Parallel Architecture

The two "Principal Designer" roles — in plain terms

Building law creates two separate "Principal Designer" roles, and they are different:

• CDM Principal Designer — manages health & safety in how the project is designed and built. We do not take this role. You must appoint a competent person — this can be your builder, as long as they are competent. We will not release information for construction until that person is in place.
• Building Regulations Principal Designer — makes sure the design is intended to meet the Building Regulations. We do this while we are designing your project.

Both of our pre-construction roles end at the "Handover Point" — when construction information is issued, work starts on site, or our appointment passes to a contractor. From then on, your builder and the dutyholders you appoint are responsible for building it correctly and for the compliance of anything they change on site. If we are not appointed to supervise the works on site, you must put a competent Building Regulations Principal Designer in place for the construction phase (again, this can be your builder if competent). If you would like us to stay involved through construction to review changes and check compliance, we can do that as a separate, paid service.

Change control on site

No change to the design, specification, materials or details should be made during construction without the agreement of the appointed Principal Designer(s). Anyone proposing or making a change must first ensure that a competent Principal Designer (CDM and Building Regulations) is appointed for the construction phase, or that they are themselves acting as Principal Designer and are competent to do so. Responsibility for ensuring the works as constructed comply with the Building Regulations (including regulation 7, materials and workmanship) and the CDM Regulations — including any change made on site — rests with the contractor, the Principal Contractor and the appointed dutyholders.

If you are a domestic client

A domestic client is an individual having building work done on their own home, or a family member's home, not as part of a business. These regulations create statutory duties to ensure buildings are safe to build, occupy, maintain and demolish, and comply with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations. Our designer duties prohibit us from starting design work unless we are satisfied you are aware of your duties.

Your duties as a domestic client are to:

• provide building and pre-construction information you have (or could reasonably obtain) to every designer and contractor appointed, or being considered;
• co-operate with anyone working on the project so they can fulfil their duties.

Further client duties are undertaken on your behalf because you are a domestic client: where there is only one contractor, that contractor takes them on; where there is more than one, the principal contractor does. These duties include making suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring the project so that the design and building work comply with all relevant requirements, are periodically reviewed for higher-risk work, and can be carried out safely.

Where more than one contractor will work on the project, you must appoint in writing a designer in control of the design work as the principal designer, and a contractor in control of the building work as the principal contractor. Parallel acts as Building Regulations Principal Designer for the design phase, and through construction only for so long as we are appointed to provide construction-stage support, and does not act as CDM Principal Designer; you must appoint a competent person — which may be your builder if competent — for the construction phase.

If you are a commercial client

A commercial client is an organisation or individual for whom a construction project is carried out as part of a business. We recommend you seek legal advice on your duties, which in summary are to make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring the project — allocating sufficient time and resources — so that:

• design work is carried out so the building work, if built, would comply with all relevant requirements;
• building work is carried out in accordance with all relevant requirements;
• designers and contractors co-operate to ensure compliance;
• design and building work is periodically reviewed to identify higher-risk building work;
• work can be carried out, so far as reasonably practicable, without risk to health and safety; and
• the facilities required by Schedule 2 of the CDM Regulations are provided.

You must also provide building and pre-construction information to designers and contractors (including making them aware of any higher-risk building work), and co-operate with others on the project. Where more than one contractor will work on the project, you must appoint in writing a principal designer and a principal contractor. We recommend appointing a CDM and Building Regulations principal designer at the earliest opportunity and, in any event, before the building regulations approval application is submitted. Parallel acts as Building Regulations Principal Designer for the design phase, and through construction only for so long as we are appointed to provide construction-stage support and does not act as CDM Principal Designer; you must appoint a competent person for the construction phase. Site visits, contract administration and answering queries do not, of themselves, make us Principal Designer for the construction stage.

Useful guidance

If you would like to discuss how any of the above affects your project, or our services, please get in touch. To enable us to commence our architectural design services, we will ask you to confirm in writing that you are aware of your duties.