Exclusive: architects say Brexit will damage the industry if practices across Britain cannot continue to employ EU staff

A group of the country’s leading architects including Richard Rogers have said they are “appalled” by how EU staff in their offices are being treated since the Brexit vote.

They have called on Theresa May to give immediate clarity on their future, saying architecture will suffer from a brain drain unless this is given soon.

In an open letter, published in the Guardian, they say Brexit will have “deeply negative consequences” for architecture if practices in the UK cannot continue to employ EU citizens.

“We are appalled that the government should use those who have made considerable personal and professional commitments to this country, and who enrich our own culture, as a negotiating chip. This is not the behaviour of a civilised society, and certainly runs counter to the respected British traditions of decency and fairness,” they write.

“We have no doubt whatsoever that the people of this country would not accept the eviction of EU nationals and we therefore see no reason why this unusable threat should remain on the table.

“We ask that the government immediately clarifies this situation, otherwise we will not only lose our place in Europe but we will lose our dignity in the process,” says the letter signed by Lord Rogers, designer of international landmarks including Paris’s Pompidou Centre and the Lloyds building in London.

It is also signed by 19 others including David Chipperfield, one of Britain’s most esteemed architects. Chipperfield is best known for work on iconic international museums but also for the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate and the Hepworth gallery in Wakefield.

“This issue is not a matter of getting cheap labour, it’s not strawberry pickers or something, this is about the transfer of knowledge, of ideas, a cross-fertilisation of cultures and of thinking that is really important in the creative sector,” Chipperfield told the Guardian.

“The influence of our closest neighbours is really important. The Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Latin approaches can be profoundly different. We have offices in Milan, Berlin and London. It’s clear that different people from different countries have a very particular and different approach to offer and that it is vital to our business,” he added.

He said the architectural profession’s view was that it contributes to the economy, but not in a way that can be quantified like other industries.

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But this did not mean EU citizens in the creative sector should be any less valued than financial services, health services or agriculture, he said.

“In a way our attitude to Brexit is very British. It’s all about ‘will it affect our cash flow?’. We never embrace the importance of the creative industry in a non-commercial way, in a soft power way,” he said.

Architecture relies heavily on EU citizens – more than half of those in Chipperfield’s 100-strong office in London come from Europe.

A survey by Dezeen magazine earlier this year found that 33% of the workforce in London offices came from other EU countries, with some practices reporting that the number of overseas architects was as high as 80%.

“Students in Spain or Germany are not going to think too enthusiastically about coming to a practice in London now. That means that now we are going to lose that resource. And what about the people here – is this the right way to deal with people?” said Chipperfield.

“Everyone is trying to be in a good frame of mind, but I can’t think of one positive thing to come out of Brexit,” he added.

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Among the other signatories to the letter are Michael and Patty Hopkins, whose works include the Glyndebourne opera house and Portcullis House in Westminster, and Will Alsop, the man behind buildings including the Chips apartment block in Manchester and Peckham library in London, and Amanda Levete, whose striking museum for contemporary art in Lisbon opened last year.

The architects say they are “fearful about the future in general” but are “particularly concerned about the government’s attitude towards EU nationals”.

Theresa May has repeatedly said she wishes to guarantee the rights of EU citizens; however, she has said she cannot seal a deal until reciprocal arrangements are in place for the 1.2 million Britons in Europe.

Chipperfield said: “I’ve been reassured by people in political circles that there is no way people are going to be deported and I cannot imagine that they will. It seems unlikely to me. But if it is unlikely then why doesn’t the prime minister just take it off the table? That is the logical thing to do.”