2024 Year in Review

As Chair and Chief Executive, we are pleased to jointly introduce the 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Architects Registration Board, and to reflect on what has been a year of progress, innovation and commitment to our statutory responsibilities. As the regulator of architects in the UK, ARB plays the central role in upholding public confidence in the profession by setting and quality assuring standards of education, ethics, and competence. Our focus remains on protecting the public through a regulatory approach that supports a built environment that is safe, sustainable and where everyone can live well. 

2024 was the third year of our five-year Corporate Strategy 2022-26 and we made notable progress. In education and training we pressed ahead with our work to modernise the education framework to support high standards and increase access to the profession. We were delighted to see 17 applications for new accredited qualifications in architecture in 2024 following our announcement of changes to the regulatory framework. We are confident that these applications reflect the commitment of learning providers to meet the new competency outcomes we have set, and that they will support the growth of new, innovative routes into the profession. 

We launched a year-long independent commission on Professional Practical Experience to examine the barriers to high-quality professional experience for those wishing to complete the necessary experience for registration as an architect. The Commission will provide recommendations to ARB in early 2025. 

Throughout 2024 we continued to invest in our systems, processes and technology to deliver long term efficiencies within our organisation and to improve functionality for architects through the new ‘MyARB’ portal. The benefits of this are already becoming apparent. 

The Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017 continues to cast its appalling shadow across the built environment, underscoring the critical importance of safety, ethics, and professional accountability. The tragedy continues to shape our work and reinforce the importance of robust regulation in the built environment.  

The statutory requirement for all architects to undertake continuing professional development was a key measure introduced through the Building Safety Act 2022. In 2024 ARB introduced the new outcomes-focused scheme, which is designed to be flexible and to allow architects the ability to tailor their learning to their own specific practice and needs. While architects are encouraged to participate in CPD that is relevant to their own practice, all architects are expected to carry out CPD in relation to Fire and Life Safety and Environmental Sustainability, the scheme’s two mandatory topics for 2024. Both mandatory topics will be retained in 2025. 

However, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report demonstrated that above all there were problems with accountability, and with culture in the built environment.  

In 2024 we published independent research into public perceptions around professionalism amongst architects. The research reflects some of the themes within the Inquiry Report and made clear the importance that the public place on safety, and the significance of values such as integrity, commitment and empathy for architects. We also commissioned research looking at workplace culture within the profession. The research revealed that architects suffer from higher levels of discrimination and sexual misconduct than in other professions that have published similar research. There is much work for ARB, working with the profession, to identify solutions to these issues in order to support positive improvements consistent with the findings of the Grenfell Report and an agenda of quality improvement. 

These pieces of research were instrumental in developing our proposals for a new Code of Conduct and Practice for Architects, which were published in September 2024. The revised Code serves as a clear statement of professionalism and ethics for architects, outlining the high standards of conduct expected throughout the profession. It also provides the public, clients, and collaborators across the built environment with a clear understanding of the behaviours and principles they can expect from architects. The revised Code was published alongside a public consultation, the results of which will be announced in 2025. 

We are grateful to our Board members, staff, and associates for their dedication and support in delivering our mission. As we look forward, we remain committed to ensuring ARB is a modern, effective regulator that upholds high standards and supports the evolving needs of both architects and the public.