Architects Appointment

ARCHITECTS APPOINTMENT

When considering an offer of appointment, an architect must:

• Be satisfied that the client has the authority and resources to commission the work.
• Appreciate the background to the proposal and understand its scope.
• Be aware of any other consultants who have been or are likely to be associated with the
project.
• Be satisfied that he has the experience and competence to undertake the work.
• Be satisfied that the office has the necessary finance, staff, and other resources.
• Be satisfied that the proposal will not conflict with any relevant codes of professional
conduct, other commissions and commitments in the office and the policy of the practice.

The architect must consider his position in relation to any other architect who may have been
involved in the same scheme:
• An employer can offer the commission to whomever he wishes to obtain alternative
schemes.
• An architect who is approached by a potential client in connection with a project with which
another architect has already been concerned has a duty to inform the other architect of his
involvement.

Agreement of appointment
• The authority of the architect is strictly limited to the terms of his appointment.
• The form of services can be varied with changing circumstance during the work, but it is
essential that these changes are formally confirmed in amendments to the form of
agreement.
• Where a commission arises out of a recognised competition, the competition conditions
usually form the conditions of the appointment.
• The form of the appointment should be signed by both parties, witnessed and dated, each
keeping a copy.
• The architect's contract of engagement is usually personal to him: he cannot delegate his
duties completely, but he is under no obligation to carry out all of the work personally.
• Preliminary discussions often involve the exchange of business references.
• Architects may be required to enter into collateral warrantees with funding bodies or other
third parties. If this is asked after the architect has agreed fees and terms of appointment the
architect should carefully consider their conditions carefully and make sure that extra
services/extended liability are not suggested.
• An employer may not be aware of the constraints of the profession so the architect must
make them aware of all relevant matters in relation to the ARB Code of Conduct...etc.
• Clients sometimes seek all-in service appointments which may be commissioned from
existing multi-disciplinary practice or a single discipline consultant who engages sub-
consultants. The consultants engaged must have a unified approach.
• The appointment may be made by either an informal exchange of letters (frequent, but not
recommended) or an exchange of a formal memorandum or agreement, in each case
supported by appropriate supplementary material such as conditions of engagement.
• Various institutions publish standard forms of agreement and their use is strongly
recommended. Where a standard form is not used, it is suggested that the following matters
should be clearly identified in any exchange of letters:
o State the date of the agreement
o State the name and address of the employer and the architect
o State the title and address of the project
o Check that no other architect has been instructed or is working on the same contract
o State clearly the brief as you understand it
o Explain the form and scope of services to be provided by the architect
o Define the role of the architect within this project (if known at this stage):
ƒ Design leader and/or
ƒ Lead consultant and/or
ƒ Lead consultant and contract administrator

1 of 4
Architects Appointment

o Inform client of other professional services/consultants required and of how they are
appointed and paid
o Recommend specialists for works that you consider necessary e.g. landscape?
o Check if there is a survey available and if not arrange with your client the immediate
appointment of surveyor (arrange for the practice to carry out the survey if this is
appropriate/within capabilities of the office)
o Advise client of his obligations to comply with all statutory regulations and where
necessary obtain consents
o Check that he agrees with draft programme for the work
o Advise of any negotiations that may be necessary with owners of adjoining land/property
and of the financial implications
o Advise on fees, expenses and times of payment (Mileage rates, in-house printing costs,
hourly rates or other bases for different categories of staff). Are there any additional fees?
Advise on cost of planning applications and building regs applications.
o Explain the procedure to be followed in the event of the architect's incapacity
o Explain the procedure for the termination of the agreement
o State the procedure for resolving disputes between parties and name an agreed
adjudicator or the agreed nominator of an adjudicator

Other useful points to bear in mind:

o Phasing or sectional completion?

o Special submissions and negotiations?
o Health and Safety matters provided by client, make sure the client is aware of
this.

• Bear in mind the letter of appointment, if there is no standard from of appointment adopted,
may be the only document that could remotely be called a contract. Therefore the architect
should anticipate all potential snags which could arise from loosely drawn terms of
appointment.

Termination
• The contract of engagement between the architect and the client may be terminated by
either party at reasonable notice.
• In the event of termination, any outstanding fees for work properly carried out become due to
the architect.
• In the event of death or the incapacity of the architect, it is usually held that the client is
entitled to the use of the drawings to complete the work, provided payment has been made.
The death of either party generally dissolves the contract, but it is usually possible for a thirds
party to assume responsibility for the completion of the contract.
• In the event of termination on the ground of bankruptcy or liquidation, the contract can be
continued if both parties wish to do so and the receiver agrees.
• The Scheme for Construction Contracts and the standard forms of appointment make
provision for the suspension of work in the event of non-payment of fees.

Standard Forms of Agreement for the Appointment of an Architect

Forms of Agreement introduced in 1999:
• RIBA Standard Agreement 2010 – For the appointment of an Architect comprises of:
• Memorandum of Agreement (S-MA-10)
• Notes Part 1: Use & Completion (S-NML-10)
• Notes Part 2: Model Letter (S-N-10)
• Schedules (S-S-10) comprising of – Project Data, Part 1: Role Specifications, Part 2:
Design Services, Part 3: Other Services, Fees & Expense Schedule
• Standard Conditions
• Also, ACA SFA 2010 available – similar and also widely used.

2 of 4
Architects Appointment

GOING ABOUT APPOINTMENT

Prior to considering an offer of appointment, the office:

• should be satisfied that the client has the authority and resources to commission the work
before any contracts are established. It would be advisable obtain references and check
financial credibility of the client.
• should similarly be satisfied that they have the necessary finances, resources and staff to
undertake the project. It would be wise for the practice to consider the proposal to ensure
that it does not conflict with any relative codes of professional conduct, other commissions
and commitments in the office and the policy of the practice.
• Once satisfied, the office should contact their P.I. Insurers to ensure that they have adequate
and appropriate professional indemnity insurance cover to carry out the project.
• The office should also, if aware that the client (and project) has a connection with another
practice, then they should contact the other architect as duty bound to do so.

Assuming that the office has already discussed the client requirements for the project, they
should draw up a client care letter. The letter should include:
• An attached RIBA Standard Agreement 2010 (SA-10) Document and state that they will be
appointed under the terms of this appointment contract and should stipulate that both
parties are expected to sign this. It is worth mentioning that it is a requirement of the ARB
that an agreement between an Architect and his client should be evidenced in writing. The
office could send a copy of their preferred appointment document (SA-10), with amended
conditions to suit the project, with the client care letter so that the client could familiarise
himself with the contract and then suggest to meet to discuss and sign if the client so
preferred or alternatively return it signed, which the practice will in turn sign and return a copy
to the client.
• A Brief: clearly stating the client’s requirements and wishes for the site, a clear definition of
the services to be required and the obligation to perform these services with due skill and
care.
• A programme: clearly outlining, provided that the brief has correctly understood, the work
stages to take the project to planning and a proposed timeline to do so. In doing so, make it
clear to the client that while you’ll use your best endeavours to see that the services you
perform will provide allow the client to achieve their cost and time targets, that you cannot
warrant that the project will completed with the budget or timetable.
• Services: the services the office intends to provide, expanded with Schedule 2 of the
Appointment document (SA-10).
• Other Consultants: Make the client aware of their legal obligation to appoint a CDM co-
ordinator in compliance with CDM Regulations. Also make the client aware of all other
consultants who will need to be involved/appointed such as Structural Engineer, M& E
Engineer, Quantity Surveyor, Landscape designer, Party Wall Surveyor, any persons required
to achieve Legislative / Statutory requirements such as Environmental Consultant, acoustic
consultant, Planning Consultant, persons required to carry out daylight/sunlight tests for the
site etc...
• Fees:
o Suggest a lump sum fee based upon percentage fee of the total intended construction
cost of the project – taking the project to Stage D + of RIBA work stages (planning).
o Should the client wish to make changes to the brief stated or look at other options for the
site, suggest a time based rate for these variations or suggest the possibility of alterations
to the lump sum could be negotiated dependent upon the extent of changes to the brief.
o State that invoices will be issued monthly and that payment must be within 28days. It is
common practice to include a detailed fee proposal which further defines the fee
payment.
o Define any further payments which may also be required in terms of expenses (eg printing
costs and travel costs) and disbursements (eg planning fees).
o The office should also inform the client that any additional works requested by the
planners after the initial submission will be charged on a time basis.

3 of 4
Architects Appointment

• Legislative obligations:
o Re-iterate that the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 prevent work
continuing beyond very initial design work until a CDM co-ordinator is appointed.
o Make the client aware that you are registered with the ARB and have to adhere to its
Code of Conduct and as such you are required under this Code to inform the client that
architects are subject to the disciplinary sanction of the Board in relation to complaints of
unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence.
o Finally, you should make the client aware that the construction industry is subject to much
industry specific legislation and regulation which poses obligation upon the client, as
building owner and in commissioning work to their building. While as architects, much of
the legislation will be bound into our scope of services and will be diligently carried out; it
falls outside our scope of services to supply the client with exhaustive details. Therefore
recommend to the client to contact their legal advisors for comprehensive legal advise.
• Within the care letter, you may go into further detail by explaining various clauses within the
Appointment document which the client may not be familiar with, such as limitation of liability
and net contribution clauses. The care letter may also make reference to a preferred method
of dispute resolution as well as the clients provisions available to them for suspension or
termination of services.
• The architect should perhaps also provide a copy of ‘clients guide to engaging with an
architect’ to aid the client in understanding the benefits of appointing an architect and the
role a client is required to take on in a project as well as some of the relevant legislation which
is likely to impact upon the project.

Relevant documents you would refer to and use:

RIBA Standard Agreement – Architect 2010
RIBA Plan of Work
ARB Code of Conduct 2010
RIBA Code of Professional Conduct
Clients guide to engaging an architect

If cash bonus offer:

Cash would be deemed an unacceptable form of payment. The office should also point out that
the client has to acknowledge that the architect does not warrant that planning permission and
other approvals from third parties will be granted (clause 3.10.1 of the conditions of SA 2010).
And that any additional works carried out after the initial planning submission would chargeable
on an hourly basis.
The office could however instil confidence in their abilities by highlighting previous successful
applications.
At the end of the day, perhaps a commercial decision – suggest that should the client wish, a
gratuity bonus be included in the overall fee.
The office could suggest that the client appoint a planning officer’s expertise to assist in the
application should this be his concern.

4 of 4
Professional Codes of Conduct

PROFESSIONAL CODES OF CONDUCT

• Architects in the UK are subject to the CODE of Professional conduct and Practice of the
Architect's Registration Board (ARB). Failure to comply with the ARB code could result in the
removal of the person's name from the register, terminating the person's right to use the title
'architect', and possibly leading to the person's loss of livelihood.
• In addition architects can choose to join other professional bodies such as the RIBA and
become subject to their codes. Failure to comply with the institution's code may lead to
suspension or loss of Membership.
(see p 4-6 of Stephen Brookhouse’s Part 3 Guide for summaries of roles of ARB and RIBA – attached)

Underlying principles of the architecture profession

• CABE identifies: formal association (a band of brothers!); trustworthiness; observing the public
interest; maintaining and developing a body of knowledge
• the Architects Act addresses both unacceptable professional conduct and serious professional
incompetence (practice)

RIBA Code of Professional Conduct 2005

It consists of: 3 Principles of professional conduct, Professional values that support those
principles and Guidance notes which explain how they can be upheld
• Members are required to act in the spirit of the code as well as its precise terms, and are
expected to have due regard to the need to conserve and enhance the quality of the
environment, its natural resources and cultural heritage
• A member found in breach of the code is liable to reprimand, suspension or expulsion

The Principles
Principle 1: Integrity
Members shall act with honesty and integrity at all times
Headlines:
1.1 impartiality
responsibility
truthfulness
1.2 not be influenced by their own or others’ self-interest
1.3 not be party to a statement they know to be untrue
1.4 avoid conflicts of interest
1.5 respect confidentiality and privacy
1.6 not take bribes

Principle 2: Competence
In the performance of their work Members shall act competently, conscientiously and
responsibly. Members must be able to provide the knowledge, the ability and the financial and
technical resources appropriate for their work
2.1 apply high standards of skill and care
exercise informed and impartial judgement
2.2 realistically appraise their own abilities and make clients aware of likelihood of achieving
aspirations
2.3 ensure efficiency of professional management, such as keeping clear records
2.4 keep clients informed of progress and of decisions made on their behalf
2.5 use best endeavours to meet client’s time, cost and quality requirements

Principle 3: Relationships
Members shall respect the relevant rights and interests of others
3.1 respect beliefs and opinions of others
have due concern for the effect of their work on the local community
3.2 be aware of the environmental impact of their work
3.3 comply with good employment practice
3.4 act fairly in competition with others
3.5 have procedures in place to deal with complaints
(ARB Code: Architects Code: Standards of Conduct and Practice (2010) – see in bound doc)

1 of 1