Architect

An architect, also known as a building designer, is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a building's construction, whose role is to guide decisions affecting those building aspects that are of aesthetic, cultural or social concern. More generally, an architect is the designer of a scheme or plan.

"Architect" is derived from Latin: architectus, and from Greek: arkhitekton (master builder), arkhi (chief) + tekton (builder, carpenter). [1]

Architects and landscape architects are considered professionals on par with doctors, engineers, and lawyers, and they must frequently make building design and planning decisions that affect the safety and well being of the general public. Architects are required to obtain specialized education and documented work experience to obtain professional licensure, similar to the requirements for other professionals, with requirements for practice varying greatly from place to place (see below).

The most prestigious award a living architect can receive is the Pritzker Prize. It is considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for architecture. Other awards for excellence in architecture are given by the American Institute of Architects and Royal Institute of British Architects.

Although architect is a specific term referring to a licensed professional, the word is frequently used in a broader sense to define someone who brings order to the built or unbuilt environment through rational and irrational constructs using the tools of design. For example, naval architects, software architects etc., and graduates of schools of architecture not doing regulated project/construction documents are often called architects. However, non-licensed architects and designers working in the construction industry are prohibited from referring to themselves as architects in most countries.

Canada

In Canada, architects are required to belong to provincial architectural associations that require them to complete an accredited degree in architecture, finish a multi-year internship process, pass a series of exams, and pay an annual fee to acquire and maintain a license to practice.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada [2] aims to be "the voice of Architecture and its practice in Canada." Architects who are members of this organization are permitted to use the suffix MRAIC after their names. All members of the RAIC hold accredited degrees in architecture, but not all Canadian architects are members of the RAIC.

USA

In the United States, people wishing to become licensed architects (interns) are required to pass a series of multiple exams (depending on specific criteria set forth by the State in which the testing is conducted), referred to as the Architectural Registration Examination (the ARE). In addition, interns must have multiple years of documented practical work experience (quantity depends on type of educational experience and type of educational degree earned) working under a licensed Architect before they may become eligible to take the ARE. Although the ARE is a national exam, each state issues their own licenses. Some states, such as California and Hawaii, require supplemental exams in addition to the ARE. Other states have reciprocity agreements, so licenses may be easily transferred between certain states. Schooling is not always required in such states as New York, for someone who works atleast 10 years under an accredited architect is eligible for a licensening test.

There are three types of accredited ("professional") degrees in architecture in the United States; a Bachelor of Architecture, a Master of Architecture, or a Doctor of Architecture (abbreviated as B.Arch., M.Arch., and D.Arch., respectively). These are called professional degrees as they are required to enter the profession. A Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (BA), Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture (BFA Arch), Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BS), or Bachelor of Environmental Design (B.Envd) typically takes four years - as opposed to five for a B. Arch degree - and is considered a pre-professional degree. However a professional degree is still required (to take the ARE and to practice) and the programs are often combined usually leading to an M.Arch degree. A pre-professional degree is not necessary to enter a professional degree program, but accelerates completion. Following graduation from a professional program, documented apprenticeship (typically 3 year internship) is required before the individual is eligible to take the ARE and become licensed.

The American Institute of Architects [3] is the professional organization dedicated to offering a network of services to architects in the United States. Architects who are members of this organization are permitted to use the suffix AIA after their names. Not all architects who are licensed by their respective states are members of the AIA, and the general public often confuses the AIA suffix with actual credentials rather than participation in a business organization.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong to be an architect, one must be a graduate of a university specified by the HKIA plus a two year internship, then take the architect registration examination. Architects from U.K. and U.S.A. with 10 years experience aren't required to take the examination, but are required to attend an interview just as a formality.

Architects in Hong Kong are not authorised to submit building plans but use it as a 'title' only, unlike in most of the western world which carries a statutory obligation. To be able to submit building plans, architects, engineers or surveyors must go through another step by passing an authorized personal interview. Contrary to popular thought, most of the famous buildings in Hong Kong are designed by well-known international 'brand' architects and local architects act only as facilitators.

UK

Architects in the UK qualify through courses and exams recognized by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB).

Typically the sequence of education leading to full qualification and registration takes seven years and is:

Three-year degree course
RIBA Part 1 exam
One year’s professional experience
Further two-year course
RIBA Part 2 exam
Another year’s professional experience
RIBA Part 3 exam

The word ‘architect’ is legally protected; under the Architects Act 1997 it is against the law for people who are not registered architects to style themselves thus. However, many minor architectural tasks can be carried out by draughtsmen also known as architectural technologists (previously architectural technicians).

Notable architects

The architects in the list of notable architects are in chronological order of when they did their most important work (or emerged), and alphabetized within each time period.

Notable schools which trained architects

Bauhaus, Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin
Architectural Association School of Architecture, London
École des Beaux Arts, Paris (until 1968 when 22 Écoles d'Architecture replaced it)
Scott Sutherland School, Scotland
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki [4]
Auburn University (Paul Rudolph, Samuel Mockbee) [5]
Glasgow School of Art,Glasgow,Scotland
GSAPP [6], Columbia University in the City of New York [7]
Pennsylvania State University,Pennsylvania

[8]

Waterloo School of Architecture, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

External links

American Institute of Architects - Professional association for architects in the United States
Architects' Index - Directory of UK registered architects
Royal Australian Institute of Architects - Professional association for architects in Australia