The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is starting a new piece of work to find out what consumer and construction industry clients think of architects. A new ‘working with architects’ survey will be launched by RIBA Immediate Past President, Stephen Hodder MBE and the broadcaster Kevin McCloud at Grand Designs Live in London on 5 May.
The findings will benchmark client attitudes, inform future RIBA policy, and for the first time gather a body of evidence which will demonstrate the value of working with architects. They will also give valuable insights into what clients want, information that architects can use to improve how they win and deliver work. There are two versions of the survey, one for private domestic consumer clients, and another for commercial clients. The findings for 2016 will be announced at Grand Designs Live and UK Construction Week in Birmingham in October.
The survey will monitor attitudes, providing valuable up-to-date market intelligence for members and the profession as a whole.
Jane Duncan, RIBA President, said, “I expect the results from this survey to help our profession develop their skills not just to remain relevant, but to continue to provide a significant and valuable leadership role and add creative innovation to the construction industry.”
Stephen Hodder said, “This is a watershed moment for the RIBA. Investing in this kind of market intelligence gives our members the validated information they need to develop their professional service offering for the new era.”
Kevin McCloud, broadcaster and client said, “Building is a much more collaborative process than it used to be and among the shifting sands of responsibilities it’s hugely important for clients to understand their roles and to communicate their experiences. The client-architect relationship remains the most powerful and most creative bond on a project; we need to find ways of nurturing it in a world where ways of building are evolving.”
To participate in the survey visit: https://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Professionalsupport/RIBAforclients/workingwitharchitects.aspx
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The ’Working with architects’ client survey is an online questionnaire hosted on www.architecture.com that should take about 5 minutes to complete.
- The new survey marks a new phase in the work of the permanent RIBA Client Liaison Group, universally praised for seeking feedback from the client body. Their landmark ‘Client and Architect’ report in 2015 revealed opportunities available to architects prepared to adapt to clients’ changing needs.
- The Chair of the Client Liaison Group, Nigel Ostime of HawkinsBrown said, “This survey is a critical part of developing our understanding of what constitutes value to our clients. As the people who pay our fees, knowing what they think of us and monitoring our performance on issues that matter most to them is critical for our long-term commercial and, ultimately, professional wellbeing.”
- Grand Designs Live (GDL) London takes place 30 April – 8 May and includes the Ask an Expert feature, where 24 RIBA Chartered Practices will be on hand to provide free 30 minute consultations with clients, and the RIBA House of the Year feature, where models from the 2015 Channel 4 programme of the same name will be on display.
- The RIBA Client Liaison Group is chaired by Nigel Ostime of HawkinsBrown and includes Stephen Hodder MBE of Hodder Associates, RIBA Client Ambassador and immediate past president, Paul Morrell OBE, the government’s former chief construction adviser, and Dale Sinclair of AECOM.
- Client & Architect: developing the essential relationship was published last year. It reported on the findings of the Client Liaison Group’s roundtable meetings with client representatives from eleven different sectors. It distilled five keys themes that are of critical importance to clients: championing the vision; listening and understanding; engaging with people; delivering technical talent; and learning and improving. The whole report and summary write-ups from the roundtable meetings are available free from the RIBA for Clients pages on https://www.architecture.com/Files/RIBAProfessionalServices/ClientServices/RIBACLIENTSUPP[1].pdf
- The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members www.architecture.com – follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA
Posted on Friday 29th April 2016
