As we enter the New Year in a third national lockdown, it’s clear that the challenges of 2020 show no sign of easing in the short term. Vaccination holds out the hope of a shift, eventually, towards a less restricted future. In the meantime, I encourage you all to read our recently updated guidance on practising in the pandemic. We hope it will support you in navigating your professional and regulatory obligations in line with government restrictions.

The start of the New Year also marks the start of the next registration period. The Register gives the public reassurance that anyone working as an architect has the education and experience necessary for the job. This protection is vital, whatever the scale of the design project. I must take this opportunity to thank the many of you who paid your retention fee on time, as 98% of architects have done. Please read this article for details on how to apply for reinstatement to the Register should you need to do that.

So what’s in store for architects in 2021?

In the coming weeks we will be publishing new guidelines on how to maintain and raise your competence in two key areas: fire/life safety design and sustainability. We are working in collaboration with professional bodies and industry experts to ensure you have access to helpful learning resources that are relevant to your area of architectural practice.  I must be clear that the purpose of these guidelines is not to add an additional regulatory burden, but to give a lead and demonstrate what we believe to be true: that the profession is well able to evolve to meet the emerging demands of society, both in the UK and across the world.

The end of the UK-EU Implementation Period has brought a new system for the recognition of architectural qualifications. As your regulator we have been working very hard to minimise the impact of any changes to the system on you. This includes a commitment to regular communication and updates to our website. I am particularly delighted that we have been able to formalise an agreementwith our Irish counterparts to facilitate ongoing mutual recognition of qualifications between our two nations. The work we have done on that project has been underpinned by a warm and collaborative spirit which we will continue to nurture as we discuss future arrangements with other countries in Europe and elsewhere.  Meanwhile, I encourage you all to read the Recognising qualificationsarticle within this eBulletin, along with our EU Exit webpages, for further information in this area.

I wish you all a happy New Year, despite its challenging start, and look forward to updating you regularly on our progress throughout 2021.

Alan Kershaw

Chair

Architects Registration Board