The Lewis Partnership view of 2013

Philip Lewis, managing director of the award-winning architectural firm the Lewis Partnership, of South Wales, said -
“Cooperation and partnerships are the words which crop up again and again as we look forward to 2013. Increasingly, we are finding benefits from partnerships and alliances with construction firms and consultancies.
“There is a big drive to produce eco-friendly, sustainable and environmentally-friendly buildings. If you can show evidence that you can work in tandem with other businesses to produce such buildings then your chances of securing more work are greatly improved.
“We are now finding that local authorities are building up alliances which offer greater economy of scale and value for money for the taxpayer.
“For example, the Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea City councils are forging their own new framework organisation to pick key contractors.
“Securing places on local authority frameworks can be crucial. Investment in the right management and workplace principles, continued staff training and development, with the accent on quality, can prove the winning formula.
“We don’t expect to see too much growth in private house building by individuals. Indeed, we have noticed some signs that the number of local authority planning applications are decreasing here in West Wales.
“Larger projects are looking to be confined to local authority and housing association builds as the construction industry in general waits for much-needed stimulus.
“The hunch is that some sort of stimulus will come along in 2014 to set the scene for the next general election.
“We are well placed in West Wales to serve a variety of clients, ranging from historic Aberglasney House in the Tywi Valley to new projects by Pembrokeshire Housing Association.
“Education in the workplace will become more valuable in 2013. As members of RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects), we follow the philosophy of ‘CPD’, continual professional development. Education and training within the workplace is a crucially important tool in making sure individual firms keep their cutting edge.”
The Lewis Partnership of architects was founded in 1995 by partners of established architectural firms based in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Bridgend. The company is one of Carmarthenshire Council’s preferred Architectural Practices in their Building Control Partnering Scheme.
http://www.lewispartnership.co.uk