and potential conflicts. Attracting and retaining staff was identified as the third-biggest risk.

Architects are right to identify geopolitical risks as their top concern as the world fragments into three power blocs – China, the US and Russia – jostling for supremacy. Europe has been left to its own devices militarily by Trump and is also economically weak, thanks to bloated welfare spending, growth-stifling levels of taxation and regulation, and political leadership too weak to tackle these challenges. It is no surprise that 64% of architects expect stagnation or decline in Western Europe in the coming year. Much of China’s huge investment into electric vehicles will end up being dumped in Europe as it is frozen out of the US by tariffs, further undermining European car manufacturing. 

Although the US looks solid, the risk is it has placed all its eggs into the AI basket, and for architects specifically the boom in data centres. US growth would be almost stagnant without the technology boom – growth of 4.3% in the three months to September was almost entirely driven by investment in data centres and consumer spending, thanks to soaring technology company stock market valuations. Relying on growth from one sector is always going to be risky, particularly as there are widespread concerns the AI bubble could pop at any time.

Is the AI hype inflated, potentially leading to a crash? Although it is hard to say if the benefits are overstated, architects are making the most of AI. Many firms have established dedicated teams to develop their own AI tools and to embed these and those that are commercially available into their organisations. Firms are using generative design tools that test hundreds of possibilities in minutes, and the technology helps produce sophisticated visualisations that enable clients to more closely experience what spaces might be like, building confidence in the final product. There are many other applications – AI automates repetitive tasks, helps with administration and the translation of documents, and in streamlining building regulation and code compliance. What is notable is not a single practice said technology would replace architects; rather, it could automate dull tasks and support better designs without replacing the invaluable contribution of skilled designers. This, and the impact AI is having on other professions, suggest that it is very much here to stay and architects who aren’t making the most of the benefits risk losing competitive advantage.

Thomas Lane, WA100 editor

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