The following gives an overview of the roles people take in assessing an application.
Assessment Teams
Assessment teams are comprised of 3 people: 2 architects and one lay assessor. Both lead and Architect assessors are on the AABC register or have recently retired.
Lead Assessor
An Architect who leads a team of 3 assessors. The lead assessor conveys the decision of the team to the supervisory panel and any comments that should be sent to the applicant.
Architect Assessor
An Architect who assesses applications and comments on whether an applicant should be/ continue to be accredited with the AABC.
Lay Assessor
A lay assessor is a person with knowledge and experience of historic building conservation but is not an Architect. The layperson represents ‘an intelligent client’ when looking at the applications. They are a critical friend who reads the application and gives relevant comments from the client’s perspective, i.e., someone not knowledgeable in all architecture terms.
Supervisory Panel
The Supervisory panel is a small group of AABC-accredited architects who moderate the assessment teams’ decisions to ensure consistency across all applications. The panel is made up of at least four people.
The panel identifies applicants who produce exemplary applications to become architect assessors. They also oversee all assessors, ensuring they carry out the role appropriately.