Principal Designer: A New Opportunity for Architects

[edit] Impacts and changes resulting from the inquiry

The Phase 2 report on the Grenfell tragedy was finally published in September more than 7 years after the disaster. While the report brought the enquiry to a close, the fall out from the severe systematic failings revealed by the investigation will continue to impact the construction industry for many years to come.

In particular the enactment of the Building Safety Act is having a major effect on construction. The Act is intended to force significant changes in the way that buildings are designed, constructed and maintained and make clear who takes responsibility for them being safe to build and use. The idea is to create a “golden thread” of continuity throughout the lifetime of a building so that information on compliance is compiled, stored and passed on.

One of the most significant changes for architects is the creation of the Building Regulations Principal Designer role, which is intended to ensure that the designs for buildings comply with the Building Regulations. A new regime for higher risk buildings (HRBs) also came into effect. The legislation also creates additional roles for Principal Contractors and Clients and imposes new duties on designers in general. Almost all construction projects involving an architect will now require a Building Regulations Principal Designer.

The ACA’s view is that this role provides a unique opportunity for architects to take more control over the design of projects and also to charge additional fees. However, it also will increase risk to an extent and will potentially have far reaching consequences for procurement routes such as design and build.

[edit] Building Regulations Principal Designer Role

Under the new regulations, the client for any construction project requiring Building Regulations approval must appoint a Building Regulations Principal Designer (BR PD). The duties of Principal Designer are to plan, manage and oversee design work during the design stage and to co-ordinate design work to ensure that the designs, if built, would comply with the Building Regulations. There are also duties in regards to co-ordination and communication with the client and Principal Contractor.

The legislation mandates that Principal Designers be appointed at the application stage for Building Regulations approval at the very latest, although appointing one at the earliest opportunity is highly advisable to ensure compliance and it would be wise to advise clients to appoint a Principal Designer at the outset of any project.

The regulations state that the role should be carried out by the designer in control of the design phase of the project. HSE guidance also says that the Principal Designer should not be a 3rd party with no control over the design. The role is therefore naturally suited for architects to perform along side their role as lead designers.

The role was defined in government legislation that was published in August 2023 and it is essential that all architects read the actual legislation as well as the guidance to ensure they fully understand the role.

That the HSE has given the role the same name as the CDM Principal Designer in a clear hint that they would like the roles to be performed by same the person or company. In the ACA’s view this makes sense and we would encourage architects to consider taking on both roles where appropriate.

[edit] Competence Required for the Principal Designer Role

The role has a competency test that restricts it to suitably qualified people or businesses. This means that generally the role can only be performed by regulated professionals such as architects, engineers or surveyors. This creates a relatively high bar for competency that will create issues in quite a few areas. For instance design and build contractors will either need to employ suitably qualified staff or find other ways of complying.

It is also not clear how things will work in practice in the domestic market, where a builder might previously have just worked without an architect or other construction professional to build out extensions and loft conversions, but must now either bring in a professional to act as Principal Designer or act as Principal Designer themselves, but many if not most of these companies will not be suitably qualified.

[edit] Why Architects Are Best Placed to Carry Out the Role

The overall intent of the new regulations is to improve the quality of construction and to do this by making key stakeholders in the process more accountable. This should be welcomed by the profession and in the ACA’s view the role of Principal Designer presents an opportunity for architects to earn additional fees and regain more control over construction projects.

Many architects will already be preforming many of these functions in the course of their existing roles as architect and lead designer and therefore the new role is a natural fit. However, the added requirements of the role will potentially need new systems and processes to demonstrate compliance. Principal Designers will also be required to sign a Principal Designer’s Declaration of Compliance before a Registered Building Control Approver can issue their final documentation so it is essential to be able to demonstrate that a process has been followed to reasonably ensure that the overall design is compliant.

The upside of the requirement to sign a declaration before a Building Regulations final certificate will be issued is that this should give architects more say over design decisions during construction and the power to resist changes that impact on compliance.

The role does increase architects’ potential liability and this increased risk should be reflected in fee agreements. Architects should therefore be careful to make sure it’s clear who is Principal Designer and if it is them that they are properly appointed directly by the client.

In the event that an architect only provides partial services or stops work part way through a project, it is essential to make sure that your appointment is correctly terminated. Architects should be particularly wary of accidentally assuming the role as HSE advice states that "If a domestic client does not appoint either a Principal Designer or Principal Contractor, then the designer in control of the design phase of the project is the principal designer.”

[edit] ACA launches a Principal Designer Register

The ACA is encouraging members to take on the new role where appropriate and indeed in most instances there is may be little choice since the role can only be performed by someone who is a “designer in control of the design phase” of the project - which in many cases will be the architect.

In order to support architects in promoting their ability to act as Principal Designer, the ACA has launched a Principal Designer Register (www.principaldesigner.uk) for architects, where ACA members can register as a Building Regulations Principal Designer. The register allows architects to showcase their skills to their existing clients and advertise to new ones and helps reinforce the message that architects should be the Principal Designer.

Find out more by visiting http://www.principaldesigner.uk/

This article was issued via press release as "Principal Designer: A New Opportunity for Architects" dated 10 December, 2024 and was written by Patrick Inglis MA(Cantab) DipArch ARB RIBA ACArch and President of The Association of Consultant Architects (ACA).

--ACA

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