{"id":732560,"date":"2024-03-13T08:41:14","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T08:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=732560"},"modified":"2024-03-14T10:59:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T10:59:05","slug":"how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner","title":{"rendered":"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 14 June 2017, 72 people tragically lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower fire.<\/p>\n

Having watched the public inquiry, many will have concluded that several indefensible construction industry behaviours played a significant part in this tragedy. What was different about Grenfell was how all these behaviours came together on a single project.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it has taken six years and three months to get to a point where change is mandated through legislation applying to all buildings. On 1 October last year, the government updated the Buildings Regulations Statutory Instrument, to require a \u2018principal designer\u2019 on all buildings.<\/p>\n

In the government\u2019s wisdom, it gave the role the same name \u2013 \u2018principal designer\u2019 \u2013 as already exists for the role required under the CDM Regulations, despite these being completely different roles with different responsibilities.<\/p>\n

At Space Architects, we reviewed the competencies for a principal designer and concluded that the architect is best placed to carry out the role. For us, the competencies formalise much of the role of the lead designer on a project.<\/p>\n

Over the past 20 years, the role of the lead designer has been eroded, primarily due to the use of design and build procurement. The D&B contract aimed to move risks away from clients with the contractor taking on and managing these risks. Unfortunately, D&B has often led to the driving down of cost at the expense of value. The new principal designer role offers architects the chance to help redress this, promoting their skills and experience and demonstrating the value they can bring to a project via the competencies required for the role.<\/p>\n

However, in recent weeks, we have had clients require us to be registered on the RIBA\u2019s new Principal Designer Register<\/a> to demonstrate that they have considered the competence of their principal designer. I cannot blame our clients. They have seen the register promoted by our professional body, suggesting that it is a requirement.<\/p>\n

But, after seven years at university and almost 30 years of experience, I find it hard to believe the RIBA is suggesting I must be on another register to demonstrate my competence. I thought this was the point of being a member of a professional body. Currently, it costs me \u00a3199 to be a registered architect with the ARB and another \u00a3448 to be a member of the RIBA. On top of this, we spend several thousand pounds to be a registered practice. The Principal Designer Register has a \u00a3420 application fee and a \u00a3360 annual register fee. It will now cost \u00a31,007 every year to prove you are a competent architect.<\/p>\n

The RIBA has seen the principal designer role as an opportunity to generate revenue<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As part of the Building Safety Act, architects are now legally responsible for carrying out continuous CPD and recording it with the ARB or the RIBA. I think this is a real positive and have no issue with it. My issue is that the RIBA has seen the principal designer role as an opportunity to generate revenue by creating another register.<\/p>\n

After amassing a huge debt over the seven years of study to register as an architect, how many young architects, once they\u2019ve built up the experience, will be able to afford to be the lead designers on their projects?<\/p>\n

I was under the impression that the RIBA was there to represent its members, all of whom should have the competencies to carry out the principal designer role. Instead, it has seen an opportunity to generate revenue to cover its increasing overhead. As a member based in Newcastle, I get no value at all from this and, in the past few weeks, I have found that the RIBA is increasing my costs. The real question is this: what value does the RIBA deliver when it has missed the most significant opportunity to promote our profession in a generation?<\/p>\n

Rob Charlton is chief executive of Space Group Architects<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

RIBA response<\/h3>\n

Jack Pringle, chair of the RIBA board of trustees<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nOur members are the natural qualified design professionals to act as principal designers and we are fully committed to positioning architects in this role. The initial qualification and subsequent Continuous Professional Development (CPD) requirements which RIBA members currently undertake do not reflect the very detailed and specific competence requirements for the Principal Designer (Building Regulations) role (as set out by the framework for competence of individual Principal Designers, PAS 8761:2022).<\/p>\n

However, not all architects will choose to take on this role or demonstrate these specific competences.<\/p>\n

So, the RIBA principal designer register<\/a> addresses the need for architects who wish to take on the responsibility of this defined dutyholder role to demonstrate their competence, and for clients to meet their duty to appoint a competent Principal Designer. While registrants may have an advantage when it comes to securing work, there is no obligation to join the register, and professionals may choose to demonstrate their competence to clients in their own way instead, including through suitable CPD programmes.<\/p>\n

The register is just one aspect of our support for members since the role has been introduced. We also offer a training course and new guide book \u2013 and remain dedicated to developing further resources to meet our members\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The RIBA\u2019s new principal designer register makes me seriously question the value the institute delivers to its members, writes Rob Charlton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81280,"featured_media":677731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[14379,3661,100856,1276],"yoast_head":"\nHow can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The RIBA\u2019s new Principal Designer Register makes me seriously question the value the institute delivers to its members, writes Rob Charlton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The RIBA\u2019s new Principal Designer Register makes me seriously question the value the institute delivers to its members, writes Rob Charlton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-13T08:41:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-14T10:59:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/01120857\/shutterstock_779192533-scaled-e1706518255539-1024x682.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rob Charlton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"will hurst\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner\",\"name\":\"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-13T08:41:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-14T10:59:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/f7c23d4772522a5c23d6a2bc36064145\"},\"description\":\"The RIBA\u2019s new Principal Designer Register makes me seriously question the value the institute delivers to its members, writes Rob Charlton\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News & Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/f7c23d4772522a5c23d6a2bc36064145\",\"name\":\"will hurst\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/edb2a9c82cf2d614f0a9a76f486cc4a3\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05396dc4387bd2a019bed2b5a6c109fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05396dc4387bd2a019bed2b5a6c109fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"will hurst\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/will-hurst-2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?","description":"The RIBA\u2019s new Principal Designer Register makes me seriously question the value the institute delivers to its members, writes Rob Charlton","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?","og_description":"The RIBA\u2019s new Principal Designer Register makes me seriously question the value the institute delivers to its members, writes Rob Charlton","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2024-03-13T08:41:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-14T10:59:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/01120857\/shutterstock_779192533-scaled-e1706518255539-1024x682.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rob Charlton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"will hurst","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner","name":"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-03-13T08:41:14+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-14T10:59:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/f7c23d4772522a5c23d6a2bc36064145"},"description":"The RIBA\u2019s new Principal Designer Register makes me seriously question the value the institute delivers to its members, writes Rob Charlton","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/how-can-the-riba-view-the-new-principal-designer-role-as-a-money-spinner#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How can the RIBA view the new principal designer role as a money-spinner?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News & Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/f7c23d4772522a5c23d6a2bc36064145","name":"will hurst","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/edb2a9c82cf2d614f0a9a76f486cc4a3","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05396dc4387bd2a019bed2b5a6c109fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05396dc4387bd2a019bed2b5a6c109fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"will hurst"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/will-hurst-2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732560"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81280"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732560"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":734372,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732560\/revisions\/734372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}