What is the Architect’s Role

We’ve discussed the architect’s role before, but it’s been a while and some things have changed. So, between ongoing changes in the regulatory framework and our own education, we thought it might be time for an update on what it is an Architect is, why we’re important, and why you should spend your hard earned money find a role for us on your construction team.

Historically, and we’re talking semi-prehistorically, Architect’s were really just master builders. The people who built the pyramids and cathedrals were experienced masons, not specifically trained designers. Even as the term started to be coined in the enlightenment, most architects were self-trained builders. The contracts to build homes in the 18th century were often 3 or 4 sentences long and the “architect” figured out the rest from their experience or copied from respected historical patterns as they directed the build. But as buildings got more complex and included more mixed technologies (indoor plumbing, for instance, was a major step forward)

With the increasing complexity that came about from the industrial revolution and the myriad technologies we take for granted incorporated into construction, Architects and Engineers started to specialize. Engineers focused on the specific systems and optimizing the structural and mechanical systems while architects focused on the coordination and overall building coming together. There is an misapprehension that Architects just focus on the aesthetics, and that can be a part of our job for most clients, however, that is not why we’re regulated. Although some HOA’s feel differently, legislating beauty isn’t easy.

History of Regulation

Going back to pre-history again, builders have always been subject to regulation. Hammurabi’s Code of Laws, included the first building code. Basically, if you built a structure and it collapsed, you got to suffer the same injury as the owner you built it for. I imagine that led to some very hefty safety factors. But this was an early acknowledgement that the safety of the people within the built environment was dependent on competent professional judgement. That core principle continues today.

In the Victorian Era, it became clear that professionals needed regulation. Too many doctors and lawyers were operating without oversite and causing problems. Similarly, as doctors are responsible for our personal health, architects are responsible for the public’s health. This means that our charge, from a legal standpoint, is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public in the built environment. The definition of what is health, safety, and welfare is broad and diverse and has meant many different things over the years, but that is the framework the determines when you need an architect for the state.

Traditionally, we protected the public by requiring a certain amount of education and experience and passing a licensing exam at the end. More recently, the regulatory framework has shifted to competency, and this shift is still underway. The concept here is that verifying that a professional can do certain tasks is more rigorous than hoping that in 3 years of internship, they picked it up. It also should be more flexible opening up new pathways to the profession making it more attainable to people with the skills, but maybe not the means to attain the qualifications. Where this leads and exactly how it works is still a work in progress that we’ve been honored to take part in in our own small contributions.

What is The Architect’s Role for You?

So, an architect is a competent individual who protects the public from harm while assisting in your building. What does that mean? With the caveat that we are speaking from our own experience in practice in the Mid-Atlantic (specifically mostly Delaware) and laws and regulations vary greatly across states and especially countries, it means that you will need professional help for just about any non-residential structure. An architect’s role is to be responsible for it’s structural stability (or can outsource that to a specialized engineer), the life safety (how the occupants are protected from fires), the building resilience (how the structure performs in a disaster like a storm, flood, earthquake, zombie apocalypse, etc.) Obviously, this is more critical the more open to the public a structure is. Laws vary, but generally, permitting authorities lean on professional experience to protect the public for structures accessible to the public or housing more than two separate tenant groups.

One last point about the architect’s role, it is more effective the earlier you bring them in. Our experience can help guide choices during the construction to smooth the approvals process or enhance constructability. For instance, I cannot tell you how many times we have gotten a call from a client who had already built a multi-tenant space and gotten stopped by the authorities who rely on us to give them the bad news that they have to install fire rated assemblies on half of the walls and ceilings. We had one job, recently, where just changing the proposed use of a space saved the client hundreds of dollars in additional construction costs. Treating us as a useful member of the design and construction team allows you to maximize your value compared to trying to use us to check off a box after the decisions are made. We cost the same (possibly less before you’ve run into problems) but we provide more before you get into trouble than after.