BLA Architects Ltd we take privacy seriously and are committed to protecting it.
This privacy policy explains how and why we collect your personal information and how it is used when you visit www.bla-architects.com We are the data controller in relation to the processing activities described below. This means that we decide why and how your personal information is processed.
How we collect your personal data
We may collect your personal data when you request information about us or our services or projects. This is information you voluntarily give us by entering information via our site, our social media platforms or corresponding with us by phone, email or otherwise.
We may also automatically collect technical information, including anonymous data collected by the hosting server for statistical purposes, the Internet Protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer or device to the internet, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform. Please see ‘Cookies’ for further information. We may also collect any personal information which you allow to be shared that is part of your public profile or third party social network, type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform.
We may ask for your consent to submit information about yourself in order to receive or use services on our website. Such services include bulletins, email updates, website feedback or those to provide you with the information you have requested.
How we use your personal information
A. Where you have provided CONSENT
We may contact you via email or text with marketing information about our services or products if you (i) sign up to our newsletter via our website or other medium where available; or (ii) when you refresh your marketing preferences when responding to a request from us to do so. You may withdraw your consent for us to use your information in any of these ways at any time. Please see 'Withdrawing your consent' for further details.
B. Where it is in your VITAL INTEREST
Where we have supplied you with any services or products, we may use your personal information to contact you if there are any urgent safety or critical notices to communicate to you or where we otherwise reasonably believe that the processing of your personal information will prevent or reduce any potential harm to you. It is in your vital interests for us to use your personal information in this way.
C. Where there is a LEGITIMATE INTEREST
We may use and process your personal information where it is necessary for us to pursue our legitimate interests as a business, or that of a third party, for the following purposes:
• for marketing activities (other than where we rely on your consent to contact you by email)
• for analysis to inform our marketing strategy, and to enhance and personalise your customer experience
• to correspond or communicate with you
• to verify the accuracy of data that we hold about you and create a better understanding of you as a customer
• for network and information security in order for us to take steps to protect your information against loss or damage, theft or unauthorised access
• for prevention of fraud and other criminal activities
• to comply with a request from you in connection with the exercise of your rights (for example where you have asked us not to contact you for marketing purposes, we will keep a record of this on our suppression lists in order to be able to comply with your request)
• for the management of queries, complaints, or claims
• for the establishment and defence of our legal rights
D. Where there is a LEGAL REQUIREMENT
We will use your personal information to comply with our legal obligations: (i) to assist the Architects Registration Board or other public authority or criminal investigation body; (ii) to identify you when you contact us; and/or (iii) to verify the accuracy of data we hold about you.
E. Where it is required to complete a CONTRACT
We may use and process your personal information where we have supplied you (or continue to supply you) with any services or products, where we have arranged for the supply of another company’s services or products to you, or where you are in discussions with us about any new service or product. We will use this information in connection with the contract for the supply of services or products when it is needed to carry out that contract with you or for you to enter into it. Please see ‘How we collect your personal data’ above for details of the types of personal information we process for these purposes.
Data anonymisation and use of aggregated information
Your information may be converted into statistical or aggregated data in such a way as to ensure that you are not identified or identifiable from it. Aggregated data cannot be linked back to you as a natural person. We may use this data for analytical and research purposes.
For more information on how we use cookies and how to switch them off on your device, please see ‘Cookies’ below.
Others who may have access to your personal information
A. Group companies
• We may share your information with other companies within our group. They may use your personal information in the ways set out in ‘How we use your personal information’, in connection with the services or products that complement our own range of services or products.
B. Our suppliers and service providers
• We may disclose your information to our third party service providers, agents, subcontractors and other organisations for the purposes of providing services to us or directly to you on our behalf. Such third parties may include cloud service providers (such as hosting and email management), marketing agencies and administrative services.
• When we use third party service providers, we only disclose to them any personal information that is necessary for them to provide their service. They are required to keep your information secure and not to use it other than in accordance with our specific instructions.
C. Third parties who provide products and services
• We work with various third parties to bring you a range of services or products that are complementary to those that we provide. When you enquire about or purchase one or more of these services or products through us, the relevant third party may use your details to provide you with information and carry out their obligations arising from any contracts you have entered into with them.
• These third party providers may share your information with us, which we will use in accordance with this policy. In some cases, they will be acting as a controller of your information and therefore we advise you to read their privacy policy.
Other ways we may share your personal information
We may transfer your personal information to a third party as part of a sale of some or all of our business and assets to any third party or as part of any business restructuring or reorganisation. We may also transfer your personal information if we’re under a duty to disclose or share it in order to comply with any legal obligation, to detect or report a crime, to enforce or apply the terms of our contracts or to protect the rights, property or safety of our visitors and customers. We will always take steps with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected.
We will only share your information with our third party partners for them to contact you with marketing information about their services or products where you have indicated that you would like us to do so. Once shared, the relevant third party’s privacy policy will apply to their processing of your personal information, not ours. If you’d like to opt-out of receiving marketing from a third party after providing your consent, you can do so at any time by contacting the relevant third party directly.
Where we store your personal information
We use leading technologies and encryption software to safeguard your data, and keep strict security standards to prevent any unauthorised access to it.
All information you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). By way of example, this may happen where [any of our Group companies are incorporated in a country outside of the EEA or] if any of our servers or those of our third party service providers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EEA. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK.
If we transfer your information outside of the EEA in this way, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this policy. These steps include imposing contractual obligations on the recipient of your personal information or ensuring that the recipients are subscribed to ‘international frameworks’ that aim to ensure adequate protection. Please contact us using the details at the top of this page for more information about the protections that we put in place and to obtain a copy of the relevant documents.
How long we keep your personal information for
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
Security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
Access to information
You have the right to access information held about you by emailing or writing to us at the address at the end of this policy. Please provide us with proof of your identity, and we can provide you with details of the information we hold about you. We may not provide you with a copy of your personal information if this concerns other individuals or we have another lawful reason to withhold that information.
Withdrawing your consent
Where we rely on your consent as the legal basis for processing your personal information, as set out under ‘How we use your personal information’, you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the details at the end of this policy. If you would like to withdraw your consent to receiving any direct marketing to which you previously opted-in, you can do so using our unsubscribe tool. If you withdraw your consent, our use of your personal information before you withdraw is still lawful.
Objecting to our use of your personal information and automated decisions made about you
Where we rely on your legitimate business interests as the legal basis for processing your personal information for any purpose(s), as set out under ‘How we use your personal information’, you may object to us using your personal information for these purposes by emailing or writing to us at the address at the end of this policy. Except for the purposes for which we are sure we can continue to process your personal information, we will temporarily stop processing your personal information in line with your objection until we have investigated the matter. If we agree that your objection is justified in accordance with your rights under data protection laws, we will permanently stop using your data for those purposes. Otherwise we will provide you with our justification as to why we need to continue using your data.
You may object to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes and we will automatically comply with your request. If you would like to do so, please use our unsubscribe tool.
You may also contest a decision made about you based on automated processing by contacting us.
Erasing your personal information or restricting its processing
In certain circumstances, you may ask for your personal information to be removed from our systems by emailing or writing to us at the address at the end of this policy. Unless there is a reason that the law allows us to use your personal information for longer, we will make reasonable efforts to comply with your request.
You may also ask us to restrict processing your personal information where you believe it is unlawful for us to do so, you have objected to its use and our investigation is pending or you require us to keep it in connection with legal proceedings. In these situations we may only process your personal information whilst its processing is restricted if we have your consent or are legally permitted to do so, for example for storage purposes, to protect the rights of another individual or company or in connection with legal proceedings.
Complaining to the UK data protection regulator
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are concerned about the way we have processed your personal information. Please visit the ICO’s website for further details.
Changes to this policy
If our privacy policy changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that they may have their own privacy policies and we do not accept responsibility or liability for these policies. Please note that the presence of a link to another website on our website does not imply any kind of endorsement or recommendation of that site.
Photography
We regularly photograph our projects and activities as a practice, and many of these photographs will include members of the public. We use our photos on various platforms including our website, social media and print publications. We share photos with the press, where they may appear in print or online publications and on social media. We also share photos with clients and third parties, such as suppliers, for use in their own marketing.
We store our photography indefinitely in a secure cloud service library.
If you would like us to remove a photograph of you that we hold, please contact the communications team using the contact details at the top of the page.
Legal disclaimer
We endeavour to ensure that all the material on our website is accurate and up to date. However, errors and omissions can happen, so the content is provided without any warranty or liability. We do not warrant that use of the website will not infringe third party rights. We do not warrant that use of this website or materials downloaded from it will not cause computer virus infection or other damage to property. It is a condition of use of the website and the materials in it that use is at the user’s own risk. Neither we nor any of the website’s editors or contributors shall be liable for any loss or damages suffered as a result of any use of the website, including but not limited to direct loss, consequential loss and loss of profits (but not including death or personal injury).