Reply With QuoteAnyone can learn design and software and become an architectural designer. This is not an architect.
Becoming an Architect is a different ball game. https://www.architecture.com/educati...e-an-architect
My main job is graphic designer, working self-employed and freelancing for agencies and companies - some of which are in the construction sector. There's a potential for marketing/design work to dry up in the coming weeks and months so I'm thinking that if I find myself with a lot of free time I could learn some new skills.
As an aside from my day job I'm a partner in a small building company and having the ability to draw-up plans for residential extensions could be quite useful for myself and for that business. I'm not looking to become the next Zaha Hadid but create drawings and visuals for planning, and our construction team to work from.
So my questions are what qualifications/courses do you need to for such a role? Presumably a decent knowledge of Autocad and Sketch-up is all you'd need software wise?
Anyone can learn design and software and become an architectural designer. This is not an architect.
Becoming an Architect is a different ball game. https://www.architecture.com/educati...e-an-architect
That's what I'd assumed but who's responsible for the designs safety and structural integrity – the designer or the builder?Originally Posted by guinea
I'd think the architect would calculate loads, insulation factors, specify materials and so forth. Also have a thorough knowledge of building regs. and so forth. Afraid don't think it's as easy as you might hope.
Not hoping or expecting for it to be easy. I'm always eager to learn skills that could benefit me or the businesses I'm involved in. In the building company we get some decent plans to cost and work from, and some are pretty poor. And with the knowledge and skills I already have, I know I can do better than some already making a living from it. In that business I have four other partners that are experienced and knowledgable on building regs etc. too so that's a start.
Our next door neighbour is a chartered architect and think also has architecture degree - I know it really does require a lot of study to become one.
Good luck with it all though and even if you don't become qualified what you learn won't be wasted.
If you're looking at knocking up the drawings alone from another's ideas and designs it's probably more like a draughtmans job role which you would usually Autocad then Revit once you move into the 3D modelling world.
Coming up with the designs would be the architects role and thats an entirely different ball game!
Sketch-up is a great tool and much easier to pick up than CAD but it's better at initial concept ideas whereas the drawings you generally get for construction will be from autocad.
If I was you I'd be looking at picking up Autocad
As already mentioned any new skills are a bonus!
I believe only a member of RIBA can call themselves an architect and an architect is required to sign off drawings for full planning consent and possibly planning applications. Architectural technicians are a level below full architects and I suspect do much of the donkey work in the normal architect practice.
It’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with any architects, so I might be wrong.
Are you sure of that? The reason I ask is that the term "Architect" is used extensively in the IT sector - Network Architect, Systems Architect, etc - where it can mean just about anything.
I'm sure that I read an article which suggested that the architectural profession had been too slow to get "protected" status (in the way that doctors, layers, etc have). Engineering is in the same boat in the UK - I'm a Chartered Engineer (and registered with the Engineering Council) but there's nothing to stop a whole slew of technicians and mechanics referring to themselves as "Engineers", whereas in Germany I believe that you can only be referred to as "Herr Ingenieur" if you hold the appropriate professional qualifications.
Incidentally, I'm currently reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, which any aspiring architect should probably read.
Doesn't it take about 8 years to become a qualified architect? We know a few through our kids' school and I always had a romantic notion of architects being effortlessly modern and earning silly money for chin stroking ideas onto paper.
The reality would appear to be very different with little financial reward for an awful lot of effort. Unless you 'make it' as a partner in a big firm, it's a tough business to be in.
Maybe You can visualise the projects - then get building control or a structural engineer to advise. The builder will have to follow some technical specifications but ultimately building control sign it off.
I use AutoCAD in my day job (Civil Engineer) and I have completed my own planning applications for extensions, garden offices and garages.
With regards to details I ripped off approved planning app details and used a text book called Building Construction Handbook by Chudley. Engage a structural engineer to complete any calcs you need, most architects will anyway! This was the only thing I knew how to do.
I would say there is no harm getting Cad and giving it a go. I also found the planning department relatively helpful if you speak to them early.
Cheers
Ross
BTW, why do certain professions bestow importance on themselves by capitalising their job title? A plumber, nurse or store assistant doesn’t.
(Not Chartered Engineer but Estate Agent, Network Architect etc.)
Last edited by Kingstepper; 1st April 2020 at 00:10.
Could be that.
Seven years according to Google vs six before you can practice law. Five years to get Dr initials but it's ten years before you're a fully qualified doctor.
I worked with a guy who had the same illusions but dropped out after two years when the reality sunk in. He did a HND in electrical engineering after that and now works in an engineering role in a factory and has no regrets. I always did get the impression he smoked too much weed though...
The various engineering institutions have EngTech levels, for architects CIAT. Maybe worth contacting them to ask about levels and local further education institutions that might offer relevant part time or full time courses.
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As with most sectors of work there are different levels within the profession.
An architect, is typically a chartered professional, ie a member of the RIBA which generally requires a degree in architecture and all the post-degree work experience, professional qualifications and training that that requires.
A chartered architectural technician is a recognised grade of the profession, but is not a fully chartered architect, but still requires formal training and formal qualifications.
You could just draw houses and call yourself an 'architectural technician' or 'building designer' or something similar, but I would suggest you really do need to get some formal training in the skills and knowledge required as you will be professionally responsible for the designs you create and it can be pretty catastrophic if something goes wrong.
There are lots of very bad 'house draftsmen' out there who somehow manage to earn a living even though they do not have a clue what they are doing, they tend to be cheaper than qualified/part-qualified architects and work at the lower end of the domestic market where clients do not want to pay appropriate fees for a professionally qualified person to work on their extension (for example).
Anyone with a pad and pen (or knowledge of CAD) can draw and submit a set of planning drawings, but it takes many years to gain the required experience to be competent to do a professional job.
HTH
Last edited by Maysie; 1st April 2020 at 10:36. Reason: typo
That's what I'm thinking. Typically our building company does residential extensions, often a rear kitchen extensions and a two storey side extensions. Sometimes the customer has plans drawn up, sometimes not, so we recommend a couple of local guys who are Architectural technicians who create and submit drawings for planning etc.
I'm pretty sure these guys haven't trained for 7 years or RIBA accredited, so that's the kind of level I think we could bring in-house and offer a design & build service.
I've created floor plans for various types of properties in the past, and competent with Sketch-up for visualising but it's the AutoCAD, processes and current building regs I need further knowledge of.
7 years is for a chartered architect (post degree).
A technician level does not need to have a degree or have had 7 years training either.
Speak with these guys:
https://ciat.org.uk/
They should point you in the right direction ref training and what is needed. Dont short-cut the training though, even if you do not want to go the full CIAT recognised qualification route.
A lot of the architectural technicians (technologists) have more experience than they let on, despite having no formal training and have grown up with the regs getting more and more complex over time while they learn on the job. Others are just absolutely rubbish at what they do and are sailing very close to the wind by relying on builders knowledge, experience and good will to keep them out of trouble. If you are producing information for full regs, you can get yourself in a very bad mess, very quickly if you miss-specify something, as the industry is now filled with complex regulations which even those with lots of experience still fall foul of.
This is about right. Some further clarification may assist.
A Chartered Architect will be a both a member of RIBA and registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) - in the property world Architect is a protected term and both of the above memberships are required to describe oneself as an Architect. Training is degree plus professional assessment (in 3 parts) over 7-8 years in total. Architects are a very mixed bunch; at one extreme some are more artist than practical designer (its all concepts, spaces and visualisation) while at the other extreme they can be very practical and pragmatic. The conceptual types (think Zaha Hadid and her ilk) often have little or no knowledge or interest in how to actually physically build buildings. They rely on:
Architectural Technologists/Technicians (ATs). These guys are the hidden workhorses in Architectural practices. They are often graduate qualified, can be members of CIAT or are time served having learnt on the job - the title is not protected. Their job is to turn the Architect's vision into a practical proposal that will get through the required Statutory approvals and then to produce the working drawings for contract and construction purposes. AT's think they know how buildings are built (some do to be fair) but since they are rarely unchained from their CAD stations they don't often get to see the real world on site unfortunately.
Neither Architects nor ATs tend to do structural design work any more - the design codes are really too complex these days so that is generally left to Structural Engineers.
All of the above (and with an eye to protecting their PI insurance) tends to mean that the above consultants do not normally provide what I would describe as full designs - the fine details are left to the contractor or trade specialists, particularly on larger D&B projects (that's where I come in as a Design Manager for a Tier 1 Main Contractor). On small domestic work with a 'general builder' much tends to be left to the builder's experience and preferred way of working, combined with reliance on material suppliers and trade guidance to get the job done. On larger commercial work with multiple specialist subcontractors, many of whom also take formal design responsibility for their work, the overall design process is a huge team effort with design liability spread thinly across many many firms. Responsibility fragmentation in the construction industry is a major challenge, as the Grenfell inquiry has been discovering/exposing.
Getting back to the original question, I would say that knowing how to draw (using AutoCAD, REVIT or whatever) is the easy bit and can easily be learnt (well, REVIT is a beast of a package but probably OTT for domestic work anyway) - Knowing WHAT to draw is where the skill and experience comes in. Coming from a construction background will help hugely as you probably know how to put a building together already. The English building regs Approved Documents (Scotland, Wales and NI differ) are all freely available for download on the planning portal (https://www.planningportal.co.uk/inf...oved_documents), so there's plenty of bedtime reading there. The energy use/loss calculations for Building regs (Part B) are a complex consideration these days, particularly for new build where you also need to think about EPC ratings.
In addition to Building Regs you would also need to be fully familiar with the CDM regs, particularly in respect of how they apply to client, principal designer and designer duties.
Finally, if you are taking on design you need to give some thought to suitable insurance if not already in place.
I'm sure there are other considerations not immediately springing to mind. Best of luck.
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