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IGNITE Architects has laid off 10 Auckland staff after feeling the pinch from the property downturn.
Jeremy Whelan, managing director of the Parnell-based architecture firm, said three contractors, four permanent staff and three part-time students were "let go" onFriday.
"We need to run our business smartly and sharply," Whelan said, citing three main reasons fewer new buildings were being planned.
Lengthy resource consent periods before developments were approved, difficult and long-winded council processes andproblems obtaining funding were the three main reasons work was harder to find, he said.
"We have to keep a weather eye on the storm. We are a big business."
IGNITE has offices in Sydney and Tauranga and has done work in Asia and the United Arab Emirates.
The business specialises in retail work, having designed Chancery and 277 Newmarket as well as the controversial Soho Square, a Ponsonby project where earthworks have been completed but little work has been done lately.
Whelan said IGNITE had a staff of about 80 in its three offices but this varied depending on contractors and how much work was on at any one time.
The firm would focus on working with its current clients and maintaining good relationships, he said.
IGNITE won Property Council awards for Chancery in Auckland, the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Christchurch, Bayfair in the Bay of Plenty and Courtenay Central in Wellington.
