This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Custom Residential Architects Network and Housing Knowledge Community .
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Perry Cofield AIA
Design Ways & Means Architects
Arlington VA
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This is to take up where I left off in a post called Guildhood, free agents, and the public interest. Thanks to David and Greg for commenting, and for keeping this thread going. Any of you wishing a copy of the November 11 post can email me at dwmarc@verizon.net for a PDF. As mentioned in my first post, these ideas will not be for those of you seeking to simply perpetuate title protection. As you will see below, what is it really protecting you from?
I advocate that Residential Architect become a separate discipline and license. Why? Because it is in the public interest. In medicine, the Physician's Assistant field was first created by the military as wartime pragmatism, and has gone on to support medicine as a whole. Architects now have a battle to fight in the environment- it is with sprawl- for as urban density may help the planet, unfettered sprawl surely does not.
The required education for a newly minted Residential Architect would include the technics of wood structures below 4 stories; land planning; basic civil engineering. There are many new developments in this field now, such as permeable pavement, super insulation, and resilient building to name a few. Then there are old concepts never really put into practice- such as passive solar orientation for production houses. In addition to practice, Residential Architects could work in Building and Zoning departments to bring about progressive change. Residential Architects in private firms would conceptualize new mixed-use communities and modify existing commercial structures below a certain threshold, but COULD NOT be Architects of Record for most new commercial work.
Some of you complain that this idea would encourage further specialization. There is no need, other than possibly transit architecture becoming a third separate field (airports, rail transit etc). In this fashion we would cover the weeds (US sprawl), the trees (buildings of five stories plus), and the rivers (our transit networks and intermodal centers). Unless the architectural profession is willing to consider this kind of repositioning, our fate will be to have the bit players and home builders kill us off at one end (as many do now) while engineers kill us at the other end. We are then pretty much left in the desert, except maybe the old-line firms.
Residential Architect could be a trademarked field, unlike the unprotected status of the term "architect". Current unlicensed designers would have to pass an exam to be grandfathered, as was once allowed of architects. The education program could start at the schools that still have 4-year degrees, where existing programs could be supplemented and modified. If architects supported this proposal, then NAAB and NCARB would have to consider new realities. If NCARB guards the public interest, then what are we- prisoners? Bob Dylan had a lyric to this effect. Some universities now ignore us alltogether- e.g. Applachia State in NC, with no Architecture program, enters a house in the solar decathlon. And UC Davis is builds state-of-green campus housing without us- we are considered too out of it.
If you are already a licensed architect, then you would be a Residential Architect too, needing at most a few supplemental courses similar to needing hurricane or earthquake credits to be accepted by certain states. So this is my proposal. Implementation lengthy. AIA can lead, or you can pay dues for a staff relegated to advocating issues like neuroscience, etc as it seems to do at present. Viewed this way, now what do you think? Suggestions and comments please!
PS: As my background isn't posted with AIA, I have 17 years of small residential work and 20 years of previous commercial practice under belt. In addition, 4 years as a campus planner, and a year with Harry Weese Associates, once General Architectural Consultant and chief designer of DC's metro stations. From this background, this proposal. Best Big Bird day to all!