Frances Forward

Frances Forward BA(Hons) Dip Arch MSc (Const Law) RIBA FCIArb is a practising architect, adjudicator and lecturer with extensive experience in design, management and consulting roles within the construction industry, both in the UK and in Germany.

Frances’ MSc research in the early 1990s into a potential European standard form construction contract led her to explore the genesis of the fledgling NEC Contract, and she went on to pioneer the use of NEC on complex lottery-funded arts projects. She set up her own architectural practice in 1999 and NEC became her contract of choice for both professional services and construction.  In 2000, Frances was invited to assist the NEC Panel in drafting the NEC Partnering Option X12 and she subsequently became the architect member of the Panel during the drafting of the third edition, NEC3.

Frances expanded her architectural practice in 2005 to offer an additional role of management contractor, in order to allow clients to procure both the design and the off-site fabrication / on-site construction of sustainable homes from a single company. The partnering supply chain for her company includes both English and German specialist consultants and contractors, using NEC3 as the common form of contract. Frances has contributed to a number of papers and conferences regarding NEC and she lectures on NEC at various University Schools of Architecture as part of their Professional Practice programmes.