Committee on the Environment

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Committee on the Environment and Codes and Standards .
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Mark Johnson of the ICC answers questions about IGCC, CALGreen, and the ICC's other efforts relative to codifying sustainability in the built environment. Check it out here and discuss.

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Mark Wills
Manager, Codes Advocacy
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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It seems the largest problem architects face is the continued erosion of the importance the architectural profession in the eyes of the public.
If a client thinks they can get design services from a LEED-AP without having to pay those nasty architectural fees they will probably do it.
The public has little idea that a LEED-AP may not be a registered architect or engineer who are charged by state law with  safeguarding the health, safety, and welfare of that same naive and ill-informed public.
Few outside of the profession might realize that a LEED-AP in and of itself is not a license to practice architecture or engineering (nor does it assure that an individual is even an expert on all things environmental).
The profession should be watchful of non-registered LEED-AP's who may accidentally (or purposefully) drift into the practice of architecture when they should not.
In the meantime, the age-old, oft-repeated, and dog-tired question returns:  How do we as a profession educate the public on what we do and why we are relevant?

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David Cherry AIA
Peterson Associates, p.a.
Charlotte NC
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