The oracle of our times, Google, says an architect is a person who designs buildings and often oversees their construction. Okay Google, but isn’t there more to it than that?
Legally an architect is a person who is licensed to practice architecture in the jurisdiction where the building is to be built. To become a licensed architect, you must fulfill educational requirements (5 years minimum), experience requirements (3 years minimum), pass exams (7), and of course pay fees (I lost count). It takes about as long to become an architect as it does to become a doctor or a lawyer. However, if you persist you will receive an ornate document that says you are licensed to practice architecture. You will also get a seal with a number which gives the right to be sued should anything go wrong. Drawings for commercial buildings generally require the seal of a licensed architect. Drawings for residential buildings generally do not.
But those milestones didn’t feel like the whole story to me. The day a guy in a nightdress handed me a diploma I didn’t feel like an architect. The day I got my first job in an architecture firm I didn’t feel like an architect. The day I passed the licensing exam I did not feel like an architect. I did however celebrate each achievement with gusto!
Becoming an architect, I realized was not something someone else could bestow upon me. For me the issue was more complicated. At what point does someone wake up and believe they are an artist? I suppose after creating a few works of art a thoughtful person may define themselves as an artist. That’s the way it happened for me.
Long after achieving the legal requirements, it slowly occurred to me that I was an architect. I accepted that title because I had designed and overseen the construction of a few buildings that I considered to be architecture. In the end it seems only an artist knows if they are an artist.
The point is that there are specific definitions of an architect, and they are important. But there are also more general artistic passions that are also important, especially if you want to create a wonderful place.
ONE OF THE FIRST AWARD WINNING BUILDINGS I DESIGNED