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Letter Re: Use of the Title Architect
Letter Re: Use of the Title Architect
James,
In nearly every state I am aware of it is unlawful and may be a misdemeanor for any person to use a title, business name, or description of business services using the word “architect”, or “architectural” to refer to one’s self or business, unless the principal of the firm is a state licensed architect. Some states take this so seriously that I as a licensed architect on several states, am prohibited to use of “Architect” and/or “Architectural” in a state where I am not licensed, or in a state where I am licensed, and my license has lapsed or I failed the renewal criteria. Illinois even goes one step further and requires any firm which wants to call itself “Design-Build” be under the direction of a Licensed Architect or Registered Professional Engineer (PE). When I have an out of state project which does not require me to obtain an additional license, for example Idaho County, Idaho, I only refer to my self in title and contract as “building designer” to avoid the wrath of the state architects board.
For example, see this site, describing Oregon’s laws.
Every quarter the CAB, California Architect’s [Board] publishes violations, convictions and fines. A very large portion of these are for the violation of “Holding oneself out to be an architect” and the fines range from $500 to $5,000, and though I have yet to see it the state of CA reserve the right to unto 12 month jail as a Class A misdemeanor.
So you can imagine, that reading today’s posting from the contractor made my skin crawl with the repeated and even capitalized reference to the posting party as an “Architectural Designer” (as we used to say in the Army, “That’s a major NO-GO”; on that note it may be considered similar to the UCMJ section on “Impersonating an Office.”)
The precursors to becoming an actual licensed architect compared to becoming a licensed contractor in many states is as vast as the difference between becoming a doctor and an ambulance driver, and this is not an exaggeration. For example I am also a general contractor in Chicago, but it was little more than an application form, local fee and providing a certificate of insurance to become a Chicago Licensed General Contractor”
Or,
At the very least, such as in the case of California, where there is a sophisticated contractor licensing a program requiring evidence of past experience, and a rigid exam, with legal aspects of practice, the difference is comparable to Registered Nurse to Doctor.
So while, in the post collapse world and post mass human die off, any valid experience may be respected and valuable; in the present world your recent poster has crossed a line which disrespects those who have achieved the title “architect” and may be illegal.
The use of Architect and Architectural in title, for those in the construction industry, is only achieved after the following:
1. Formalized education at an
Source: http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/12/letter-re-use-of-the-title-architect.html
