Recommended reading

The following titles relate to practice management, and are available to buy from RIBA Bookshops.

A guide to letter contracts: Second Edition

On very small projects, many architects prefer to make the contract with their client by means of a letter rather than a standard form of appointment. However, as this guide points out, there are inherent risks for both the client and the architect in doing so. Essential for architects and other consultants offering design services, A guide to letter contracts offers critically important guidance to minimise the inherent risks of concluding appointments by letter.

The Architect in Practice: 10th edition

The Architect in Practice was first published in 1952. Originally written by a quantity surveyor and an architect it has remained, through all its editions, a leading textbook used in the education of architects world-wide. While the format of the book has developed, the message and philosophy remains the same as the original: to provide the student of architecture and the young practitioner with a readable guide to the profession, outlining an architect's duties to client and contractor, the key aspects of running a building contract, and the essentials of management, finance and drawing office procedure.

Spon's Architects' and Builders' Price Book 2011

Spon's Architects' and Builders' Price Book 2011, compiled by Davis Langdon, provides the most accurate, detailed and professionally relevant construction price information currently available for the UK. Its unique Tender Index, updated through the year, provides an ongoing reality check and adjustment for changing market conditions. This is the only price book which sets out a detailed cost base for Major Works contracts exceeding £3,500,000 in value.

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