Consultation on the Architects Code of Conduct and Practice

Overview

Architects play a vital role in shaping the places where we live and work. The public, our communities and clients expect that architects will deliver buildings and spaces that are safe and sustainable, and carry out their work ethically and with integrity. As the statutory regulator for architects, ARB has a legal requirement to publish a Code of Conduct and Practice (the Architects Code) which sets out the standards the profession must uphold. The Architects Code is fundamental for all architects as it describes the behaviours that underpin safe and ethical practice. 

ARB has published a draft version of a revised Code for consultation. The revised Code is designed to act as a positive statement of what professionalism and ethics mean to architects. It explains to the public, clients, and those who work with architects the behaviours and high standards they should expect from the profession. It has been drafted using published research on public expectations as to how architects should behave and act, and following engagement with architects and other professionals in the built environment. 

The current edition of the Code was published in 2017, and this proposed revision is intended to address recent developments in building safety, environmental sustainability and inclusivity to ensure that the Code continues to be fit for practice. 

The revised Code will be supported by a suite of guidance to give advice for how architects can meet the standards of the Code in specific situations and contexts. 

This consultation seeks the views of architects, students, learning providers, clients, those who work with architects, and those who use the spaces that architects design. 

What happens next

ARB will publish the results of the consultation and a consultation report in 2025. The Board will consider the results of the consultation before a final revised Code is published. The revised Code will be published alongside a schedule of the guidance to be published.