Following on from my previous post on my journey through Architectural education from leaving school in 1987 to graduating with RIBA Part III in 2001, this is about what happens after. I remember being asked by my Director in the practice that I was working at the time, the day that I qualified, and was awarded the Diploma in Professional Studies in Architecture, the exemption from the holy grail of qualifications RIBA Part III, what makes you different today to yesterday? My answer: today I am an Architect, yesterday I was an Architectural Assistant, I have a licence to practice. However in the context of working within a practice, at that moment in time, it made absolutely no difference to what I was doing on the project to the day before. The difference within the practice moving forward is that I could be charged out at a higher rate than before, and have the recognition when facing clients, that I was now an Architect. When newly qualified in 2001, the skill set was complete...right? Over the past seven years I had worked on everything from developing Analytical tools, Design skills, Technical knowledge, Communication Skills and knowledge of Planning Law, Project Management, Business Development.
Fast forward to 2014, the title Architect is the subject of some debate, whether it be about the misuse of the title within the profession, or the hijacking of the title in its entirety by the IT industry, usually with the prefix Enterprise, Solutions, or any number of IT related titles, or whether it is about feeling undervalued by clients based on the perception that nobody understands what an Architect does. For example, project management, part of the administrative function of being an Architect, is undertaken by construction professionals from any number of backgrounds, from plumbing to quantity surveying, I have worked with some extremely good project managers, I have also worked with a number that have made me think I could do a far better job myself. In some cases I have found myself actually doing the project management work whist someone else has the title.
There are also titles that pigeonhole us: Concept Architect, Technical Architect, Project Architect, Site Architect, Consultant Architect, Chief Architect, Principal Architect, Senior Architect, Junior Architect, Lead Architect...and so on, it seems that the title Architect is not enough to describe what we do. In my career to date since qualification my titles have varied: Project Architect, Associate, Project Manager, Senior Architect, Lead Designer, Chief Architect...I have also moved out of the sphere of the UK based practice, although I had been working for an international practice in the UK, the practice of Architecture was under UK law and in the English language.
Things became interesting when opportunities to stay practicing Architecture during the economic crisis, took me to the place I least expected to be...Saudi Arabia. The first inkling that things were going to be a little different was when I attended the Visa interview in London, I took all my certificates and ARB registration documents with me and was asked what is my highest level qualification. I replied that my highest academic level is a Masters Degree which does not qualify me to practice architecture. OK, we'll take the MA, it is going to the Saudi Embassy, they will not understand the difference, but will recognise the highest level. I deferred to their judgement. Sure enough when the Visa came through it was not for an Architect at all, but for Project Engineer. Now, I know a bit about structures and services, I might even know a tiny bit about mechanics, but would never consider myself an engineer. A brief conversation with my recruitment consultant, revealed that in Arabic there is no word for Architect, the closest being Mohindas which means Engineer.
Sure enough when immersed in the working environment in Saudi Arabia, it appears that all senior construction professionals are addressed with the prefix 'Engineer', which makes things most confusing. The next difference being how an Architect from the UK differs from say India or the Phillipines, hence the titles, Senior and Junior are selected based not on experience but where in the world you qualified. So I came to Saudi as a Project Engineer on the visa, a Senior Architect on the payroll, and assuming the title Lead Designer in the office.
The journey continues, the learning never stops.
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