ARB Criteria

Contents

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Terminology
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

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These criteria have also been adopted and approved by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Foreword

The Architects Act 1997 gives the Architects Registration Board (ARB) the responsibility for prescribing the qualifications and practical training experience required for entry onto the UK Register of Architects. The prescription of qualifications is key to ARB’s dual mandate, to protect the consumer and to safeguard the reputation of architects.

In carrying out its duty to prescribe qualifications, ARB publishes criteria, which set out the minimum levels of awareness, knowledge, understanding and ability that students of architecture must acquire at key stages in the process of qualifying as an architect. These criteria form the basis upon which ARB makes decisions as to whether or not qualifications can be prescribed.

The underlying framework for the criteria are Articles 3 and 4 of European Union Council Directive 85/384/EEC, the Architects’ Directive. That Directive sets minimum requirements for the length and core areas of study for architectural qualifications across the European Union. This is to facilitate mutual recognition of those qualifications and to facilitate the right of establishment and freedom to provide services across the European Union. ARB is the Competent Body for the Directive in the UK and as such has responsibility for ensuring that all UK qualifications for the practice of architecture comply with the requirements of the Directive.

These new criteria differ to those previously published in that:

• Separate requirements for Parts 1, 2 and 3 are clearly stated stipulating the progression required between these three key stages of an architect’s education.

• Greater emphasis is placed on knowledge and understanding of Technology and Environment and the ability to integrate this within design projects.

• Management, Practice and Law has a higher profile at Parts 1 and 2 than previously.

• The opportunity to pursue related, specialised and optional studies is stipulated as a requirement of the criteria.

The ARB and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have agreed to hold these criteria in common. Their publication would not have been possible without considerable input from a wide range of people and organisations. In particular the Board would like to thank RIBA for its work in helping to establish these criteria. The Board is also indebted to the profession at large who through the market research the Board carried out in August 2001 provided the Board with a powerful insight into how architectural education ought to more positively gear students for professional life. The Board would also like to thank the Standing Conference of Heads of Schools of Architecture for their input to the process, along with those other parties interested in architecture and architectural education who also made submissions helping to ensure that the criteria are both workable, practical and valued by all those who need to use them.

The Board recognises that architectural practice is a complex and changing activity. Architectural education therefore needs from time to time to reflect those changes. The Board would be grateful to receive views from all interested parties on the perceived need for changes in the criteria, including any newer subject areas that have become more important and the omission of any items no longer considered relevant.

The Board is not proposing to make ad hoc changes to the criteria - that would be difficult for the Schools of Architecture to manage - but it does hope in dialogue with them and with RIBA, to ensure the criteria remain a live topic that all can share in updating and improving from time to time for the benefit of architectural education, its students and the profession.

Owen Luder, Acting Chairman, April 2002

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Introduction

The criteria, below, describe the requirements for the prescription of Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 qualifications in architecture by the Architects Registration Board. The criteria incorporate the relevant requirements of the UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and EU Directive and are considered under five thematic headings: Design, Technology and Environment, Cultural Context, Management Practice and Law, and Communication. No weightings are given to the separate themes with the exception of Design, which is to constitute at least half of assessed work at Part 1 and Part 2.

Students must also be given the opportunity to pursue related, specialised, or optional studies. The form and content of related, specialised and optional studies, are a matter for each institution, and institutions may develop programmes that, for example, link architecture with other subjects, emphasise research, develop specialisms and promote advanced degrees. However, such initiatives must not compromise the key requirement that all students receiving a qualification must meet all the criteria.

This document should be read in conjunction with ‘Prescription of Qualifications: ARB Procedures’ published by the Architects Registration Board in 2003.

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Terminology

The terms awareness, knowledge, understanding and ability are used in the criteria to indicate the level of achievement required in each theme and student progression through the course of study. The following guidance is given on the definition of these four terms:

Term	Guidance
Awareness	acquaintance with general concepts, topics, rules methods or procedures, without necessarily being able to paraphrase or summarise information. Students should be able to identify the limits of their awareness and be able to refer to source material for more in depth knowledge.
Knowledge	familiarity with specific information, including facts, definitions, rules, methods, process or settings, without necessarily being able to see its fullest implication or application.
Understanding	identification, assimilation and comprehension of information. Students can correctly paraphrase or summarise information and can relate it to other material, including its practical application.
Ability	skill in relating specific information to the accomplishment of tasks. Students can correctly select information that is appropriate to a situation and apply it to the solution of specific problems.

The terms academic portfolio and coherent architectural designs are also used in the criteria.

The academic portfolio is a comprehensive chronological record of a student’s design project work together with all course work, including reports, dissertations, sketch books and any other evidence of work, (with project briefs and examination papers), that have been assessed as part of the course leading to an award of Part 1, 2 or 3. The visiting board will examine the academic portfolios of a representative sample of students in order to gain a clear understanding of student achievement in each year of the course in all subjects, modules and units for each award.

Coherent architectural designs propose qualitative three-dimensional spatial configurations that are well planned and meet user and local needs. There will be progression in complexity from Part 1 to Part 2.

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PART 1

DESIGN

At Part 1 students will demonstrate coherent architectural designs that integrate a knowledge of:

• The ways that analysis, research, context, budget, preparation and development of a brief inform a design proposal

• The regulatory frameworks, and health & safety considerations that guide design and building construction

• Architectural histories and theories, of physical, artistic and cultural contexts, and their use in informing the design process

And ability to:

• Work as part of a team

TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

At Part 1 students will demonstrate, within coherent architectural designs and academic portfolio, the ability to integrate knowledge of:

• The principles of building technologies, environmental design and construction methods, in relation to:
  • human well-being
  • the welfare of future generations
  • the natural world
  • consideration of a sustainable environment
  • use of materials
  • process of assembly
  • structural principles

• The impact on design of legislation, codes of practice and health and safety both during the construction and occupation of a project

CULTURAL CONTEXT

At Part 1 students will demonstrate within coherent architectural design and academic portfolio awareness of:

• The influences on the contemporary built environment of individual buildings, the design of cities, past and present societies and wider global issues

Knowledge of:

• The histories and theories of architecture and urban design, the history of ideas, and the related disciplines of art, cultural studies and landscape studies

And ability to:

• Form considered judgements about the spatial, aesthetic, technical and social qualities of a design within the scope and scale of a wider environment

• Reflect upon, and relate their ideas to, a design and to the work of others

COMMUNICATION

At Part 1 students will demonstrate within coherent architectural designs and academic portfolio ability to:

• Use visual, verbal and written communication methods and appropriate media (including sketching, modelling, digital and electronic techniques) to clearly and effectively convey and critically appraise design ideas and proposals

• Use the conventions of architectural representations from two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics to computer generated and physical models

• Listen, and critically respond to, the views of others

MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND LAW

At Part 1 students will demonstrate within an academic portfolio an awareness of:

• The principles of business management and how a small business operates

A knowledge of:

• How buildings are designed and built in the context of architectural and professional practice and the framework of the construction industry within which it operates

And ability to:

• Manage and appraise their own working practices, whether working independently or collaboratively

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PART 2

DESIGN

At Part 2 students will produce and demonstrate coherent and well resolved architectural designs that integrate knowledge of:

• The social, political, economic and professional context that guides building construction

An understanding of:

• Briefs and how to critically appraise them to ensure that the design response is appropriate to site and context, and for reasons such as sustainability and budget

• The regulatory requirements, including the needs of the disabled, health and safety legislation and building regulations and development control, that guide building construction

• An appropriate philosophical approach which reveals an understanding of theory in a cultural context

And ability to:

• Generate and systematically test, analyse and appraise design options, and draw conclusions which display methodological and theoretical rigour

• Work as part of a team

TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

At Part 2 students will demonstrate, within coherent architectural designs and academic portfolio, the ability to integrate knowledge of:

• The principles and theories associated with visual, thermal and acoustic environments

• Climatic design and the relationship between climate, built form construction, life style, energy consumption and human well-being

Understanding of:

• Building technologies, environmental design and construction methods in relation to:
  • human well-being
  • the welfare of future generations
  • the natural world
  • the consideration of a sustainable environment

• The impact on design of legislation, codes of practices and health and safety both during the construction and occupation of a project

And ability to:

• Devise structural and constructional strategies for a complex building or group of buildings, employing integrative knowledge of:
  • structural theories
  • construction techniques and processes
  • the physical properties and characteristics of building materials and components and the environmental impact of specification choices
  • the provision of building services

CULTURAL CONTEXT

At Part 2 students will demonstrate within coherent architectural designs and academic portfolio understanding of:

• The influences on the contemporary built environment of individual buildings, the design of cities, past and present societies and wider global issues

• The histories and theories of architecture and urban design, the history of ideas, and the related disciplines of art, cultural studies and landscape studies and its application in critical debate

• The inter-relationship between people, buildings and the environment and an understanding of the need to relate buildings and the spaces between them to human needs and scale

And ability to:

• Critically appraise and form considered judgements about the spatial, aesthetic, technical and social qualities of a design within the scope and scale of a wider environment

• Independently define, and critically appraise, their ideas in relation to a design and to the work of others

COMMUNICATION

At Part 2 students will demonstrate within coherent architectural designs and academic portfolio understanding of:

• The contribution of other professionals in the design process showing an appropriate use of team working skills, recognising the importance of current methods in the construction industry

And ability to:

• Use visual, verbal and written communication methods and appropriate media (including sketching, modelling, digital and electronic techniques) to represent the testing, analysis and critical appraisal of complex design proposals and their resolution to a range of professional and lay audiences

• Use architectural representations having critically appraised the most appropriate techniques available

• Produce documentation and reports which are clear, analytical and logical covering a range of architectural issues of culture, theory and design

MANAGEMENT PRACTICE & LAW

At Part 2 students will demonstrate within an academic portfolio knowledge of:

• How cost control mechanisms operate within the development of an architectural project

Understanding of:

• The basic principles of business management and factors related to running a design practice and how architects organise, administer and manage an architectural project, recognising current and emerging trends in the construction industry such as partnering, integrated project process, value engineering and risk management

• The inter-relationships of individuals and organisations involved in the procurement and delivery of architectural projects, and how these are defined and effected through a variety of contractual and organisational structures

• The fundamental legal, professional and statutory requirements as they are relevant to building design and practice, with particular reference to matters relating to health and safety and universal design for access

• The professional duties and responsibilities of architects, as defined and described in the Codes and Standards relating to their professional practice

And ability to:

• Identify and manage individual learning needs so as to prepare for and maintain professional standards commensurate with qualification

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PART 3

At Part 3 students will demonstrate within an academic portfolio:

THE CONTEXT FOR PRACTICE

Knowledge of:

• The size and relative importance of the construction industry to other sectors of the national and international economy and the role of the profession relative to the industry

• The overlapping interests of organisations representing the built environment and their relation to the role of the architect

• The range of ongoing specialist panels of advisory, consultative or government bodies which have the responsibility for developing policies which guide or control construction industry practices

Understanding of:

• The social and economic context for investment in the built environment

Ability to:

• Apply principles underlying the law relevant to architectural practice and building procurement

• Act in accordance with the requirements of professional conduct and the concept of ‘professionalism’

• Follow Codes and Standards regulating the profession of architecture

• Demonstrate that health and safety matters are integral to every stage of the design process and execution for those aspects of design for which the architect is responsible

THE MANAGEMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

Awareness of:

• Technical standards and sources of specialist information

Knowledge of:

• Legislation on health and safety and its application to design and construction

Understanding of:

• Appropriate fees, negotiation and fee bidding techniques, bearing in mind the funding and procurement basis for the project, and with reference to other factors listed below

• Integrated project process and project team partnering

• Relevant statutory bodies, construction and development legislation and consultative bodies, and their potential effect on programme, cost and quality of design

• Methods and standards intended to ensure and manage quality standards

Ability to:

• Prepare, in consultation with the client, an acceptable brief and budget, including consultation with others as appropriate. Thereafter, to effectively communicate with the client at every stage of the project

• Assess the variety and appropriateness of project procurement methods and their implications in relation to client requirements and the architectural and professional input required

• Assess the architectural services required to deliver a project effectively and the establishment of appropriate scope of works for all members of the project team; to co-ordinate and integrate the work of other consultants and an awareness of the terms of their appointments

• Programme and manage the flow of information among the members of the design team

• Communicate effectively with each part of the client body and construction team

• Operate quality assurance procedures which ensure the maintenance of design standards and intentions in relation to budgetary and programme control

• Analyse the appropriateness and completeness for its purpose of forms of documentation including written and graphic communication

THE MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION

Knowledge of:

• Site organisation, mobilisation and the establishment of appropriate lines of communication in relation to the specific responsibilities of the building team

• Methods of dispute resolution, conciliation, adjudication, arbitration, and litigation

Understanding of:

• Project planning, documentation and execution

• The range of methods of building procurement, tender types and codes of practice for procedure, and an ability to identify an appropriate contract strategy and to create pre-contract information

• Value engineering, integrated supply chain management and the principles of lean construction

• The implications of, and ability to apply, collateral agreements such as the nomination of subcontractors and the position of domestic sub contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and statutory undertakings in relation to standard forms of contract

• Risk management in relation to construction and consultants contracts, liabilities, indemnities and insurance and awareness of mechanisms such as insurance to deal with liabilities

• The value of post-completion assessment and appraisal and methods of debriefing

• The maintenance of adequate financial control for cost planning of projects

Ability to:

• Analyse contract types in terms of their implications for time, cost, quality, information flow and the procedures related to each

• Assess and organise a quality control and programming system in relation to the architect’s role in administering the building process

• Prepare architect’s instructions and certificates appropriately for standard forms of contract, and to implement the procedures for the assessment and valuation of claims

• Create maintenance manuals and post-completion information for clients and building users

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Awareness of:

• The need and techniques for the protection of intellectual property and copyright

• The various techniques for the marketing of professional services and how architects commissions are obtained

• National and international trends for the distribution and commissioning of architectural projects

Knowledge of:

• The requirements for taxation, health and safety, employment contracts, civil liability, and equal opportunities legislation etc. on different business structures, including working from home

Understanding of:

• The resources (technical, IT, financial, personnel, etc) necessary in order to offer professional services for a particular project

• Different forms of architectural practice, for example, sole trader, partnership, company, consortium or joint venture, and their respective legal implications

• The internal structures and organisations appropriate to different forms of architectural and multidisciplinary practice

• The skills required for the management of people within an organisation and a basic appreciation of motivation, group dynamics, staff appraisal and reward structures

• The techniques and context required to create an effective and efficient ongoing environment for practice

• The financial management of an architectural practice

Approved March 2002
Effective September 2003