Ethical practice distinguishes an RIBA chartered architect from other design professionals. The RIBA Code of Professional Conduct requires practitioners to uphold high standards, while encouraging and empowering them to reflect critically and to continually strive to improve. The Grenfell Tower tragedy was a significant reminder of the ethical responsibilities of the architect, and the importance of ethical decision-making. By making ethical practice one of its mandatory competences, the RIBA has made it a requirement that students and professionals develop a fundamental level of awareness and understanding of ethics. This guide is designed to improve industry’s grasp of ethical decision-making as it relates to the wider world, society, clients, the workplace, the profession, and the individual. Each chapter introduces an ethical duty, setting out the relevant legal, regulatory and professional context before exploring the detailed subject matter and key principles. It includes an ethical dilemma for each duty and views and experiences from inside the profession. Delving into issues of equity, diversity and inclusion, social value, wellbeing and integrity, it does not seek our ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers. Rather it encourages reflection on different interests, consequences and considerations, in order to reach a considered and balanced position. While ethical practice is invaluable in itself, it is also vital for establishing trust with clients, improving transparency, enhancing reputation, attracting and retaining high-quality staff, avoiding disputes and for a high-level of accountability that benefits the entire industry, and society more broadly.

Architecture apprenticeships are a new route into the profession. Having gained traction since their inception in 2018, it is an attractive route for young generations of architects to obtain their professional qualifications and earn while they learn. Aimed at prospective and current Level 7: Architect Apprentices, this guide provides the knowledge to achieve the most from your apprenticeship education, empowering your exposure in the profession within academic and professional areas. Taking you on a journey through the apprenticeship, it presents key stages of the course through precedents and will let you know what to expect from this educational route, and when to expect it. Using case studies from recent graduates and current apprentices who have excelled through this route, it features information from employers and academics involved in architecture apprenticeship courses in the UK to provide tips, advice and guidance. Designed to be interactive, you will be able to populate and annotate the book at various stages to map the key stages of your journey and reflect on your professional development.

Professionalism is not automatic with qualification. It is decided by the manner in which you carry out your professional life – the conduct and qualities that you bring to your role. In architecture, it is founded on the principles of honesty, integrity and competence, and a concern for the environment and others. As a trusted expert, it is essential that you gain respect for your skills and knowledge while maintaining veracity and transparency in your relationships and dealings with clients, end users, design and construction professionals and the wider public. With a focus on professional judgement, this book is a personal guide on how to be a self-aware and successful practitioner, aspiring to best practice. It will give you the confidence to create meaningful industry connections and handle contractual disputes, insurance and negligence claims while maintaining a high standard of conduct. By paying attention to business planning, financial processes, good management and effective communication, it will help you to protect your practice’s reputation and increase profitability and cashflow. Ultimately, it will enable you to not only avoid professional pitfalls but to benefit from positive working relationships.

Building Inclusion: A Practical Guide to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Architecture and the Built Environment is just that – a manual to support and provide essential guidance to the profession on these key issues. Acknowledging that the existence of EDI procedures does not necessarily ensure their use, it focuses on demonstrating behaviours that help create, implement and enforce policies, procedures and practices to deliver inclusion. Written by Marsha Ramroop, former inaugural EDI Director at the RIBA and award-winning EDI strategist, the book targets the pain points of talent attraction and retention, public sector procurement, community engagement and inclusive design. It utilises case studies from organisations across the sector and the world with successful EDI practices, as well as testimonials of lived experiences of discrimination which provide important insight to the reader. The book takes an intersectional approach, considering not just the separate identities of race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender and sexual identity, disability, neurodiversity and class but the overlap of these. Clearly written and accessible, with key points at the end of each chapter, this book is essential reading for those in the profession seeking to implement EDI practices in their work and workplace.

Many developed nations face the challenge of accommodating a growing, ageing population and creating appropriate forms of housing suitable for older people. Written by an architect, this practice-led ethnography of retirement housing offers new perspectives on environmental gerontology. Through stories and visual vignettes, it presents a range of stakeholders involved in the design, construction, management and habitation of third-age housing in the UK, highlighting the importance of design decisions for the everyday lives of older people. Drawing on unique and interdisciplinary research methods, its fresh approach shows researchers how well-designed retirement housing can enable older people to successfully age in place for longer, and challenges designers, developers and providers to evolve their design practices and products.

In this new Architecture Brief, Ethics for Architects, Thomas Fisher presents fifty case studies representing a broad range of ethical dilemmas facing today's architects, from questions regarding which clients to work for, to the moral imperatives of reclaiming building materials for construction instead of sending them to landfills. This timely book features newly relevant interpretations adapted to the pervasive demands of globalization, sustainability, and developments in information technology. Fisher's analysis of architecture's thorniest ethical issues are written in a style that is accessible to the amateur philosopher and appealing to professional architects and students alike. Thought-provoking and essential, Ethics for Architects is required reading for any designer who wants to work responsibly in today's complex world.

To ensure chartered architects are reaching a higher standard of knowledge in health and safety and the life safety of building users, the RIBA will be introducing an online test based on a comprehensive curriculum for all members to demonstrate their competence. This guide is designed to improve the safety of practitioners on site and their understanding and application of health and safety processes to create buildings that are safe to build, operate and use. It will help prepare architects for the forthcoming RIBA health and safety test, providing practitioners with the guidance they require regarding site safety, both before and during construction, significant hazards and design risk management to discharge their professional services and legal duties competently and safely.

Climate change is a threat to humankind, which requires immediate action. The built environment has a vital role to play in responding to the climate emergency. There is a pressing need for architects to acquire the requisite skills and knowledge to design buildings that deliver sustainable outcomes, meeting the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge and mandatory competence in climate literacy. Equipping you with the key information that built environment professionals require to halt climate change and mitigate its impacts in your day-to-day work, this book is organised around six overarching topics: 1. Human Factors 2.Circular Economy 3.Energy and Carbon 4.Water 5.Ecology and Biodiversity 6.Connectivity and Transport Featuring images and original illustrations, each themed section will guide you through fundamental elements and competencies for creating a sustainable design and delivery framework that can be implemented by you in your practice. Contextualising the climate emergency within the built environment landscape, the guide maps out the essential background knowledge around climate science, international agreements, legislations, commitments and roadmaps. A collection of short, building- and urban-scale case studies present key takeaways, illustrating real-life applications of design strategies and industry-wide tools, as well as standards that are deployed in climate-conscious built environments all around the world.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, this new book provides thought provoking commentary on the nature of the relationship between society, the prevailing economic system and professionalism in the built environment. It addresses the changing responsibilities of professionals and in particular their obligation to act in the wider public interest. It is both an introduction to and an examination of professionalism and professional bodies in the sector, including a view of the future of professionalism and the organisations serving it. Simon Foxell outlines the history of professionalism in the sector, comparing and contrasting the development of the three major historic professions working in the construction industry: civil engineering, architecture and surveying. He examines how their systems have developed over time, up to the current period dominated by large professional services firms, and looks at some options for the future, whilst asking difficult questions about ethics, training, education, public trust and expectation from within and outside the industry. The book concludes with a six-point plan to help, if not ensure, that the professions remain an effective and essential part of both society and the economy; a part that allows the system to operate smoothly and easily, but also fairly and to the benefit of all. Essential reading for built environment professionals and students doing the professional studies elements of their training or in the process of applying for chartership or registration. The issues and lessons are applicable across all building professions.

The essential guide to beginning your career in architecture The Architecture Student's Handbook of Professional Practice opens the door to the vast body of knowledge required to effectively manage architectural projects and practice. A professional architect is responsible for much more than design; this book is specifically designed to help prepare you for the business and administrative challenges of working in the real-world—whether you are a student or are just starting out in practice. It provides clear insight into the legal, financial, marketing, management, and administrative tasks and issues that are integral to keeping a firm running. This new edition has been restructured to be a companion textbook for students undertaking architectural practice classes, while also fulfilling the specific knowledge needs of interns and emerging professionals. It supplements information from the professional handbook with new content aimed at those setting out in the architectural profession and starting to navigate their careers. New topics covered in this new edition include: path to licensure, firm identity, professional development, strategic planning, and integrated project delivery. Whether you want to work at a top firm, strike out on your own, or start the next up-and-coming team, the business of architecture is a critical factor in your success. This book brings the fundamentals together to give you a one-stop resource for learning the reality of architectural practice. Learn the architect's legal and ethical responsibilities Understand the processes of starting and running your own firm Develop, manage, and deliver projects on time and on budget Become familiar with standard industry agreements and contracts Few architects were drawn to the profession by dreams of writing agreements and negotiating contracts, but those who excel at these everyday essential tasks impact their practice in innumerable ways. The Architecture Student's Handbook of Professional Practice provides access to the "nuts and bolts" that keep a firm alive, stable, and financially sound.