With the arrival of 2009 the pundits tell us that we are in for a challenging year, or maybe more. Eastabrook Architects was only 5 years old when the recession of 1990 struck and my abiding memory is of a grim month when project after project was cancelled followed by years of hard graft. This time around it feels very different with very low inflation (then it was 15% at least) and even lower interest rates – I remember figures more like 20% then 2%.

So far all our projects are moving ahead but our Contractors are under serious pressure with rates being driven even lower. On one recent project the bona-fide tender figures ranged between £200,000 and £350,000. Our suspicion is that work is now being bought for turnover, never a sustainable position in the long term. We are still being commissioned for our normal diet of wildly varying projects although with not quite the same urgency for execution.

Two projects of particular interest have come from Jesus College, Oxford. This magnificent Grade 1 complex is our first work for the University and it is proving to be very enjoyable, demanding absolute attention to detail. Every action contemplated has to be discussed at length with the City Conservation Officer and every part of the fabric is precious. So far we have worked on the Lower Senior Common Room and the Fellows’ Guest Rooms but we hope that other parts of the building will be entrusted to us in the months and years to come. The photos are of the Lower Senior Common Room before work commenced.

Lastly, and most importantly, we are delighted to announce that John Neale has passed his Part 3 and is now a fully fledged Architect. Andy and I are contemplating putting our feet up!