November 19, 2008

A call to arms for all Canadian architects to advocate on behalf of their profession

Architecture Matters

R. Wayne Guy, FRAIC, NWTAA/PP

Regional Director, RAIC

I was gratified to see the Canadian entries in the publication of 1000x Architecture of the Americas, published by Verlagshaus Braun of Germany.

Out of the 1,000 buildings featured throughout the Americas and the Caribbean, the Canadian submissions fared extremely well as distinctive, imaginative, inventive, technically sophisticated works possessing both personality and presence.

I am proud to say that Canadian architects rank among the best in the world. This is the good news.

The bad news is that the average age of a Canadian architect is older than 50, the average age of an intern architect is 36 and for every two architects that retire, only one fills their place.

In addition to the graying of the profession, the earning potential of an architect has dropped to less than one third of that of our engineering counterparts in some parts of the country – society seems to view our profession as a luxury not a necessity.

This article is a call to arms for all architects, intern architects and students of architecture in this country to advocate on behalf of the profession as the future livelihood of the profession and our legacy of excellence is on the line.

The following are a series of promising RAIC (Royal Architectural Institute of Canada) initiatives geared toward sustaining and renewing the profession and increasing our numbers:

The RAIC/ Provincial Territorial Roundtable is on Oct. 17.

The institute has been working in conjunction with the 11 provincial and territorial associations, the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) and the Council of Canadian University Schools of Architecture (CCUSA) to harmonize the continuum between education, internship and practice and remove some of the administrative friction which has plagued the system.

This should provide a smoother process to registration resulting in less attrition of candidates.

The RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University is the proposed name for a new facility in Alberta that it is hoped will develop a distance learning program for a recognized diploma in architecture.

It will satisfy the educational requirements of the Canadian Architectural Certification Board. This bilingual program is being overseen by an interim program advisory council, comprised of leading practitioners and academics.

It will eventually be available to aspiring architects in every community in Canada. This program, a renewal of the RAIC Syllabus, should be launched by 2010.

There is also a new made-in-Canada registration exam for architects.

Several years ago, RAIC advocated for a Canadian registration examination and we are pleased that this has been achieved.

Architectural associations in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario created the new Canadian registration exam and all provincial and territorial licensing authorities, except one, have adopted it. The first sitting is November 2008.

It replaces the US-developed exam, which required multiple sittings that put undue hardship on interns.

The new test, which is partly based on the Canadian Handbook of Practice (CHOP), has been received enthusiastically. The Alberta Association of Architects (AAA) has indicated that 40 per cent of their interns have already registered for the exam. The numbers appear to be similar in Ontario and Québec.

These initiatives are encouraging, but only the tip of the iceberg.

To effect real change, a grassroots network is required. Grassroots networks are starting with new RAIC Chapters in B.C. (Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island), Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Be sure to support the RAIC Chapter in your region and work at increasing our influence!

To retain interns and encourage them to become licensed, principals of firms are encouraged to assist and pay for the examinations and registration of their intern architects. It’s a good succession plan. Interns are encouraged to write those exams and be counted.

Not only must we increase and sustain our numbers, but Canadian architects must also be considered by the general public, building owners and other clients as providing an essential and valuable service to society.

R. Wayne Guy, FRAIC, NWTAA/PP, is the RAIC regional director, Alberta/NWT.

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