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Alternative paths to Licensure/ Upsetting the status quo

archanonymous

The AIA has a stranglehold on the profession, yet most of us who have to deal with them could not be more dissatisfied. As a whole, salaries are not matching inflation, the profession is graduating too many people, and the whole business is being de-valued and undercut by ourselves. 

I can go get a contractor's license and get a PE to stamp my drawings and with these two things, build just as much as any Architect, but unfortunately I will never be an architect with a capital "A" taking this kind of path. 

 

We have to advocate for a reform of this system - without a sustainable inflow/outflow of graduates and uniform labor laws and expectations, the profession will never attain the status it once had. We have slipped - most firms labor and hiring practices have more in common with a General Contractor than they do with a Legal or Medical practice.

I also believe that somewhere in this mess is an answer for why only 5% of new home construction uses an architect - why large builders can lobby the government (federal, state and local) for sweetheart deals on land, taxes and environmental regulations, but we can't get a regulation that asks these same builders to employ a minimum of sustainable building practices or any modicum of aesthetic value.

 

More than anything I am sick of hearing "woe to us" regarding the profession. Architecture is awesome - it is the highest artistic and technical expression of a civilization's values, ideals, and beliefs. If we can not make the profession relevant to the average person, we have failed as a profession and everything else - the high-end condos, the hotels, the design boutiques - are all completely meaningless if we cannot provide for the most basic practical and aesthetic function of Architecture.

 
Apr 23, 14 2:06 pm
archanonymous

Shigeru Ban.

Apr 23, 14 2:08 pm  · 
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chigurh

You do not have to be a member of the AIA to get your license.

Apr 23, 14 2:21 pm  · 
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grneggandsam

I also believe that somewhere in this mess is an answer for why only 5% of new home construction uses an architect

 

Hmm, I can't blame GCs for not using an architect.  Apparently, without an epidemic of home's falling down, they don't need one.  They probably come from the same position as you: I'm tired of this pretentious elitist system, and can build this design myself.

 

I think the mass produced cookie cut homes will become less appealing anyway.  If you could buy a mass produced house on the cheap, then make enough for a baller high-end designed vacation house in the mountains, you probably would. and you'd probably prefer a more customized home to meet your tastes instead of the cookie cut standard if you felt comfortable enough with your income to do so.  If society lets it happen, bland uniformity defeats itself.

Apr 23, 14 3:26 pm  · 
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grneggandsam

BTW, I need a new vehicle, so I'm buying a truck just in case I'd like to do some GC work someday...

Apr 23, 14 3:40 pm  · 
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jdparnell1218

I also believe that somewhere in this mess is an answer for why only 5% of new home construction uses an architect

How come every time I come to this forum, people talk about home design and the practice of residential architecture?  Am I the only one around here who has never laid hands on a residential design?

Apr 23, 14 4:12 pm  · 
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why do i feel like this thread topic repeats itself about every 3 months...

 

The AIA has a stranglehold on the profession, - i don't know what profession you're referring to. if it's architecture, you're sadly mistaken. perhaps you mean NCARB, who does have a more direct hand in licensure/regulatory standards. 

As a whole, salaries are not matching inflation - yes, but do you generally believe architects are the only ones in this boat? in general, across all professions, mid-level salaries across the board are not increasing. it's kind of a problem within the society as a whole. 

the profession is graduating too many people, - i would disagree on a certain level. more later on this point.

the whole business is being de-valued and undercut by ourselves. - wholly incorrect. we are not de-valuing, we simply don't know how to properly value our contributions. different concepts with vastly different solutions. fee 'undercutting' is largely a mythological bogeyman in these discussions. yes, plenty of firms lose projects due to someone having a lower fee but that doesn't equate to undercutting. 

We have to advocate for a reform of this system - (that's generally the aia's role)

the profession will never attain the status it once had - i'd argue our 'status' is, actually, quite intact in the minds of most of the general public. so is their perception of what they think we make. but, ask the lawyers and doctors if they believe they're in the same boat (hint: they do). i'd argue service firms in general are evolving so rapidly that what generates 'value' (and compensation) is shifting too fast for most service firms to adjust. they'll die, eventually. and i'll be glad to see them go. 

I also believe that somewhere in this mess is an answer for why only 5% of new home construction uses an architect - this number gets perpetuated like some mythological moby dick swimming out in a sea of cash. would it shock you to know that all - ALL - of the major homebuilders have multiple, licensed architects on staff who design their supposedly 'non-designed' homes? i think what you mean is "5% of all homes are CUSTOM designed by an architect." why is that? could it possibly be that the process is so time consuming and radically inefficient that most people don't want to be a part of it?

we can't get a regulation that asks these same builders to employ a minimum of sustainable building practices  (many states do have a minimum by the way) or any modicum of aesthetic value (oh, for the love of all - seriously? that's your argument? we'll legislate someone's preferred style of the week?) 

 

More than anything I am sick of hearing "woe to us" regarding the profession. (you're perpetuating it. let's come up with some real proposals to fix it). 

Architecture is awesome - (nodding head vigorously in agreement) 

If we can not make the profession relevant to the average person, we have failed as a profession and everything else - the high-end condos, the hotels, the design boutiques - are all completely meaningless if we cannot provide for the most basic practical and aesthetic function of Architecture. (shaking head in disbelief at the raw naiveté of this statement.) 

 

look - i don't know you and i wouldn't dare presume to impugn your intent. it sounds perfectly noble. but if you're content to whine about why "everyone else" hasn't restored the prestige or done all the hard work so that you can cruise in and savor the benefits... pick an area. sounds like you're interest in single family. dig in, deeply, to understand the system and figure out how you can accomplish what you want to do within what exists or what you need to change to make that happen. otherwise...yeah. 

Apr 23, 14 4:56 pm  · 
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grneggandsam

Gregory Walker, I agree.  It seems like most architects view the home building / renovation market as very despondent for architects, when they really haven't explored the ideas of design-build partnerships.  I think there is probably more money in institutional architecture, but the residential market favors small practices more than institutions, which appeals to me.

Apr 23, 14 5:18 pm  · 
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Veuxx
What is this obsession with comparing architecture to lawyers or doctors. They are nothing alike.

I would hope an architecture form is more similar to a general contracting business then a medical practice.
Apr 23, 14 7:25 pm  · 
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x-jla

The solution is simple.  Create a seperate license for residential architect.  There is zero reason why someone out of school should not be able to call themselves residential architects because they can design houses all day long without the license anyway.  It wouldn't permit you do do anything you can't do anyways.  It would however help the public distinguish someone with university training vs the residential designers that work for kb homes who have little knowledge of architecture.  It makes no sense.  As a business owner it is very annoying that I have to hide my academic achievement out of fear that I will be crucified because someone may misunderstand me and think I am a licensed architect because I say I have an march.  There are many people who work on the fringes of the profession.  No reason title needs to be an all or nothing thing.  Architectural visualization can't even be used to describe a service because some wiener may turn me over to the Gestapo.  I have become quite crafty about finding new words and titles but it creates serious confusion with clients.  It's an economic burden that I cannot accurately describe my 100% Legal services as they are commonly understood by the public and the industry.  

Apr 23, 14 7:28 pm  · 
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archanonymous

Gregory, thanks for your long and well-considered response. 

I suppose my post did come off a bit as just bitching and moaning... I was largely collating and regurgitating complaints and issues I have been hearing frequently, and they were especially fresh in my mind after a local salon last night. 

 

AIA does not equal NCARB, and I know that, but they maintain the same status quo. 

 

Why would you say that mid-level salaries are consistently lower in Architecture following the recession? Do you think we just started lower, and that fact is ignored by those who perpetuate this myth? My salary research shows we were always paid a bit less than other professionals, but it has gone from 3-8% less to 10-15% after the recession. Obviously there are pressures on architecture not present in other professions.

 

The business being de-valued - I perhaps didn't phrase this correctly. Other architects aren't undercutting the fees of local competitors, the whole industry is failing to create and charge for value in an effective way, as you point out.

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Would you mind teasing apart the naivete of my statement regarding the importance of Architecture to everyday people?

I see this as a major sticking point - every other service profession provides a clear and meaningful service to everyday people and society at large, demonstrating value, understanding, and a desire to serve. 

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I do, am, really trying to be part of the solution to this issue, which is why I find responses like this so helpful. I'm maybe not totally aware how my post came across, nor have I been engaging with Archinect for the past 6 years (so I am not yet sick of these posts). All I can do is keep building, focusing on getting real projects constructed and making clients happy - but it seems the more we all focus on just that, the more the larger issues in the profession get increasingly daunting. 

Apr 23, 14 7:57 pm  · 
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