Architect's influence/relevance in your country?

[fmolanphy]

I would like to understand the role an architect plays in your countries. Why? Well in my country Honduras architects are pretty much relegated to an afterthought do to non regulations by our government and architectural body.
A civil engineer takes prescedence over an architect any day of the week. An architect can't build or design without the involvement of an engineer but it is not the same for engineers.....they can design, build without the need for an architect.
This has lead to a lack of identity on our architecture, lack of development on the part of our architects and basically make at least 90% of us struggling architects and working outside our fields.....Of course there are exceptions, specially when you work with international franchises or foreign aid organizations....

So, what role or significance does an architect have in your countries? Just want to enlighten myself. thanks

[kwistenbiebel]

Interesting....
Here in Belgium you have to assign an architect...An engineer is not a must but most of the time the architect insists on contracting an engineer for stability studies.
So the architect has full power over esthetics, even though building regulations limit you. Some of those regulations are oldfashioned. It is sometimes an art to play with those regulations in order to still make a good design.

In your country the engineer takes over from the architect resulting in 'formless' architecture. I think that is not the way to go...

However, I wouldn't always underestimate the 'estetic' capabilities of an engineer. Enough examples of good stuff made by engineers: the work of Buckminster Fuller,more contemporary the things that OVE ARUP pulls out of their sleeve (even though always under architect's surpervision).
But i agree that for small housing projects the role of engineers should be confined to 'technical' study.

[franjayo]

This is a complex issue. As professionals, every field has grey lines of definition of their area of competence. The architects's field of work is under constant attack by Engineers, Interior Designers, Contractors, Draftspersons and others.

As for the general perception of professions in the past 150 years, scientists in general are perceived as the most valuable for mankind, not artists. Engineers are seen more as scientist and architects as artists. This can be seen from the curriculums of primary education where science classes take strong precedence over art, if any art is provided at all.

Local history also influences the way things work in each area. In Puerto Rico a good University for Engineers was well in place before an Architectural School opened. Although current law allows for no difference between a license for an architect or an engineer, particular government agencies will require from an architect the calculations and signature of certain engineers, mainly electrical and structural, depending on the project complexity.

[fmolanphy]

thank you for your feedback..... like I said, in my country architects take the back seat. We still can't figure out how to break out of this mold and get more influence on where our country is going, architecturally. As architects I believe we do have great capabilities to shape a country, providing spaces for better education, better community relations and so on. thanks for your posts

[BruceWalker]

In New Zealand architects are consulted for regulating bodies and building codes & conditions of contract. Some may even say that we are respected to a certain degree.

But the building codes and regulating authorities are so constricting and incompetent that you sometimes wonder what the point is.