The role of Principal Designer in a construction project is not what the name might suggest! It is in fact the person or organisation appointed by the client with responsibility for two specific things:
ensuring the project’s design’s compliance with the Building Regulations
overseeing the co-ordination of health and safety matters during the pre-construction phase of a construction project.
The role of Principal Designer is a statutory one, prescribed by the CDM Regulations (2015) and the Building Safety Act (2022). At Lees Associates, we act as Principal Designer for the majority of our projects.