Not Designing but Advising
How can Architects use ‘design thinking’ to support client skills and capacity through impartial advice and expertise?
Twenty years ago, a developer client told me that the most valuable part of my architectural service was provided to him in the first 10 minutes, during which I gave advice upon which he could always rely to make key decisions. Beyond that, brutally, he said that he would choose his architect to suit his project requirements - and that was only occasionally me - but to this day he still turns to me for early advice on every project. This client clearly saw the value of ‘design thinking’ at the pre-design stages, and the role of architectural advice in the development of project strategy and governance is widely recognised in the industry today. This is evidenced by the number of exceptional architects performing leading roles in client organisations, advisory firms, management consultancies and government departments. Such architects are undoubtedly ‘practicing’, but they are generally not ‘designing’.
This raises the question of how a wider range of clients could access this ‘design thinking’ in the early stages of their projects, and capture the full contribution that architects can make to the construction industry, to the quality and value of our built environment and to society as a whole.
Context
Everyone is familiar with the role of architects as designers who deliver the architectural service and originate the design product. However, acting as Architect is only one of three increasingly distinct areas of practice undertaken by professional architects - they can also act in the alternative capacities of Lead Designer or Client Adviser.
The Lead Designer is the leader of the multidisciplinary design team and often – but not always – also the Architect. This role is set out in detail by Dale Sinclair in his 2019 book ‘The Lead Designers Handbook’. The appointment of both Architect and Lead Designer is facilitated by the RIBA Standard Professional Services Contract 2018.
However, the appointment of an architect as Client Adviser has a different purpose. In this role, the architect provides advice based on ‘design thinking’ but, critically, does not design. This has led to the development of a separate form of appointment.
Demand
The Architects Registration Board highlights that Architecture is ‘...in the unique position of being the only statutorily regulated profession’ in a construction industry ‘which is currently subject to rapid change’. As in the medical profession this regulation brings both benefit and burden. Architects have protected title which denotes their specialist ability to maintain the big picture of increasingly complex building design activities and tasks, and to use their imaginative skills to process and communicate ‘what if’ scenarios to support decision making. They have a professional duty to maintain their expertise in a fast changing technical and regulatory environment and to exercise these skills with care in the project context, whether in the capacity of designer or adviser. Architects as advisers are in demand, not just because of their skills, but because of the professional weight that their advice carries.
As Client accountability to funders, stakeholders and regulators increases, so does the need for strong project governance. The use of architect advisers by client teams achieves objectivity by disconnecting the oversight of strategy, business case and professional performance from the externally procured design service.
Even when substantial in-house client teams are in place, the inclusion of an independent architect Client Adviser can add impartiality and challenge, much as a non-executive director does on a corporate board. They can be deployed to specific tasks such as oversight of quality both in the design product and in the design process itself, embedding quality and value. With a professional obligation to maintain their knowledgebase at the forefront of the industry, they can be the conscience of a project in topical subject areas such as digital practice, routes to zero carbon, design safety and post-Covid market response.
Scope
Qualified architects are engaged in client- side roles worldwide, particularly in developing economies where the availability of experienced client team members is limited. In the UK context the UK Government recommends the early appointment of an independent client adviser to provide high level expert advice and to help protect the client's interests. The RIBA advises that
‘....RIBA Client Advisers are selected by the Royal Institute of British Architects from its membership for their all-round procurement expertise, design experience, business knowledge and track-record of delivering results in construction projects. A RIBA Client Adviser is usually an experienced architect and professional practitioner (but not the one designing the building) working in the client team, independent of the design team, monitoring and helping the client to follow a robust decision making process from the very start and throughout the project....’
The new RIBA Professional Services contract for the appointment of a Client Adviser (currently in consultation draft) sets out, in addition to the professional obligations and contractual provisions, a schedule of core services by workstage. A list of ‘other’ services covers a wide range of activities which Client Advisers can provide if required. These ‘core’ and ‘other’ services are intended to be complementary to services offered by other members of the project team. An unambiguous interface of the Client Adviser role with that of the Project Manager and the Architect(s) is essential, and worth discussing in more detail here.
The Project Manager has a wide set of management duties, clearly set out in the RICS 2019 Project Manager Services. Most of these are clearly distinct from that of the RIBA Client Adviser, however there is potential overlap in Section 2 Project Brief and Design. Care must be taken by the Project Manager and Client Adviser to articulate clearly how they will give the client the benefit of their collective advice, rather than generating conflicting commentary. As a rule, each professional will limit their advice to topics within their areas of expertise. Potential pitfalls of this interface include the Client Adviser straying into management tasks, or the Project Manager being drawn into giving opinions on the professional performance of the architect or design work products. However, a clearly defined working relationship between Client Advisor and Project Manager can be significantly more than the sum of the parts, highly efficient and cost effective.
The Architect interface with the Client Adviser should be more straightforward, but the message that the Client Adviser ‘does not design’ seems to need frequent reinforcement. There is potential for misunderstanding around any requirement for design work in RIBA Stages 0 and 1. The RIBA Plan of Work recommends appointment of the Design Team at the start of Stage 2 because, without a brief and a business case, no effective project design work can be undertaken. However, it is a matter of judgement for the Client Adviser whether any simple ‘test fits’ required for business case development stray into the realm of ‘design feasibility’ - for example, if specific design skills are needed to solve a complex test fit or if the options between different spatial solutions need to be evaluated against subjective design criteria. In this case, the Client Adviser should support the selection of an architect to undertake design feasibility work, and that architect may or may not be the architect ultimately appointed for the design stages. In certain circumstances the Client Adviser may undertake this work themselves, however it is important to recognise that the RIBA Client Adviser role is not intended as a business development mechanism to enable architects to capture downstream commissions for themselves. Straying into the area of designer – even if not ultimately appointed as Stage 2-6 Architect - risks compromising the impartiality and objectivity which is the purpose of the role.
Client Types
Until recently, the uptake of the RIBA Client Adviser service has mainly been by ‘single building clients’, predominantly in the schools sector. Such clients, being new to the procurement of buildings and lacking the necessary skills in-house, have preferred to avoid huge learning curves and the attendant risk by outsourcing this part of the client function in the pre- design and design stages, when the potential to add value and manage risk is greatest.
However, a much wider range of client types is now starting to benefit from the availability of freelance Client Advisers, and the opportunity to buy in as much or as little advisory expertise as they need. At the smaller end of the scale, homeowners and self-builders have found that just a few hours of expert advice can save weeks of misdirection and unnecessary expense, and the service was highlighted in a recent FTWeekend article ‘What Lies Behind’ by Edwin Heathcote (18/19 April 2020). At the other end of the scale, Client Advisers can offer established client teams on larger projects or programs the capacity and flex to overcome pressure points and skills gaps without committing to unsustainable long- term overheads. They are able to fill leadership and governance roles in large projects or programmes, on an executive or non-executive basis, and their flexible skillset, diagnostic ability and leadership experience makes them ideal emergency cover for project directors or even practice principals in times of unexpected need.
The Future
Traditionally, architects are expected to design – but the three distinct practice areas of ‘advise’, ‘lead and co-ordinate’ and ‘design’ are equally important to the qualitative outcomes of modern projects. Architects have for many years occupied leadership posts in client organisations, and the new RIBA Client Adviser Professional Service Contract will now offer a wider range of clients the mechanism to access such expertise on a consultancy basis before they appoint a design team.
In the coming months, as our industry considers the societal needs of the post- Covid economy, the post-Grenfell findings and the climate change emergency, project governance will be firmly in the spotlight. Clients of all types who understand the distinctions between these practice areas, and who select their project personnel accordingly, can harness the full potential offered by the architectural profession and achieve the step changes in efficiency, design quality, environmental impact, cost certainty and innovation which the industry critically needs.
In a recent essay Dr Rory Hyde suggests that the architecture profession should review ‘...the way in which expertise is made available in society..’ and consider ways to serve ‘...10 clients a day, rather than 10 clients a year.....’ . The idea of an ‘architect-as-GP’ model is an intriguing one which deserves further exploration. The potential of the Client Adviser role is that highly experienced architect practitioners with a reputation for independence and integrity, and highly developed diagnostic skills can broaden their reach by offering concentrated ‘doses’ of advice to a wide range of clients, and to take professional responsibility for the consequences of that advice.
Experienced architects should grasp the opportunity to help clients of all types to set the briefing and governance environments of their projects by acting as Client Advisers, and in doing so are certain to create substantial value by enabling high quality, viable and sustainable buildings, and increased certainty of project outcomes.
Acknowledgements
With thanks to Sarah Williams (S Williams Architects and Chair of the Steering Committee, RIBA Client Adviser Panel), Dale Sinclair (AECOM), Rob Firth (Action Coach) and Nick Willars (Plan A Consultants) for their insightful contributions on this topic.
References
1.The Lead Designer Handbook, Dale Sinclair. RIBA Publications 2019
2.Architects Registration Board of the UK / Architects Journal (8th April 2020)
3.FTWeekend ‘What Lies Behind’ by Edwin Heathcote3 (18/19 April 2020)
4.Architecture is in Breach of the Social Contract, Dr Rory Hyde from Defining Contemporary Professionalism (Alan Jones and Rob Hyde) RIBA Publications 2019
