What an architect does
An architect is the professional who designs buildings and the spaces people live, work and gather in, and the role is the center of the discipline of architecture, the practice that turns a need for shelter, work or ceremony into a structure that is sound to build and worth the cost of making. The architect is the one who answers for the design, and the title is protected by a license that requires a long training, a period of supervised work and a public examination before it may be used.
This page defines what an architect does, the problems the role exists to solve, the day to day work, and how the job is trained, paid and practiced.
What an architect does on a project
An architect does the work of turning a client's need into a building that can be built, and the day to day work runs through a fixed sequence of phases. In the first phase, the architect meets the client and writes the brief, a short statement of what the building must do for whom and for how much. In the design phase, the architect develops the concept, the massing and the spaces, and presents them to the client. In the documentation phase, the architect produces the construction documents, the drawings and specifications that the builder constructs from, typically 100 to 300 sheets for a small commercial building. In construction administration, the architect reviews the work on site and answers the questions the builder raises, which is often 5 to 15 percent of the total project time. The role is a design role at its center, but it is also a coordination role, because the architect is the one who holds the whole building together across the engineers, the contractor and the client.
The problems the role exists to solve
An architect is hired to solve problems that a client cannot solve alone, and they cluster in 4 areas. The first is the problem of the brief, which is the client's own need made clear, and it is the problem the architect solves before any drawing is made. The second is the problem of the site, the constraints of the ground, the light and the access that decide what can be built where. The third is the problem of the budget, which is the constraint that decides what can be afforded, and the architect's skill is in designing to the budget rather than over it. The fourth is the problem of the building code, which is the set of rules the building must meet to be safe and lawful, and the architect is the one who designs to them. A client who understands these 4 problems understands what they are paying for, and it is why the architect's fee is for the solution to them and not for the drawings that record the solution.
How the role is trained and licensed
The role of architect is trained over a long period and protected by a license. In the United States the path is a 5 year first degree in architecture, a 1 to 2 year period of supervised work under a licensed architect, and the Architect Registration Examination, a set of 6 subject examinations. In the United Kingdom the path runs through a first degree, a postgraduate diploma, 2 years of practical experience and a professional examination. The numbers differ by country, but the shape is the same: a long training that combines design studio work with the technical subjects, a period of supervised practice, and a public test before the title may be used. The license matters because it is the architect's signature on the drawings that makes the building lawful, and it is what the role is accountable for.
How the role is paid and where it is practiced
The role is paid in 3 ways, and the pay depends on the size of the firm, the market and the level of the person. A project architect in a mid size US firm earns a salary in the range of 65,000 to 95,000 dollars, a senior architect in the range of 90,000 to 140,000 dollars, and a principal who owns the firm earns what the firm's work supports, which can be far more. Firms charge a percentage of construction cost, usually 6 to 12 percent for a new building, a fixed fee for the defined scope, or an hourly rate of 90 to 150 dollars for work outside the standard scope. The role is practiced in firms of every size, from a 2 person studio to a global practice of 30,000 people, and the size of the firm changes the day to day work, because a small studio's architect draws the building and a large firm's architect coordinates a team of 15 around it.
How the architect differs from the engineer and the designer
The role of architect is often confused with the roles that work beside it, and the difference is in the question each one answers. The structural engineer answers whether the building can stand, the building services engineer answers whether it can be heated, cooled and wired, and the architect answers what the building should be and what it should do for the people inside it. An interior designer answers how the space inside is finished and furnished, and that role can be done by the architect or by a separate specialist. The architect is the only one of these whose product is the building as a place, and that is why the client contracts with the architect for the design and the other specialists work under the architect's coordination. The role is, in short, the design and the accountability for the building as a whole, and it is the role that the discipline of architecture exists to serve.