It is just over thirty years that we have had uninterrupted membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Our developer and builder clients still after all these years expect us to be members of the RIBA to ensure that they are employing an architect to provide full architects services and standards for their projects.
However it saddens us that the RIBA do not seem to have advertised to the general public the profession and the benefits it can offer. Often we visit council planning departments where there is no RIBA representation and instead leaflets can be found advertising the architectural services provided by “building technologists”, “building technicians@ and “surveyors”: these leaflets give the impression to the public that their services are equal to those provided by architects.
Regretfully this is not the case, with standards of design and responsibility falling below those provided by architects.
We have on many occasions over the years been asked by clients to improve and upgrade the designs and planning submissions provided by architectural technicians and surveyors, clients who thought mistakenly they had already employed an architect. Perhaps the RIBA would consider addressing this situation.
