David Chipperfield Architects bounces back to £2m profit

According to the company’s report and accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023, the practice also posted a record turnover of £16.1 million. This is a £3.7 million hike – or 30 per cent increase – in fee income from the £12.33 million made in 2022, at the time the highest annual income ever reported by the company.

Fees per architect also rose again – to an extra £36,000 per head, taking the individual fee income up to £198,468.

The company’s workforce increased, too, from an average of 109 employees in 2022 to 121 last year. Of these, 81 are described as ‘architectural staff’.

The largest regional growth for the practice came in North and South America, where fees rose from £2.5 million to £7.4 million.

According to a statement published with the accounts, last year the company began work in earnest on its 2022 competition-winning scheme for a Can$430 million (£270 million) mixed-use Precinct Block 2 for the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa.

The practice also bagged a ‘substantial direct commission in the United States for a private client’. The report states: ‘Both of these projects, together with the continuation of existing projects globally of varying scale and scope, has ensured a return to profitability.’

However, the company, whose London studio is set to move to a new West End base, adds: ‘The economic risks in the UK and the world economy remain a concern; staff retention is a risk as the international staff base is impacted by the increased cost of living in London and the UK.’

Meanwhile a decision has not yet been made on David Chipperfield Architects’ and Feix&Merlin’s ‘set piece’ building for The London School of Economics. In February the design team submitted minor tweaks to the scheme, known as the Firoz Lalji Global Hub, following comments from the Westminster Design Review Panel.

The directors did not recommend payment of a final dividend. The salary of the highest-paid director, who is not named, went up from £192,155 to £243,323.