Procurement of Design Services
Concern about procurement is one thing that unites design consultants: Architects, Engineers, Building Designers, Landscape Architects, Interior Designers, Certifiers and their clients.
Clients want their procurement systems to deliver value for money and high-quality outcomes, but current practices may not produce the best result.
In the public sector, increasingly onerous tendering procedures have consultants devoting substantial sums in non-transparent processes that can finish at dead ends.
In the private sector, many developers and corporations are expecting consultants to devote increasing amounts of time to developing ideas for free, often characterised as “ coming on the journey” without the developer putting a share of the profits on the table.
In both sectors, there is also an increasing tendency to use non-standard contracts that attempt to shift all liability to the consultant, including things they can’t manage, including latent defects in the site. These contracts are unsupported by common law precedent and consequently there is no way of telling what will happen if they go to court.
There is also now a realisation that good procurement choices made at the start of a project will improve not only physical work health and safety of projects but the mental wellbeing of all those involved. Improving construction culture is long overdue, as shown by the high rates of suicide and poor mental health in the industry.
Join our expert panel on June 14 who will examine a number of issues in design procurement including:
Small/medium practice-based perspective of some of the issues that procurement is raising across their range of urban and architectural projects
Difficulties facing small/medium practices acting as lead consultant in this context and strategies they are currently using to try to push back against punitive terms and arrangements.
Procurement from the perspective of a professional peak body.
Private sector client perspectives on selection and delivery processes.
Design competitions and selection of consultant teams.
Government perspectives on delivery processes.
Contract preparation, risk analysis and potential legal/insurance issues.
Professional Indemnity and the interplay with procurement.
Summary, audience Q and A and an outline of the way forward.
Meet the Experts
John Held
John is Director for Russell & Yelland Architects and a Life Fellow and Senior Counsellor with the Australian Institute of Architects and National President of the Association of Consulting Architects. He also holds the position of Deputy Chair for the Australian Construction Industry Forum. An indefatigable community advocate, John has maintained a particular focus on the architecture of learning environments for more than 40 years. In 2017, he was awarded the Sir James Irwin President's Medal by the Australian Institute of Architects for significant contributions to the practice of architecture
Geoff Hanmer
Geoff is an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at the University of Adelaide, and Honorary Professional Fellow at UTS and the Managing Director of Arina, an architectural consultancy. ARINA has run design competitions for many Australian universities ( including UNSW) and statutory authorities, including the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority. Geoff is a registered architect and writes on construction and buildings both contemporary and historical. He has taught and researched construction at UTS and UNSW for over 20 years.
Geoff Warn
Geoff is the Founding Partner and Creative Director of With_Architecture, a design led architectural practice based in Perth. He was the Government Architect for Western Australia from 2013 to 2020 where he was involved in procurement for a number of key government projects, including the new WA Museum Boola Bardip and a number of key hospital projects.
Kerry Ioulianou
Kerry is a dual-qualified specialist construction and infrastructure lawyer, with a focus on construction and insurance disputes. His practice covers large scale, complex multi-party infrastructure and engineering disputes involving construction professionals across all jurisdictions in Australia. His practice extends to advice on a range of projects, such as community centres, high-rise mixed-use towers, hospitals, agricultural facilities, rail projects and wind farms. He has acted for architects, engineers, building surveyors and fire engineers. In Australia, he has advised many construction industry participants at all levels on dispute resolution, negotiated settlements, adjudication, mediation, expert determinations, arbitration and court litigation.
Laura Harding
Laura Harding is a Sydney based designer and writer who has worked with the studio of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects since 1996. Her work encompasses a wide range of urban, multiple housing and architectural projects, many of which have received industry awards. Laura’s architectural writing and criticism has been widely published in a range of architectural journals, news media and monographs, and she was awarded the Adrian Ashton Prize for architectural criticism in 2013. She regularly participates in design studios and reviews in the Architectural faculties of Sydney’s major universities.
