March 27, 2002

Dear Sir,

The Architects Registration Council (ARC) have been following the reports in the Press over the past week or so concerning the offerings and providing of architectural services to the public.

There are several unfortunate instances that have occurred that have had adverse effects directly on the purchasers of those services, and also indirectly on the public at large, including the confusion generated through the loose application of the term "architect". The purchasers also appear to have been left without any recourse for remedy.

We would like to comment on the issues relevant to the supposed involvement of architects (in what has been reported to have happened) and to bring some clarity to the too often misuse of the term "architect".

Firstly, the information published so far does not indicate that architects were involved in the matters generating the negative press. Secondly, if bona fide architects were involved they would be subject to disciplinary measures administered by the ARC.

The ARC is a government-appointed body empowered with the responsibility of registering properly qualified individuals as architects, and to ensure that they, having been registered, adhere to a standard of good conduct in their practice as architects.

The only protection that the public has in engaging architectural services is provided under the Architects Registration Act, 1969. That protection is enforceable through the regulations contained in the Code of Professional Conduct administered by the ARC as provided in the Act. There is no protection provided to the public under the Act for engaging the services of persons who are not bona fide architects.

The Architect Registration Act, 1969 provides protection for the title architect. While doing so it does not protect the practice of architecture. In other words the law stipulates who can call his or her self "architect", but it does not state who can or cannot practice in the manner of an architect. As such, anybody can purport to provide the services of an architect; he or she cannot use the title "architect", to identify themselves without the risk of breaking the law as established in the Act. This anomaly causes a great deal of confusion among the public as to who is an architect and who is not. It may even suggest that there is no distinction between the two, when in fact, there is considerable distinction.

The Act establishes a regulatory body, the ARC, to oversee the conduct of architects. The Council have the responsibility to recommend the registration of persons who qualify under the Act to become architects. They also have the responsibility and the power to recommend the revocation of a registration. In other words, if an architect is accused and proven to have given unprofessional or dishonest service, the ARC can discipline that architect to the extent of having his or her registration revoked. The Act does not give the ARC any authority to oversee the conduct of any person who is not registered under the Act.

Members of the public should make themselves aware as to whether or not the person they are about to engage is a bona fide architect. If they do not, they would have done themselves an injustice should they later discover the choice made is not what they had intended. They, unfortunately, would have put themselves at risk of receiving the same sort of treatment that has been recently featured in the Press.

There are two methods of establishing who is an architect. In January of each year the government published a list of registered persons including the names of registered architects. Persons whose names are included on the list are those who have:

1. Been academically trained in the courses of architecture;

2. Served an internship of a minimum of two years, under the direction and supervision of a registered architect; and

3. Taken and passed a set of examinations required for one to become registered as an architect.

The second method is to review the listing established by the Institute of Bermuda Architects in the yellow pages of the telephone directory. The list contains architectural practices that are under the control of registered architects.

Persons whose names are not included on the list have very likely not fulfilled any or all of the above requirements.

STANLEY G. KENNEDY, JP, RA, B.Arch., Msc. UD., NCARB .cert.

Member of Council

For the Chairman

The Architects Registration Council