Alan Kershaw, the chair of the Architects Registration Board, highlights the steps taken and the importance of creating a sustainable system in architecture
Architecture shapes the fabric of our daily lives. The homes we live in, the schools our children attend, the hospitals that care for us and the public spaces that bring communities together are all influenced by decisions that architects make. This influence brings with it responsibility – and it is our role as the regulator to make sure that it is exercised in the public interest.
A new strategy to facilitate transformation
Recently, we published our Corporate Strategy for 2026–2030. It sets out a clear direction: regulation must strengthen safety, raise competence and improve culture across the profession. These are not abstract aspirations. They are direct responses to what the public expects and what recent history demands. The Grenfell Tower tragedy exposed systemic failures across the built environment, and the Inquiry’s findings reinforced a fundamental truth: that competence, accountability and culture are inseparable from safety.
The Architects Register can be described in very simple terms – it is a list of individuals who are entitled to use the title ‘architect’ in business and professional practice. However, this belies its significance. The Register is more than a list; it is a public assurance mechanism. It signifies that those admitted have met and continue to meet defined standards of education, training and professional conduct, and that they are committed to values such as honesty, integrity and respect.
New technologies bring new ideas
In recent months, there has been debate about how architects are regulated, including calls to revisit the legislative framework underpinning the current system and to consider alternative models. It is right that regulation is scrutinised and that different ideas are tested, and we have been in discussions with ministers about what changes might be needed to regulation to best support public safety, competence and accountability across the sector, and for how the regulation of architects can be improved. Our new Strategy outlines the improvements we will make over the next five years.
Under our previous Strategy, ARB delivered substantial reform. We modernised the framework for architectural education and training, introduced a statutory continuing professional development (CPD) scheme for the first time, significantly improved our operational systems and established pioneering new international registration agreements – the first profession to do so. But reform is a process rather than an event, and our new Strategy focuses on embedding and evaluating the changes we have brought in so far, some of which were generational. The Strategy is supported by three key pillars:
- Strengthening the education and training of future professionals
- Upholding confidence and trust in the profession
- Delivering modern, efficient and effective regulation
What will the professional landscape look like by 2030?
We expect a profession that consistently demonstrates competence, accountability, and a culture that prioritises public safety. Architects will be better supported throughout their careers, from education to ongoing professional development, ensuring that their skills and knowledge keep pace with the evolving demands of society and emerging challenges, such as those posed by climate change.
We also anticipate a regulatory system that is agile, transparent, and efficient – one that not only enforces standards but actively enables architects to deliver high-quality, safe, and innovative design. Through careful monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement, the reforms introduced under the previous Strategy will be fully embedded, providing a foundation for sustained positive progress.
The Single Construction Regulator Prospectus is key
Central to this wider reform agenda is the Single Construction Regulator Prospectus. The Prospectus sets out a vision for a more coherent, joined-up regulatory landscape across the built environment, with a proposal to bring together oversight of building safety, professional competence, and organisational accountability. The Prospectus recognises that buildings are delivered through complex systems involving clients, designers, contractors, regulators and product manufacturers, and that effective regulation must address those systems as a whole. As such, it is relevant for all of us within the built environment.
For architects, the Prospectus signals a shift from viewing professional regulation in isolation to understanding it as one component within a broader safety framework. The introduction of new dutyholder roles under building safety legislation, clearer lines of responsibility, and more robust competence expectations mean that architects must be confident not only in design quality, but also in compliance, coordination and documentation. The Prospectus reinforces the expectation that competence should be demonstrable, maintained and, where necessary, independently assured.
For the wider built environment, the Prospectus offers the opportunity to reduce fragmentation and close gaps between regimes that historically operated separately. A more unified approach can strengthen accountability and create consistent standards across disciplines. It also supports cultural change by aligning incentives around safety and professionalism rather than minimum compliance.
Our Corporate Strategy aligns with this direction of travel. By strengthening education, embedding CPD, and modernising our regulatory systems, we are ensuring that architects are equipped to operate confidently within a more integrated regulatory environment. In doing so, we contribute not only to the resilience of the profession but to the safety and quality of the built environment as a whole.
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