On behalf of the Office of Public Works I would like to welcome you all to Dublin Castle and, in particular, to welcome all the international delegates who have come to Dublin to partake in this General Assembly of the Architects Council of Europe. As Minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works I share a common interest with the ACE in the many issues of concern not only to the architectural profession but also to the construction industry as a whole and its implications for the future of the built environment and our cities.
The Office of Public Works is one of the oldest State bodies in Ireland, having been originally established in 1831. The care and maintenance of our built heritage is one of the longest traditions of OPW. From its origins in the mid 19th Century this great tradition and our accumulated wealth of knowledge arising from it continues today.
The OPW’s mission is to deliver services in property, design, heritage, drainage & flood relief and general procurement. It is an operational arm of Government, reporting to a Minister for State and comes under the aegis of the Department of Finance. The main functions of the OPW are:
- Management and maintenance of the State property portfolio;
- Provision of office and other accommodation for Government Departments;
- Design and delivery of the construction of new buildings, and the adaptation, conservation and maintenance of existing buildings;
- Investigation, design and construction of flood relief projects;
- Maintenance of arterial drainage schemes;
- Provision of a central procurement service for Government Departments;
- Management and operation of State-owned heritage properties.
The chief executive of the organization is the Chairman and she is supported by a Management Advisory Committee composed of two Commissioners and the Directors of Architectural, Engineering, Procurement and Corporate Services.
A feature of the OPW is the range of expertise required and employed. In addition to general civil service grades, the OPW employs Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Valuers, Mechanical & Electrical Engineers, Civil Engineers, and includes a range of specialist skills related to the construction industry. The organization also comprises a large direct labour force involved not only in the many engineering works but also in highly skilled crafts such as stone carving, castings, ironwork and decorative plasterwork.
Professional services are provided to customers through a combination of direct employment and recruitment of consultants.
The OPW has operations in 135 locations throughout the country. While the organization is arranged around 7 business units, this morning, and in the context of your General Assembly, I’d like to say a few words about a particular area – Architectural Services.
This Service consists of a full architectural practice providing a complete design service for public sector building projects, a conservation management and advisory service, and a building maintenance service. Through the office of the Principal Architect it is the Government Adviser on Architecture. Areas of expertise include Conservation, Urban Design, Exhibition and Interior Design and Landscaping. It has a reputation for quality and professionalism, and has won many awards for the high standards of its work, and has maintained accreditation to the Quality Standard ISO 9002.
The Practice has developed a comprehensive management system and produces annual accounts. It has extensive expertise in a range of public service buildings such as coastguard stations, courthouses, police stations, prisons, social welfare offices, modern office accommodation, laboratories and includes the maintenance of National Monuments and Historic Properties.
Traditionally the service has enjoyed a busy workload and has availed of the private sector to meet about 40% of demand where private architectural firms have been procured from framework agreements. With the economic decline of recent years there is a significant decrease in demand for new developments and the service is directing its resources more to the State’s large portfolio of properties. The main concern for the foreseeable future will be ensuring compliance with various directives and legislative enactments such as providing full universal access to all public buildings by 2022 and meeting the EU targets for 30% reduction in carbon for buildings by 2020. Attention will also be directed at planned maintenance and conservation planning for the many historic properties in State ownership.
I mentioned that there are many areas of common interest between ACE and OPW and one of these no doubt is the whole area of procurement. Public procurement procedures are complex and demanding and are often criticised as favouring the larger enterprises. There is no doubt that the procedures can be onerous but their ultimate purpose is for open, fair and transparent competition. I will give serious consideration to any proposals that lighten the burden on the profession while at the same time respecting the intent of the Directives. There is of course scope here for the profession itself to seek new ways and possibilities of ensuring successes for smaller practices. For example the OPW will consider submissions from small practices that collaborate to achieve critical mass in competing through public procurement.
In recognition of the importance to the economy of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s) a range of measures have been established that contracting authorities are now required to take to promote SME involvement and to ensure this sector is not hindered in competing for public contracts. New guidelines have been put in place for contracting authorities aimed at increasing SME participation in public procurement. The National Procurement Service (NPS) in the OPW acts as a centre of excellence providing advice on and implementing procurement policy in line with best practice and Government initiatives, including improved access to public procurement opportunities for SMEs. As the use of the restricted tendering procedure is often cited as a barrier to SME participation procedures have now been established to ensure that all public procurement construction contracts for services under €125,000 shall be procured through open public tender. Further measures to improve the balance of commissions between the large and smaller practices are under consideration.
Another aspect of procurement is Public Private Partnerships, PFI, Design Build and the many variations of these mechanisms. Their appeal of course, for public authorities in particular, lies in their integrated package of design and construction with full transfer of risk.
In administering and managing these forms of procurement we are rather fortunate in the OPW to have one of the few surviving State architectural practices (and that might, I suspect, be a matter of regret for some) and one advantage of this asset becomes clear in the management of PPPs. The OPW Architectural Service stands between the Client Department and the PPP company to consider and deliberate on the proposals tendered. It does this from a position of knowledge and expertise and complete familiarity with the requirements of the client department. The presence of this service acts to support the role of the architect in the PPP consortium by engaging in the design dialogue that aims to address the specific requirements of the client and preserve design quality. We have found private practice architects are comfortable in the PPP process knowing that on the client side there is support and endorsement of their intrinsic role.
There is no doubt that the past 10 years, and more, has been a great period for Irish architects such that now the public perception of architecture in Ireland is informed by personal experience of many well designed buildings.
But we are now in difficult economic times and your recently published survey “The Architectural Profession in Europe 2010” shows for the past two years a 15% fall in construction output and a 22% decline in the architectural market. An interesting if not surprising statistic shows Ireland with the largest percentage of its registered architects working or residing abroad.
In this context I wish to mention the OPW/RIAI Graduate Training Programme, which offers some opportunities for graduates to remain in Ireland and acquire their necessary training prior to full registration.
The programme started in September 1999. OPW Architectural Services were the first architectural practice to establish a structured programme to provide practical experience for recent architectural graduates.
The initial intake of 10 graduates in 1999 was engaged on a 24-month placement. Recently the placement has been increased to 36 months giving a maximum of 30 graduates in the office. Since 2003 the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland [RIAI] has managed the Programme on behalf of the OPW.
Over 110 architectural graduates have benefited from practical experience in the OPW since 1999. The majority of these are from the schools of architecture in Ireland, but the programme has been enhanced with input from international graduates from Poland, Scotland, Germany, Wales, England, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria and India.
The scheme is designed for recent graduates with a recognized qualification in architecture and it provides practical experience for those wishing to prepare for the Institute or University Part Three Examination in Professional Practice.
During their period of training graduates are assigned to a range of projects to work as part of a design team. Each is assigned a mentor who will ensure the graduate gains experience across the full range of design stages and building types. A Case Study Project is also facilitated to provide site experience.
Graduates are facilitated to attend OPW Architectural Service CPD [Continuous Professional Development] events and the CPD Professional Practice lecture series in the University. They are also encouraged to visit sites of recently completed OPW projects and other places of note during their placement.
The Programme is vital in the current economic climate, where opportunities to acquire the necessary practical experience are limited.
The scheme attracts graduates of a very high calibre who not only make a huge contribution to the work output of the office but also positively enhance the creative, dynamic environment of Architectural Services. They work on the full range of project types including Conservation, Restoration, New Build, Landscape and National Monuments.
To ensure the success of the scheme OPW provides the following inputs: Intensive coaching; Financing of the lecture series and examination fees; Facilitation of site visits and CPD events; Time off to attend lecture series; Individual mentoring and active management of the programme.
To date the Programme has had a 100% pass rate. The benefits and successes all round of the scheme are such that
it has now been extended to our Engineering Service under a similar arrangement with the Engineering Institute – Engineers Ireland.
Before I finish I’d like to say a few words about the Government Policy on Architecture (GPA), which again touches upon many areas of common interest between ACE and OPW. The present policy entitled “Government Policy on Architecture 2009 – 2015…Towards a sustainable future: Delivering Quality within the Built Environment” has its origins in the first Government Policy Statement on Architecture in May 1997.
The policy contains 45 specific actions to be realized by 2015. The actions fall broadly into the categories of: Research into the Designed Environment; Quality in the Built Environment; An Integrated Approach to Planning and Urban design; The promotion of Awareness of Good Architecture.
The approach to realizing these actions will be from the perspective of sustainable development and care and protection of our built heritage. A total of 21 actions have been initiated and/or progressed from 2010 covering all areas of the policy. The OPW is fully engaged with other key partners in the implementation of the policy and in the advancement of this first tranche of actions.
The GPA Annual Report sets out in detail those actions and objectives progressed over 2009-2010. The report is available in PDF format on the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government website, www.environ.ie
In conclusion I would like to refer to the words of Rudolf Niessler, Director for Policy Coordination at the DG for Regional Policy of the European Commission, when he addressed the European Parliament on February 9th during the NON CITY conference organised by the European Forum for Architectural Policies:
“Architecture is relevant when we have to shape our cities, not just the buildings, but also when taking a more holistic perspective. It should include a social dimension that seeks to avoid urban sprawl, the cancerous growth of the cities into the surroundings, and leading to a segregation of work and life”
Thank you and I wish you all a successful 2 days here in Dublin Castle.