Business as Usual was conceived during lockdown, when “essential” construction sites stayed open, COVID-19 struck workers hardest, and the profession’s old routines felt untenable. Delivered as a four-part strand of the Architecture Foundation’s 100 Day Studio, the workstream interrogates the status quo of practice, asking where architects hold power, where they are complicit, and how they might drive structural change instead of business-as-usual outcomes.
- WORK, delivered on day 34 of 100 Day Studio, opened the series with organisers from the #ShutSitesDown campaign, UVW-SAW and Forum, unpacking labour rights, site safety and the limits of architectural influence during the pandemic.
- CLIMATE, delivered on day 44 of 100 Day Studio, brought Seetal Solanki (Ma-tt-er), Kat Scott (Architects Declare, LETI, ACAN) and Julian Siravo (Common Wealth) together to link decarbonisation with racial and social justice and to share activist frameworks young practitioners can embed in day-to-day practice.
- The COLOUR of ARCHITECTURE, delivered on day 49 of 100 Day Studio, explored how a more diverse profession reshapes cities, with Gurmeet Sian, Alisha Morenike Fisher and Ken Okonkwo reflecting on the barriers they faced and the platforms they have built.
- COMMUNITY, delivered on day 59 of 100 Day Studio, asked who has the right to live in cities. Mellis Haward, David McEwen and Amandeep Singh Kalra examined rent crises, public-space loss and how grassroots design can defend marginalised neighbourhoods.
Across the talks, live Q&As and shared Miro boards, Business as Usual equipped young architects with hard tactics: union organising, circular-economy checklists, community-ownership models, policy-writing tips, showing how critique can become action even inside the constraints of “essential” work.