DIVERSITY
Framing the future of diversity in architecture Shona Snow, London and South East Regional Strategy Manager at LHC provides an insight into the lessons learnt from their award winning Architect Design Services Framework
The launch of our new framework for architectural design services (ADS1) back in 2020 was meant to be positive. Developed in partnership with Southwark Council, it was designed to attract new architect practices, particularly micro-SMEs, to work on public sector projects, and Southwark Council’s own ambitious new homes pipeline. But, while it fulfilled that objective, what was missing was broader representation from an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) perspective. The appointments to the new ADS1 framework were announced in late May, soon after the death of George Floyd. It was a significant time, politically, globally, fraught with tension. And then Southwark Council received complaints and bad press about the lack of diversity on ADS1 – “yet another public sector framework with not one single black led practice, despite the demographic of Southwark”.The accusations were powerful, but constructive and fair. It was clear they could not and should not
be ignored. While the procurement met basic social value requirements, and several of the appointed ADS1 practices possessed strong credentials in this area, there was still an undeniable overall lack of diversity. The gap also seemed to be practices with lived experience of London’s inner cities, the ability to relate to local communities, and demonstratable EDI initiatives that were actively making a difference in supporting young minorities into the profession. As is often said, you can only measure what you set an objective for, and it was clear that there was an opportunity to look again at how the procurement process was evaluated. This would mean detailed conversations with the people involved to understand their individual talent and perspectives.
Bringing EDI to the forefront Working with our partners in the council’s regeneration team,
ACANews JUNE 2022
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