The Role Of The Architect

The role of the architect is a question that evokes a spectrum of answers from Norman Foster’s definition; ‘Architect is an expression of values… the way we build is a reflection of the way we live.’ [Foster, cited in Tholl, 2014: Online] This debate of who and what an architect should be and do is not a recent one to emerge but has lead many architects and designers as far back as Vitruvius [15BC] to produce documentation on what they believed to be the make-up of an architect. In Vitruvius’ ‘The Ten Books On Architecture’ he quickly establishes two fragments that make an architect, the manual skill and the theory and scholarship.

‘…that architect who have aimed at acquiring manual skill without scholarship have never been able to reach

Times have changed since days of Vitruvius, the inevitable advancement in technology, rapid global population increase and an ever developing awareness of the sustainability of our environment have forced the architect into different positions in the project team Thus it can be said that the external forces that shape the environment that an architect works in does so by manipulating the relationship between the skills required to practice; the scope of expertise and the depth of knowledge. Fig. 3 indicates a diagrammatic timeline representing the changing roles of the architect over the various time periods with respect to the scope and depth of

A recent study conducted by Building Futures in association with RIBA surveyed the various demographics of the construction industry to establish their thoughts and opinions in regards to the state of architectural profession today, and in the future. The document identifies the concern that conventional building design is shifting from the architects to the various sub-contractors for a multitude of reasons [Jamieson, 2010: 12]. The most obvious being the increased complexity and required specialisation of the building elements, which will further require a specific workforce utilising other educational qualifications. It is ironic that under this opinion architects have reverted back to their initial scope-depth state, having expertise in all but specialising in none. One could contribute this back to Vitruvius, who prescribed an architect to have an expansive knowledge including philosophy, arithmetic and geometry amongst others skills, effectively indicating that an architect should be a jack of all trades and a master of none. Thus an argument could be presented that it is the very nature of our education system, the one that forces us to immerse ourselves superficially in all aspects of the project, that makes us suitable to evolve from a design profession to a managerial role, The issue then