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  • Consultation on a new Code of Conduct and Practice for Architects

Consultation on a new Code of Conduct and Practice for Architects

Architects play a vital role in shaping the places where we live and work. The public, our communities and clients expect that architects will deliver buildings and spaces that are safe and sustainable, and carry out their work ethically and with integrity. As the statutory regulator for architects, ARB has a legal requirement to publish a Code of Conduct and Practice (the Architects Code) which sets out the standards the profession must uphold. The Architects Code is fundamental for all architects as it describes the behaviours that underpin safe and ethical practice. 

ARB has published a draft version of a revised Code for consultation. The revised Code is designed to act as a positive statement of what professionalism and ethics mean to architects. It explains to the public, clients, and those who work with architects the behaviours and high standards they should expect from the profession. It has been drafted using published research on public expectations as to how architects should behave and act, and following engagement with architects and other professionals in the built environment. 

The current edition of the Code was published in 2017, and this proposed revision is intended to address recent developments in building safety, environmental sustainability and inclusivity to ensure that the Code continues to be fit for practice. 

The revised Code will be supported by a suite of guidance to give advice for how architects can meet the standards of the Code in specific situations and contexts. 

This consultation seeks the views of architects, students, learning providers, clients, those who work with architects, and those who use the spaces that architects design. 

The proposed Code contains six new standards:

Standard 1

Honesty and integrity

Standard 2

Public interest

Standard 3

Competence

Standard 4

Professional practice

Standard 5

Communication and collaboration

Standard 6

Respect

The proposed Code would be supported by a suite of guidance. The topics we are initially proposing are:

Professional indemnity insurance
Guidance on the steps architects need to take to ensure their liabilities are covered by adequate and appropriate insurance. Guidance on this topic already exists and will be reviewed.
Dealing with complaints and disputes
Guidance on how architects should deal with complaints and disputes about their professional work. Guidance on this topic already exists and will be reviewed.
Financial conduct
Guidance on the standards architects should meet when dealing with professional or business finances. This would be a new guidance document that we’re proposing to introduce.
Sustainability
Guidance on how architects are expected to conduct themselves in respect of sustainability. Guidance on this topic already exists and will be reviewed.
Terms of engagement
Guidance on the contractual information architects should provide. This would be a new guidance document that we’re proposing to introduce.
Raising concerns
Guidance on how architects can whistleblow, or raise concerns about other individuals or work. This would be a new guidance document that we’re proposing to introduce.
Building safety
Guidance on how architects should approach designing buildings which are safe for others to use. Guidance on this topic already exists and will be reviewed.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
The approach architects should take to creating a culture that supports equality, diversity and inclusion within the architecture and built environment sector. This would be a new guidance document that we’re proposing to introduce.
Managing conflicts of interest
Guidance on how to recognise and manage conflicts of interest. This would be a new guidance document that we’re proposing to introduce.
Mentoring
Guidance for those with the responsibility for mentoring and supporting early career professionals. This would be a new guidance document that we’re proposing to introduce.
Leadership
Guidance for those architects who have the control and management of a practice, including the responsibility to supervise others. This would be a new guidance document that we’re proposing to introduce.
Consultation closes 12 December 2024

Next steps

This consultation launched 12 September 2024, and will close 12 December 2024. ARB will publish the results of the consultation and a consultation report in 2025. The Board will consider the results of the consultation before a final revised Code is published. The revised Code will be published alongside a schedule of the guidance to be published.

FAQs

Why is ARB reviewing the Code of Conduct?
Section 13 of the Architects Act 1997 requires the Architects Registration Board to issue a Code laying down the standards of professional conduct and practice expected of persons registered as architects under the Act. Architects are expected to be guided in their professional conduct by the “spirit of the Code” as well as adhere to any express terms.

The most recent edition of the Code was published in 2017, and we are now seeking to revise and update it so that it continues to be fit for purpose and so that it responds to specific challenges faced by architects today.

How has ARB developed the draft revised Code?
The Code has been drafted to respond directly to the expectations and insights shared with us by architects, the public and clients. The evidence base used as a foundation for the Code includes:

  • independent research into the needs and expectations of the public and small-scale clients;
  • feedback from architects in workshop discussions at a conference and online, and through one-to-one meetings with their national representative institutes; and
  • feedback from other professionals who work with architects including large scale clients through one-to-one engagement meetings with representative organisations.