Part 3 Handbook

Stephen Brookhouse

• Publisher: RIBA Publishing
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000221770
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

The decision to take the final step to becoming a fully qualified architect exam can be daunting. Fortunately, this new edition of the Part 3 Handbook demystifies the whole process of qualifying, dispelling commonly held myths and offering genuine insight into what examiners really want.

Written by an experienced practitioner and Professional Studies Advisor, and endorsed by the RIBA, the book concentrates on the separate elements that you will be assessed on in the Part 3 exam. Fully updated for 2020, this edition features a brand new chapter on professional development and includes up-to-date guidance on the 2020 plan of work.

1
Preparing for Part 3

This chapter gives you an overview of the following topics that form the foundations of Part 3.

This chapter aims to explore the following topics:

• the professional architect
• the ARB and the RIBA
• professional standards and the public interest
• the Professional Criteria
• the components of Part 3: an overview
• the routes to Part 3
• connecting to practice: you, your practice and your Part 3 provider, and
• choosing a Part 3 provider.

The professional architect

Part 3 is the culmination of a long period of architectural education, a journey that you started many years ago. The normal journey is a three-year degree leading to Part 1, a year of professional experience (Stage 1) and a further two years of postgraduate study – usually a master’s-level degree in architecture – leading to Part 2.

Part 3 is the gateway to the profession: a professional qualification that allows you to register with the ARB (Architects Registration Board) and to use the title ‘architect’ – a recognition of your talent, skills and competence. In the UK, the title of ‘architect’ is protected by law and anyone using the title without having passed Part 3 can be prosecuted. However, the role of the architect is not protected in the UK, unlike some other countries where specific functions can only be carried out by a registered architect. This begs the question, ‘Why bother with Part 3?’ Having got this far you are likely to have your own view, but it is a good starting point for introducing the concept of what it means to be a professional architect.

If you are reading this book, you are likely to be on the threshold of Part 3. By now you will have considerable knowledge of design and construction, and will understand that the architect is a member of a multidisciplinary professional team. The process of designing and constructing buildings will have been revealed as requiring the implementation and coordination of a complex set of activities carried out by many different people. Each project is characterised by uncertainty, risk and a certain fluidity. This coming together of diverse groups for a single purpose has been described as a ‘temporary multi-organisation’. However, the physical results are far from temporary, remaining in place for a considerable time, and mistakes can be costly to both owners and occupiers – and sometimes their architects.

The trend towards globalisation generally, resulting from the integration of goods, services and finance, the loosening of trade barriers and the growth of information technology, has had a significant effect on the practice of architecture. Many built environment design professionals now work in global consultancies with in-house multidisciplinary project teams on international projects. Globalisation is no longer something that happens somewhere else: perhaps glocalisation is more appropriate. Every project has a local context, uses local resources for construction and is located within its own national legal framework.

We operate within a global industry with international contractors, designers and fabricators. Globalisation has changed the context for procurement. Projects are also delivered in ever more complex ways. The structure and sequence – design, manufacture, fabrication, transportation and assembly – result in design professionals working across traditional functional, as well as global, boundaries. Globalisation may not appear to directly affect traditional architectural practices that work within a relatively tight regional market, but it does affect a significant percentage of the profession working on international projects.

Architects are a key, if sometimes relatively small (at least in terms of numbers of people), part of the construction industry. They exert huge leverage: design decisions affect not only construction processes and the shape of our built environment but energy use and users’ wellbeing over many years. The construction industry sector comprises approximately 7% of the UK’s workforce and 9% of the economy, while UK expertise in design and construction contributes significantly to the UK’s service economy and our penetration of key export markets.

Within this fluid, project-led environment where the functional limits may be blurred, it is essential to know what each key professional does and the boundaries of their respective knowledge and skills. Professions have been defined as having five distinct defining characteristics. They must:

1. own a distinct body of knowledge
2. erect barriers to entry to maintain standards
3. serve the public interest
4. hold an ethical position, and
5. receive mutual recognition from other professions.

Architects ‘own’ a clear body or ‘silo’ of knowledge, skill and competence that is distinct from the ‘silos of knowledge’ held by other members of the design and construction team, such as quantity surveyors or structural engineers. By the time you reach Part 3 that knowledge will already be both wide and deep. Now you will be expected to acquire new knowledge, as well as to continue to broaden and deepen existing competencies. The professional bodies, architectural practices and the schools of architecture all contribute to this body of knowledge. At Parts 1 and 2 these are set out in the General Criteria (with related ‘Graduate Attributes’). At Part 3, the silos are expressed in the Professional Criteria which effectively set the reasonable boundaries for our professional knowledge and competence as architects. These Professional Criteria will be discussed in more detail later.

How to demonstrate your competence and the standards to be met are set by the profession and, to an extent, the public, and maintained by the professional institutions. In reference to our definition of a profession, the Part 3 Professional Criteria are the final ‘barriers to entry’ to the profession: the quality control measures that comprise a mix of recognised educational qualifications and relevant professional experience. The two overriding objectives in setting these barriers are to:

1. protect the public, and
2. maintain the reputation of the profession.

Part 3 is the final barrier, the last point of control. Linked to this idea of ‘public protection’ is ‘the public interest’: the professions generally place the public good above financial reward. This is typically expressed as maintaining impartiality and is, in effect, a trade-off for public recognition.

This aspect of the profession of architecture (and the professions in general) has changed significantly in recent years in the eyes of the public, with the public demanding more of them and putting them under increased scrutiny with allegations of restrictive practices that are neither competitive nor transparent. Despite these concerns, the traditional professions continue to survive but their status has diminished. For example, a local general practitioner doctor may have his or her judgement questioned, and accountants and lawyers continue to be embroiled in national and international criminal proceedings following spectacular company failures. Nonetheless, in a fast-changing and challenging commercial world, specialist knowledge and expertise is at a premium. Members of a profession, as holders of highly-valued knowledge and competencies that are subject to rigorous testing, continue to be valuable. The professional model grows the knowledge base and delivers the specialist services that society requires to sustain continuous improvement.

This principle of putting the ‘public interest’ first by showing that the silos of knowledge and competence and the barriers to entry serve the public interest through the competence demonstrated by the professions is reinforced by the professions’ ethical position. This is evidenced by a set of professional, ethical standards and codes of practice and conduct which exceed the normal commercial standards of ‘fair delivery’ and with which members of the professions must comply. These standards are discussed briefly below (see page 16). These ethical standards are essential to your practice as an architect as the context of architectural practice becomes more diverse and international. Increasingly, climate change is recognised as a key ethical concern for the profession and its role in protecting the current and future environment.

Mutual recognition by other professionals is important, especially in the complex environment of design and construction. A profession that is not recognised by other professions has little or no effective status. The professional bodies therefore work hard to be members of a network of similar professions. Professional bodies seek wider recognition to reinforce their position. Traditionally, the royal charter that gives members ‘chartered’ status is the highest form of accolade and ensures recognition by other chartered professions. Uniquely in the construction industry, architects are regulated by statute as well as by the profession. Two bodies control and shape the profession: the Architects Registration Board (ARB) – the statutory authority – and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) – the professional membership body.

Some professional organisations do not appear to meet all defining characteristics: barriers to entry, public interest and mutual recognition, in particular. You might be able to buy an architectural qualification on the internet, but it will not satisfy the barriers to entry, as it will not be recognised by the ARB and the RIBA. Professional footballers, for example, are members of the Professional Footballers’ Association, whose aim is to protect and negotiate the conditions and status of professional players. Its role is to protect the interests of players, but it also cares for the interests of the game as a whole. It has barriers to entry and ethical standards – particularly its anti-doping policy – but prioritises its members’ interests. Programmes to professionalise traffic wardens through training and qualifications are unlikely to bring them the same level of professional mutual recognition as chartered engineers or accountants because the entry barriers are not compatible in terms of educational standards or the duration of practical training.

Part 3 has been developed within the professional context of architectural practice. It will continue to develop as the demands on the profession change. At present it is set within a secure, recognised framework, the Professional Criteria, held in common by the ARB and the RIBA.

The ARB and the RIBA

The Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) are the two controlling bodies affecting architectural education in general and at Part 3 in particular. Part 3 is especially important, as it is the gateway to professional practice and, as such, is distinct from the earlier steps in your education. The following summaries will give you a clear idea of how each organisation came into existence, where they obtain their powers and their key functions.

The ARB

The ARB is a statutory body established by parliament in 1997 to regulate the architect’s profession in the UK.

The ARB is an independent public interest body that regulates architects to ensure good standards are maintained for the benefit of the public and the profession. It draws its powers from the Architects Act 1997 and has statutory duties in six key areas:

1. Prescribing – or ‘recognising’ – the qualifications needed to become an architect.
2. Keeping the UK Register of Architects.
3. Ensuring that architects meet the standards for conduct and practice.
4. Investigating complaints about an architect’s conduct or competence.
5. Making sure that only people on the register offer their services as an architect.
6. Acting as the UK’s competent authority for architects.

Prior to Brexit, the ARB’s role as the UK’s designated competent authority for architects was to represent the profession in the EU. As the competent authority, the ARB recognised the qualifications of architects registered in other EU states under the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive and controlled the registration of EU-registered architects in the UK. In turn, the directive facilitated the mutual recognition of UK-registered architects’ qualifications across all the other EU states. At the time of writing, the role of the ARB in respect of continued mutual recognition of European qualifications had not been clearly defined by the government. It is likely, given the importance of professional services to the economy and exports in particular, that the ARB will have a role to play in the wider recognition of professional qualifications as part of future trade agreements with international partners. This may lead to the wider recognition of international architectural qualifications in the UK and, in turn, the wider international recognition of UK-registered architects. However, it is likely that this will be a long-term process taking a number of years.

The ARB also examines professionals from outside the EU through the Prescribed Examinations to ensure that they meet the published General Criteria at Parts 1 and 2. This allows architects and design professionals with a minimum of five years’ recognised architectural education to achieve recognition of their qualifications and those who have also passed the Part 3 examination to register as architects in the UK.

The statutory duties of the ARB broadly align with the characteristics of a profession by setting the barriers for entry and policing public interest issues by disciplining registered architects who do not meet the standards laid down in the Architects Code: Standards of Conduct and Practice. The Architects Code is reviewed regularly to take account of changes in practice and the public’s expectations of the profession.

In addition, it has the further role of protecting the title ‘architect’ by prosecuting individuals or organisations that pass themselves off as such. This is seen as another way of protecting the public interest.

The RIBA

The RIBA is a global professional m...