In January, David Green wrote in Architects Journal about the challenges faced by UK architecture practices. He frames the challenge facing practices as being at the crossroads of a high demand on the built environment while the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is in ?disarray.? He links this directly to the financial challenge presented by ever-lower fees.
The RIBA, like Canada?s Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), does not enforce standards of practice. This is because the standards for practice are left to the regulators.
In Canada, we have a similar situation, with 11 regulators?one for each province (Yukon and Nunavut have no regulatory body for architecture). Nominally, these 11 Canadian regulators cooperate through ROAC, the Regulatory Organizations of Architecture in Canada. These regulators are governed by provincial Acts, which set standards for practice that hinge on the importance of public safety as their primary objective.
Of course, architects are expected to adhere to building codes and minimum standards for practice. But merely being minimally code compliant is too low an objective; these Acts cannot regulate significant aspects of the role architecture can play in society.
As a companion to David Green?s article, Chris Williamson wrote in Architects Journal that, ?There is so much interest in architecture right now. The standard of architecture is also, I believe, higher than ever.? He went on to advocate for how the RIBA can rest...