By Pablo Lambrechts, Principal Architect at L+ Architects and Candidate for RIBA London Region Chair
The government’s decision to revisit protection of function for architects could not be more significant. As the Architects’ Journal (2025) reports, advisers to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are reviewing whether to legally protect architects’ professional functions from being carried out by unqualified individuals, as part of the proposed single construction regulator. This marks a critical opportunity to align legislation with public safety, competence, and accountability.
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR), established in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, was intended to raise standards and restore trust in construction. Yet its implementation has exposed a deeper structural issue: safety begins long before regulation—it begins with who designs. As The Telegraph (Kirby, 2025) highlights, the BSR’s approval delays are paralysing housing delivery, but the underlying concern is that the entire process is burdened by inconsistent professional standards.
As Building Design (2024) rightly states, protecting the function of architects is a matter of public safety. Architects are trained to consider every dimension of risk, design integrity, and social value. From spatial planning to structure, fire safety, and accessibility, architects integrate technical and human concerns to ensure that buildings perform safely for generations. Allowing unqualified “architectural designers” to carry out these functions without oversight undermines both safety and quality, while exposing clients and the public to unregulated risk.
Architects are accountable through the Architects Registration Board (ARB), which regulates education, conduct, and professional competence. The new ARB Code of Conduct and Practice, introduced in September 2025, defines six clear standards: honesty and integrity, public interest, competence, professional practice, communication and collaboration, and respect (ARB, 2025). Architects must hold insurance, complete continuous professional development (CPD), and maintain competency across changing regulations. No equivalent safeguards exist for unregistered designers.
In practice, the difference is stark. Architects are frequently called in to correct unsafe, non-compliant, or poorly coordinated projects led by unqualified designers—many of which carry direct fire or structural risks. The Building Safety Act (UK Parliament, 2022) has created rigorous new responsibilities for dutyholders, yet the system still allows unqualified individuals to design regulated buildings without oversight. This is a contradiction that endangers both lives and livelihoods.
The issue extends beyond construction into planning. Local authorities are under immense strain: one in five planning officer posts in England is unfilled (LGA & RTPI, 2023), and applications are taking up to three times longer than statutory limits (RIBA, 2024). Many councils no longer employ in-house architects, leading to design dilution and weaker sustainability standards.
A pragmatic solution exists. The coordination of design documents forming part of a planning submission should be led by registered architects, working collaboratively with planning consultants to ensure design quality and policy compliance. Similarly, building regulations design and compliance drawings should be prepared or overseen by competence-verified professionals—ideally architects—who can guarantee safety and technical integrity. Appointing architects to advisory roles within local and national planning systems would restore design expertise, reduce errors, and help deliver homes faster without compromising quality.
Protecting the function of architects is therefore not about professional exclusivity—it is about public protection, efficiency, and accountability. It ensures that those entrusted with designing our built environment are qualified, insured, and regulated. It aligns with the principles of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024), which made clear that failures in coordination and competence have life-or-death consequences.
If we are serious about building safer, more sustainable communities, we must close the gaps that permit unregulated design. Legislating for competence is not bureaucracy; it is basic public protection. The RIBA, ARB, and government must now act together to ensure that only those properly trained and accountable can carry out architectural work.
This is why I am standing for RIBA London Chair: to champion the protection of function as a cornerstone of safety, quality, and professional integrity—and to ensure that architects once again have a voice where it matters most.
References:
Architects’ Journal. (2025, November 5). *Protection of function for architects back on government agenda.* AJ News.
ARB. (2023). *Architects Code: Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice.* Architects Registration Board.
ARB. (2025). *Architects Code of Conduct and Practice.* Architects Registration Board. Came into effect 1 September 2025.
Building Design. (2024, May 6). *Why protecting the function of architects is a matter of public safety.* Building Design (BD Online).
Grenfell Tower Inquiry. (2024). *Final Report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Volume 1.* UK Government.
Kirby, J. (2025, October 30). *The little-known quango choking off Britain’s housebuilding.* The Telegraph.
LGA & RTPI. (2023). *Planning Capacity and Skills in Local Authorities.* Local Government Association & Royal Town Planning Institute.
RIBA. (2024). *Future of the Planning System: Design Quality and Resourcing.* Royal Institute of British Architects.
UK Parliament. (2022). *Building Safety Act 2022.* UK Government.