What’s been keeping you busy?
It’s been a great start to the year, the practice has landed work in some exciting new sectors and I’m happy to be spreading the word about the RIBA Ethical Practice Guide which I co-authored with Carys Rowlands last year. It’s also been fascinating to contribute to the Regenerative Architecture Index. In some ways ethical practice is foundational to regenerative practice. Both ideas require you to engage with the consequences of your work. Ethical practices should, at the very least, be minimising harm, but regenerative practices aim beyond that to proactively improve both the environment and society.

How has the Ethical Practice Guide been received?
We’ve had some great feedback from tutors and students who’ve been finding our simple framework a useful way to approach ethics in education. We speak regularly on Part 3 courses and recently ran a three-hour workshop at the AA. We’ve also seen an increase in the number of practices inviting us in to talk through the topic. This month we’ve spoken at Grimshaw Architects, where I worked early in my career, as well as at Morris & Company who are vocal on sustainability. Both sessions lead to open discussions, with senior leadership and younger staff speaking up on issues facing practices today.

How is the RIBA measuring up in terms of promoting ethical practice?
It’s not easy to measure this kind of thing but I do think there’s been plenty of progress since the 2018 Ethics and Sustainable Development Commission. Part of that change has come from within, and I of course support the mandatory competences which respond to the changing context we find ourselves in. This ought to be positive for the profession, with increased trust and confidence that comes with improved skills. Obviously, there is a time commitment here but my feeling is that those who are already competent shouldn’t find the process difficult, and those who haven’t kept up should reap benefits from new knowledge and services.

I’m also happy to see the inclusive design overlay, the passivhaus overlay and the engagement overlay being published alongside the industry recognised Plan of Work. These help consolidate specialist practitioners knowledge and make it easier for design teams to tackle these issues. There’s also a Sustainable Business Toolkit now available to chartered practices which very much aligns with the Architects Declare Practice guide.

RIBA have been responding to external forces too though – a number of activist groups emerged during the pandemic and have been regularly calling on the institute to improve it’s own standards, and that of chartered practices. These groups are essential to keep pressure on institutions, bring new voices to the table, and provide support networks for those entering the profession. Core to their demands is often transparency and accountability – and whilst the chartered practice badge is well recognised there’s certainly a demand for more evidence nowadays, especially as certifications such as B-Corp gain traction and give younger professionals more insight in the firms they’re considering. I know RIBA President Muyiwa Oki is thinking about all this and I’m glad he’s been speaking up on responsible practice as well as calling out government inaction on climate.

And what’s going on at your practice, Collective Works?
At the moment we’re happy to be involved with domestic retrofits, wellbeing retreats and some innovative healthcare work. In particular we’re working on social prescribing, a relatively new approach to healthcare in the UK which embraces a more holistic approach. It’s all about empowering health professionals to refer people to non-clinical services. It recognises the benefits of taking control of your own health by, for example, joining exercise classes, cookery courses, or community gardening projects. The pilot scheme launched 75 of these projects, and we’re happy to be delivering three of them.

We’re also redesigning a Quiet Room at North Middlesex Hospital, and that’s due to be built in the next few months. These are spaces where families might receive bad news, have difficult decisions to make or just take time out from the ward. I spent quite a bit of time in one a few years ago and it really wasn’t a great experience. Like Maggies’ Centres, these are spaces where you’ll experience difficult times so we’re looking at how we can use natural materials, acoustic panels, responsive lighting and biophilia to create more nurturing, and hopefully beautiful spaces.

Does your ethical and sustainable agenda help you attract clients?
It’s a fine balance but we’ve always known having a clearly stated purpose keeps people motivated in practice so that’s reason enough to pursue this. During the pandemic we did notice more clients saying “we’ve seen you doing this, we’ve seen you doing that, and we agree with your values.” That was a boost and lead us to talk more about value aligned clients, and projects. Nowadays we know that almost all clients will have reasons to build sustainably and ethically – it might be to do with reducing energy bills, future insurance costs, or attracting people into their businesses. We enjoy discovering those reasons together at every stage of a project.

Alasdair Ben Dixon is a founding partner of Collective Works and member of the Architects Declare steering group.