News

We're delighted to release updates to our Practice Guide, the key document we produced to help our signatories in 2021. The new Practice Guide will be released in ten sections over time, with the first four available now and the others to follow. This first release brings together our updated Practice Roadmap, Regenerative Design guidance, Climate Justice principles and Designing for Performance into a single framework for transforming architectural practice.

AD trustee Mandy Franz - who has led the effort to produce the new documents, with groups of volunteers working on each one - says: "These are working documents that will be updated when adaptation is necessary due to policy change, new findings etc, and we welcome your feedback and input. Similarly, if you want to contribute to any of the sections that are outstanding let us know. We hope that these sections can support our industry to remain climate literate."

The Practice Roadmap provides a structured pathway for practices to align values, commit to action, build capability, communicate progress, and embed climate and biodiversity goals into everyday decision-making. It emphasises leadership, transparent targets, staff engagement and collaboration with clients and consultants.

Regenerative Design calls for a shift from 'less bad' design towards creating net-positive outcomes for people, places and nature. It is founded on three principles: Being a Good Ancestor, Co-evolving with Nature, and Creating a Just Space for People. The guide promotes systems thinking, circular resource use, ecosystem restoration and designing for future generations. This document also replaces our Regenerative Design Primer, released in 2024.

Climate Justice is positioned as a core responsibility of practice, recognising that environmental and social challenges are inseparable. Architects are encouraged to support a just transition, champion fairness, engage communities and ensure that climate action improves quality of life for all.

The final document in this current release of updates, Designing for Performance reinforces evidence-based design, measurable outcomes and post-occupancy learning, ensuring that buildings perform as intended while delivering long-term environmental and social value.

Other documents will follow - including a new document on Connectivity & Transport.

The four updates are available from the new Practice Guide page of our website - which also shows how they fit into the overall Practice Guide structure. The original guide is also available there, with links to the remaining sections, which are still valid until we update them next year (e.g. Chapter 4, Human Factors; Chapter 5, Energy, Whole Life Carbon & Circularity, Chapter 6, Ecology). 

There is a short questionnaire for your feedback on any of the documents - and to say if you would like to help develop the next sections to be updated.

Thanks to all our contributors and reviewers who have worked on updating our Practice Guide.

Earlier this year, we welcomed eight Next Gen Ambassadors to the Architects Declare Steering Group, working alongside our trustees. Acting as a vital link between AD and the emerging generation of new architects, they bring fresh perspectives, emerging priorities, and new ideas to our work, while helping share knowledge, opportunities, and learning back with students and early-career professionals. 

Building on the work of our earlier Student Ambassadors, Amy and Anushka, Ayaan, Ayub, Daisy, Eimear, Ola, Riya, Rory and Xan have been working together on research and guidance that we will share towards the end of their year with AD, and on a special event - Designing for 2050: who is responsible? - that will end AD's co-curation with Architecture Today of Regenerative Design 26 throughout October 2026. They have also been engaged in our work on the Regenerative Architecture Index, and on updates to our Regenerative Design Primer and Practice Guide. 

You can read about all eight Next Gen Ambassadors and their ideas in the stories we've been sharing over the past month or so on LinkedIn:

Ayaan Syed

Ayub Abdulkadir

Daisy Shum 

Eimear Kernan 

Olaoluwakitan Olabiyi 

Riya Shah 

Rory Thomas 

Xan Xacobo Goetzee-Barral 

Partnering with others in the Built Environment Declares family of declarations, AD is pleased to share a new collaborative report on the risk of child labour within construction material supply chains.

An estimated 138 million children are engaged in child labour worldwide. Yet, while our sector has made significant progress in addressing the environmental impacts of construction, the social impacts embedded within global supply chains are much less visible. Regenerative practice must consider the full social and environmental consequences of how we design, specify and procure - not just what happens once a building is complete.

Developed with HACE, a specialist organisation dedicated to eradicating child labour, Impacts of Child Labour in Construction Materials: Guidance for Built Environment Professionals combines industry collaboration with expert insight to support practical, child-centred action across supply chains:

• The differences between the UK Modern Slavery Act and child labour
• The construction materials and supply chains where risks are greatest
• Where existing due diligence approaches can fall short
• Practical recommendations for clients, designers and supply-chain organisations to embed child-labour due diligence into procurement and contracts.

Don’t miss your chance to enter! Submit your entry by 18th May.

Launched by Architecture Today and UK Architects Declare, and in partnership with Schüco, the Regenerative Architecture Index (RAI) benchmarks progress in the move towards regenerative practice and projects as we move away from degenerative forms of practice.

Organised around the core themes we established for the first RAI in 2024 and again in 2025, the Index helps architects and others designing our built environment to inspire action and celebrate success, show how participants are tackling obstacles, raise awareness across the profession and the wider industry and support a paradigm shift towards regenerative practice across the sector:

• Being a good ancestor - a shift in mindsets to consider truly long-term thinking. Our decisions today should consider seven generations ahead, ensuring adaptability and flexibility for the future. 
• Co-evolving with nature - recognising that we are part of nature, within integral living systems, not separate from it. Our work should actively regenerate ecosystems by learning from and working with natural systems. 
• Creating a just space for people - providing social connection, economic opportunity and wellbeing for all. Our design processes should foster a shared sense of stewardship where neighbourhoods can self-organise and build their resilience. 

And UK Architects Declare is excited to be working with Architecture Today to develop a special programme of events in October that will include the publication of this year's RAI results. Regenerative Design 2026 is a great opportunity for participants in the 2026 RAI to showcase their work during this month-long exhibition and learning programme at the Building Centre in central London. The programme will include:

• Opening party with the RAI 2026 Results
• A free walk-in exhbition for all built environment professionals and the general public, listing all RAI member organisations along with a curated selection of relevant case studies
• Evening events and talks
• Seminars and round table events.

See Architecture Today for initial information on Regenerative Design 2026.

We were really excited to get such a positive response to our recent call out for Next-Gen Ambassador applications. Such a response in fact, that we are appointing no less than EIGHT ambassadors to form a team of volunteers alongside our Steering Group.

We welcome:

• Ayaan Syed
• Ayub Abdulkadir
• Daisy Shum
• Eimear Kernan
• Olaoluwakitan Olabiyi
• Riya Shah
• Rory Thomas
• Xan Xacobo Goetzee-Barral

Building on our initial Student Ambassador scheme - brilliantly delivered by Amy Thompson and Anushka Gupta - our Next-Gen Ambassadors will:

• Develop our thinking on topics relevant to their studies or current work and future career;
• Help us build the capacity of new and future architects through our programme;
• Generate new insights and knowledge at the forefront of regenerative design and other priorities for our sector.

AD Steering Group member Alasdair Ben Dixon says: “We’ve always known that sharing knowledge across our industry is essential to increasing collective action, and reducing our negative impacts. New voices are essential to that, as they ensure we’re addressing the right issues, and supporting the latest ideas. That’s why we’re excited to be appointing these 8 talented individuals to build on the success of last year’s excellent ambassadors.

"Want to arrange a meeting with our new ambassadors or discuss your practice's journey? Don't hesitate to get in touch!”

Fellow AD Steering Group member Laura Baron, who - along with Alasdair - will act as initial point of support for the new volunteers, says: “We’re thrilled to welcome our new Next-Gen Ambassadors to the Architects Declare family. By bringing together these energetic and engaged individuals, we aim to platform fresh thinking, diverse voices, and future-focused leadership. We strongly believe that empowering the next generation to help shape decisions today will accelerate innovation, challenge outdated practices, and support the creation of places designed for the world that’s coming, not the one we’re leaving behind.”

Watch this space for updates on their progress!

We also thank everyone else who applied for this new role with AD: it was a strong field of candidates, demonstrating the commitment to the principles UK Architects Declare are building on in our programme and partnerships.

We are pleased to share our latest Impact Report, covering our work for 2025.  Our 2025 Impact Report:

• highlights AD's workstreams across the year: Advocacy, Engagement, Guidance, Education, and Paradigm Shift;
• gives an overview of our actions at a glance and how we worked to share our messages;
• shares insights into what signatories and others told us in our first annual survey;
• offers some of impact stories they shared with us.

The short document also looks ahead to our priroties for 2026 and thanks signatories and supporters for their contributions to our work, whether through their expertise and ideas, their voice or their financial support.

UK Architects Declare is proud to be one of 60+ industry-leading organisations, including Architecture Today, Sustainable Development Foundation, UK Green Building Council, RIBA, and ASBP - Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, supporting Futurebuild 2026. These influential organisations play an integral role in the Futurebuild Knowledge Programme, delivering 133 hours of CPD-accredited content over 3 days across two conferences and multiple seminar stages. AD is working with partners to share special events exploring regenerative practice and a circular built environment. 

In a landmark move for the UK construction sector, Futurebuild and UK Construction Week London will come together from 12–14 May 2026, creating a new national platform for the built environment at Excel London. The events will bring 25,000 built environment professionals, 600+ exhibitors and 700+ speakers across 11 dedicated stages under one roof, making it the largest and most comprehensive construction event in the UK calendar.

Three days of ideas, inspiration, topical discussions and debates on:

• Improving design & safety
• Tackling rising costs
• Meeting ambitious sustainability goals
  

Full details of our events and the full Futurebuild programme coming soon. In the meantime, find out more and register here for your free place.

Six weeks ago UK Architects Declare held an event which was hailed by the industry as a watershed moment for the Circular Economy. As reported at the time, more than 400 industry leaders took part in a symbolic flight of the London Eye, followed by a showstopping event with keynote speaker Paul Ekins from the government’s circular economy taskforce.

During their 25 minutes in the pods, participants brainstormed and discussed how both they and their business could most effectively contribute to driving the systems change we need. We asked participants to make a Pledge and offer an Ask – a realistic pledge with a positive step forward that they can make happen, and an Ask of government.

Five strong areas of consensus that emerged across all our pod discussions in relation to the industry's Asks of government were; Financial & Tax Incentives / Legislation & Regulation / Data & Accountability / Education & Skills / Market development & infrastructure. Participants also made over a hundred pledges for their own actions for a circular built environment.

We are now excited to publish the results of this collective thinking in our event round-up - alongside our original Call to Action. Both documents are published in the Changing the Goals of the System section of our Resources page.

We thank our sponsors for their generous donations: Lazari, Mace, Marks Barfield Architects, and Structure Tone. We also thank Sustainable Ventures for their support.

We’re building on our commitment to help shape and deliver meaningful change within the built environment sector by including the next generation of professionals in our thinking and planning for AD's next phase of work. Candidates - whether studying, on placement or in practice - for our Next-Gen Ambassadors will work alongside professionals at senior levels in a range of organisations by joining members of our Steering Group to:

• Help shape the direction of a charity working to shape the future of our built environment;
• Develop our thinking on topics relevant to your studies / current work and future career;
• Help us build the capacity of new and future architects through our programme;
• Gain new insights and knowledge at the forefront of regenerative design and other priorities for our sector.

This volunteer role (up to 12 months) builds on the work of our first Student Amabassadors, 2024-25. It will appeal to current Part One students and up to recent graduates up 2 years post-Part Two with 

• Passion for sustainability, regenerative design and helping new architects become future leaders in tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis.
• Drive, self-motivation, ability to create and deliver their own work, curiosity and a willingness to deepen their knowledge.
• Ability to bring their learning and ideas to our discussions.

For more details of the role and how to apply, see our Next-Gen Ambassador Role Description. Deadline for applications: 7th January.

On 2nd October, Architecture Today and UK Architects Declare launched the results of our second annual Regenerative Architecture Index. Launched in 2024, the RAI benchmarks regenerative policies, actions and working practices, to share best practice, celebrate success, raise awareness across the wider sector and act as a catalyst for regenerative practice across the industry. 

With around 150 people gathered at Broadway Malyan's venue, we were thrilled to spend our second year in the company of so many progressive and inspiring practices, exploring oportunities and examples of system change within the built environment.

Following introductions from RAI partner Schüco UK Limited and our hosts Broadway Malyan, we were treated to insights from our guest speaker, renowned neuroscientist and entrepreneur Beau Lotto. He explored ideas for regenerative design and the future resilience of our built environment. Beau also announced he is looking for a team to help him translate this way of working into a new education hub in Somerset - and will be using this year's RAI to help identify this team.

Architecture Today's editor Isabel Allen announced this year's front runners in each RAI category: Being a good ancestor; Co-evolving with nature; Creating a just space for people. 116 practices entered this year, up from 68 in 2024, an encouraging sign that the industry is responsive and positive about this collective move towards regenerative design, and working collaboratively to pave the way.

Following the results, Lawrence Bates from The Wildheart Trust - who spoke at the 2024 RAI results launch - announced the shortlist, drawn exclusively from last year's entrants, for design of the Trust's new International School of Rewilding and Regenerative Agriculture on the Isle of Wight. Congratulations to BakerBrown Studio, Marks Barfield Architects and Unknown Works for making the shortlist.

And then it was on to the party, where 5 different DJs helped us to celebrate for the rest of the evening…

You can read Architecture Today's summary here, with details in their special RAI 2025 edition of Architecture Today.

And there is more learning from the RAI and further regenerative insights and discussions at RegenerativeArchitecture.org, the new online community from Architecture Today and Architects Declare. Do check that out and take part!

Thanks to Architecture Today, Schüco UK, Broadway Malyan and all our RAI entrants for making this event and our second Regenerative Architecture Index such a success.