ACA slams RIBA agreement

Two of the UK's architectural bodies have slammed each other's standard contract agreements.

According to the Association of Consultant Architects (ACA), the document from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is "internally inconsistent and complex".

The ACA has launched an alternative contract, Building reports, saying that RIBA did not consult the industry properly.

Stephen Yakeley, member of the ACA council, told the news provider: "The whole thing has been done in an extremely clumsy way and has had a flawed and toxic outcome."

He added that a clause in the RIBA contract leaves architects at risk if circumstances beyond their control lead to a project exceeding its timescale.

But the RIBA, which has more than 40,500 members, hit back, saying its agreements are "reliable, trusted and independently ratified".

Richard Brindley, the RIBA executive director of professional services, said: "A plethora of different standard contracts is certainly not helpful to either architects or clients, especially as the ACA form appears to follow the lead of RIBA's."

The ACA's Building Agreement was first drawn up in 1982.

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