This year has been dominated by the Building Safety Act and how it will change the profession. We have produced several professional features that have sought to provide guidance in this area (and will continue to do so), but we have also produced 100 articles in other areas too.
These reflect the diversity of issues and areas under the umbrella of architecture – such as fees, planning, inclusive design and artificial intelligence (AI).
Leaving the Building Safety Act to one side for a moment, here are some of the professional features that got RIBA Members talking the most in 2023.
What do architects need to know about changes to CPD in 2024?
Changes to the way that RIBA Chartered Members record mandatory CPD will be introduced from January 2024.
Out goes the need to attain a minimum number of ‘learning points’ and in comes a requirement for each member to record a brief, reflective statement on what they have gained from each CPD activity when they update their activities on the RIBA online CPD tool.
Core requirements remain unchanged: members are still required to carry out at least 35 hours of relevant learning during the year, with at least two hours spent on each of the ten RIBA Core Curriculum CPD topics.
The mandatory topics, which also remain unchanged for 2024, are:
- Architecture for social purpose
- Health, safety and wellbeing
- Business, clients and services
- Legal, regulatory and statutory compliance
- Procurement and contracts
- Sustainable architecture
- Inclusive environments
- Places, planning and communities
- Building conservation and heritage
- Design, construction and technology
Read the full article about CPD changes for 2024.
What can architects do to navigate changes to planning policy?
We took a look at the changes to planning that will arrive in 2024 following the passing of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act.
Changes include new powers for local authorities to tackle:
- land banking
- a new option for making changes to existing permission (Section 73B)
- a forthcoming set of ‘national development management policies’ (NDMPs) to sit alongside local plans
- a new Infrastructure Levy based on final development value at completion
Architect and chartered planner Colin Haylock also presents RIBA’s conversation event – Planning essentials: a toolkit for preparing planning applications – which offers strategies for keeping up with changes to the planning system.
Read the full article about changes to planning policy.
The RAAC concrete in schools crisis: questions architects need answers to
The background to recent failures of RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) in schools, alongside potential risks elsewhere, such as social housing, are examined.
We heard from experts dealing with questions of how to advise clients on remediation options when RAAC is discovered and how professional indemnity cover may be affected.
Read the full article about RAAC concrete.
How can architects make the best use of RIBA’s fee calculator?
The RIBA Fee Calculator applies the principles of resource costing, allowing practices to understand the true cost rate of their fee-earners on a project after overheads and non-earning time have been built into the costing model.
Exclusive to RIBA Chartered Practices, the RIBA Fee Calculator allows small practices to employ the same costing approach that a large organisation with a finance director would use.
Completed fee calculations, which are aligned with RIBA Plan of Work stages, can be exported directly into RIBA Contracts Digital to generate professional services contracts.
Read the full article about using the RIBA Fee Calculator.
Five ways architects can improve setting fees and writing bid proposals
Getting bid writing right is not just about winning projects, it can be the difference between a profitable business and a practice at risk from cost underestimation. Start-up principal Minesh Patel sets out five things to consider:
- To bid or not to bid: does the chance of winning justify the time spent?
- Producing an accurate resource estimate: arriving at the true cost for delivering the scope of services and resourcing is key to the whole process.
- Have a clear agreement in place: a properly scoped document will ensure that both parties are clear on what is expected of them.
- Keep timesheets: team members should be responsible for tracking their own time on a project across all work stages.
- Regular project reviews: real times spent on projects must be reviewed against times in the resource estimate if the project is to stay on track.
Read the full article about writing bid proposals.
How can architects engage better with local planning authorities?
RIBA North West regional chair Richard Wooldridge reports on RIBA's efforts to open dialogues with hard-pressed local planners at branch and regional levels.
These efforts to build bridges with local planning authorities have been met with great success, so much so that he thinks other RIBA branches could usefully follow the North West’s lead.
The opening gambit was to suggest a get-together for a discussion – meeting for a coffee, not a confrontation. Planners do realise that architects are local stakeholders they need to talk to, Richard suggests.
Read the full article about engaging with planning authorities.
What would architects tell their younger selves before heading to university?
RIBA Members reflect on their early days in architectural education and pass on the advice and tips you won't hear at school.
For the vast majority of new students, architectural studies will be their first introduction to studio culture, which remains the stand-out experience for many and is often credited with setting the tone for early career development.
Developing confidence in your abilities and learning how to express your ideas is seen as key, though a thick skin can be useful too, they suggest.
Read the full article about tips for heading to university.
RIBA Plan of Work: why architects should augment inclusive design throughout all work stages
The landmark Inclusive Design Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work seeks to embed inclusive design across all stages of construction projects. It aims to empower each of the teams involved – from architects and clients to operators – to contribute to the creation of inclusive environments.
It is the first cross-industry coordinated technical framework for delivering inclusive design and using the overlay will discourage seeing inclusive design only as an add-on to be delivered by an inclusive design specialist.
Instead, the overlay encourages the weaving of inclusivity and accessibility together to create a better design process.
Read the full article about the Inclusive Design Overlay.
Artificial Intelligence: how can architects get the best out of ChatGPT?
It has only been 12 months since the free-to-all version of the AI chatbot ChatGPT was released to a stunned IT community.
Think of ChatGPT as a bespoke search engine that will take your query prompts. No matter how technical or obscure, it will instantly deliver not just a few links or headlines, but a well-constructed essay written just for you.
Architects can use ChatGPT as a powerful research and retrieval tool, or equally as a writing assistant to generate draft website content, reports, pitches or schedules.
Many people use ChatGPT to polish up their own written content. But it comes with health warnings: the app ‘learns’ from curated and un-curated internet content and will sound plausible and authoritative even when it is quite incorrect; and there are copyright questions to answer, too.
Read the full article about AI and ChatGPT.
Artificial intelligence: how can architects incorporate Midjourney into their design process?
Text-to-image generative AI apps such as Midjourney can produce impressive, and often stunning, concept designs almost instantly from a handful of simple language instructions.
Midjourney has an uncanny ability to extract the ‘style DNA’ from a source image and blend it with another to create an original design.
Modifiers can be applied not just for building topologies or materials but for the style of another named architect, which instantly provokes questions of intellectual copyright.
Large practices admit to using AI apps for early concept design generation, but how is it being used and what are the potential consequences?
Read the full article about using Midjourney for design.
Read other professional features from the RIBA Practice team.
Text by Neal Morris. This is a professional feature edited by the RIBA Practice team. Send us your feedback and ideas.
RIBA Core Curriculum topic: Business, clients and services.
As part of the flexible RIBA CPD programme, professional features count as microlearning. See further information on the updated RIBA CPD core curriculum and on fulfilling your CPD requirements as a RIBA Chartered Member.
