Recommendation of 25 September 1987 "Signboard on the Construction Site"

Approved by the National Council in session on 25 September 1987.

In view of

  • the need to publicise the involvement of architects and the services they offer,
  • the need for architects to publicise their works, including those in progress,
  • the growing need for architects to be more closely identified with their work and so to assume responsibility for them openly, fully and directly,
  • the need to identify works which might not involve an architect and to gauge the significance and consequences thereof (with regard to environment, etc.),
  • the need for a certain standardisation in the method of representing the compulsory involvement of the architect or architects with responsibility for a project so they can be appropriately situated in the overall picture of the construction partners,
  • the wish to better implement the Act of 20 February 1939 which, for considerations of public safety, legally requires the involvement of the architect in the construction process,
  • and finally, the right of the author to put his name to his work,

the N.R.O.A. has decided to make the signboard compulsory on the construction site, as set out below:

Recommendation

a) Placement of the signboard:
It is mandatory for the architect who is engaged for one or more services to set up his signboard on the building line and, to ensure legibility, near the main entrance to the construction site.
Further signboards may be set up near the side entrances, a fortiori if these entrances open onto another public road.

b) Base to which the signboard is attached:
This background must be a separate surface or, in any case, distinct from any other advertising or information sign, such as: a framework, open space, etc.
It must occupy an area which is proportional to the significance of the works and to its placement within public view.

c) Declarations:
The declarations will include:
- the name or names of all the architects engaged, even if their services are only partial, and a statement of their academic titles or the capacity in which they are involved;
- their part in the engagement if the engagement is shared or divided;
- a reference address (for the practice) and telephone number;
- incidentally and as appropriate, the name of the firm, its corporate structure and its logo if relevant. Finally, members of the Order of Architects must identify themselves by:
- either placing the emblem of the Order before their names with the words “Order of Architects”,
- or placing the words “registered with the Order of Architects" after their names.

Comment

- The dimensions of the signboard must be appropriate to:
- its place of erection;
- the significance of the construction site.

For example: it makes sense that the signboard on the construction site for a detached house would be different from that on a hospital site. The architect must have consideration for reasonable and correct proportioning.

- In the case of signboard groupings the architect's name panel must be clearly separated, by means of an empty space or frame, from the other statements or declarations by the construction partners such as the tradesmen.
This is desirable purely as a reflection of the major difference in responsibility.
This does not mean, for example, that the lettering should be bigger, but that an unambiguous distinction should be made between the project management, the tradesmen, the associated firms and the “architect”.
- It is mandatory that the text contain the names of the architects who take responsibility for the design and/or the supervision of the build.
They must be clearly identifiable; this is why it is necessary to state their academic titles, their capacities and the design part for which they are responsible.
The dimensions and lettering must be appropriate to the location or the placement of the signboard.

Practical provisions

The architect or architects must ensure:
- that at the time of signing the contract they draw their client's attention to the ethical obligations of the architect or architects as regards the signboard on the construction site and the conditions governing its erection;
- that on commencement of the works they instruct the responsible parties fully in the matter of producing the correct signboard, or make their own arrangements to produce the signboard.

The model for the Order's emblem is available from the provincial Councils.

This recommendation comes into force on 1 March 1988.