A Moment to Pause – and Look Both Back and Forward

I’m writing this in the week before Christmas 2025 – our final week in the office before the festive shutdown.

It’s always a reflective time of year. A moment to pause, take stock, and think not just about what we’ve achieved, but what it all means for the business, our clients, and the industry we’re part of.

2025 feels particularly significant!

We’ve seen change – in our team, in our projects, and across the profession. Some of it exciting, some of it challenging…and all of it shaping the direction we head into in 2026.

People First – Changes Within the Team

This final week is a bittersweet one.

We’re saying goodbye to our trusted colleague Scott Graham, who has grown with us and played a huge role in strengthening our social media, marketing and client experience through his commitment to CGI, video and drone work.

We also said goodbye to two other colleagues in 2025, but we were delighted to welcome Rachael Murphy into our Interiors Department, working alongside Oliver Shields to continue developing Interiors as a key part of the Block brand.

We’re currently recruiting for our Architecture Team, and I’m personally excited to see what new talent we attract and how both they and the business continue to grow through 2026.

The Hard Hat Talks – What We Learned in 2025

One of the biggest highlights of 2025 has undoubtedly been the launch and continued success of The Hard Hat Talks podcast.

It grew from a simple frustration – the realisation that there aren’t many platforms where specialists can openly share their experiences, challenges, and frustrations within architecture and construction.

Educating politicians, policymakers and influencers was a key driver for the podcast in 2025, and it will remain so in 2026 as we continue to invite new guests to share real industry conversations.

Key lessons from 2025 were captured in our Christmas Edition, hosted by Andy Ferguson of A Forward Edge, who has been instrumental in the success of the podcast. These discussions ranged from sector-wide skills shortages to the increasing weight of regulation and the unintended consequences this brings.

What has become clear across the 16 episodes recorded so far is that there doesn’t appear to be meaningful progress in addressing the housing crisis. New housebuilding across the UK remains in decline, and the cost of refurbishing existing stock, whether privately or publicly owned, has become so high that many people are effectively forced to live in substandard conditions.

Maybe 2026 will be the year where our respective governments and local authorities manage to squeeze some progress out of the system. A small 5-10 percent improvement in efficiency across the industry could dramatically increase delivery, but with regulation continuing to grow in weight and complexity, it’s difficult to see real acceleration coming, even if quality improves.

Project Completions – Where Ideas Become Reality

At Block, we have the privilege of working on a wide variety of project types, primarily for UK business founders and entrepreneurs, with the occasional self-build home thrown in for good measure.

Given the complexity of delivery, many projects sit at different stages for long periods of time. But none are more satisfying than those that reach completion. After all, that’s the whole point.

This year we’ve seen several completions for the Lucky B’s Hot Chicken franchise, including a flagship restaurant in Blackpool, with another due to open in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street.

We’ve continued to work with North Lanarkshire Council on a number of exciting projects, all of which will have a meaningful impact on both the buildings themselves and their surrounding communities.

Our most popular completion, at least online, has been the high-end luxury townhouse in Glasgow, where the building was stripped back to its shell and refurbished to an exemplary standard.

Statutory Guidance and Professional Regulations

2025 also saw a significant cultural shift in ethics and responsibility for architects.

The Architects Registration Board launched the new Architects Code of Conduct, simplifying the structure but, in my view, introducing new areas of concern around responsibility, liability and professional boundaries.

I’ve shared my thoughts on this separately within a recent blog, but the short version is that the profession is being asked to carry a growing share of social, legal and ethical responsibility, and we are still working out what that truly means in practice.

Ethics, Regulation and a Profession in Transition

As I write this, we’re also just weeks away from the landmark announcement that Chris Williamson, RIBA President, will not renew his membership of the Architects Registration Board.

This bold move effectively challenges the existing framework of the Architects Act and strengthens the RIBA’s intention to introduce new legislation defining reserved activities, including planning submissions, building control applications and compliance certification, and who is entitled to carry them out.

Alongside this, RIBA has ambitions to establish a Built Environment Council to oversee professional bodies whose members meet competency standards defined in legislation.

How all of this unfolds in 2026 will be hugely significant for the profession, and whether it brings clarity, complexity, or conflict remains to be seen. As always, time will tell!

Events, Community and Giving Back

We love an event at Block, some we organise, some we attend.

While 2025 was quieter in terms of hosting our own events, largely due to personal commitments across the team, we’ve enjoyed participating in a wide range of organised events including golf days, networking sessions, football and rugby corporate events, and several charity initiatives.

We were particularly proud to continue supporting Kilbryde Hospice through fundraising efforts such as the Andy Cameron Golf Day and the Stride for Kilbryde evening walk from Hamilton Racecourse.

I’m proud of the team’s involvement this year and look forward to returning to our usual pace of fundraising and community engagement in 2026.

Looking Ahead – What 2026 Holds

There is always a plan, for the business, the team, and the direction we’re heading.

The most important message for 2026 is that we remain committed to growth.

We have several exciting large projects in development, some not yet in the public domain, and we’re increasingly working with clients who value architectural quality, interior design, sustainability, social responsibility and inclusive design, alongside a clear commercial understanding that projects must remain financially viable.

Thank you for being part of our journey. And if you’re not yet working with Block, perhaps 2026 is the year we change that.

Best,
Kenneth Martin

Feeling inspired? Get in touch with Block Architects to turn your vision into reality.