A decades old row between registered architects and those who practise in the profession without full academic qualifications was stirred up again this month when Governor Sir John Vereker announced in his throne speech that Government planned to introduce The Architects Bill for consideration during this Parliamentary Session.

The bill may sound rather innocuous but within the community of persons who design buildings for a living it is a contentious issue.

On one side is the Institute of Bermuda Architects ? a group of 40 or so academically qualified architects plus an additional 110 individuals who work for their companies ? who stress that their education sets them apart from other designers and only they can perform as architects.

They have been pushing for the new act since 1998 to close a loophole in a 1969 Act which set out who could be called an ?architect?, but failed to specify what an architect was or what activities only an architect could do.

On the other side is the Association of Architectural Technicians ? a group of about 40 long-time designers, many of whom consider themselves true architects, but who lack the academic qualifications of their colleagues. Immediate past president of the Institute of Bermuda Architects Colin Campbell (his predecessor Fraser Butterworth recently stepped down from the post due to pending legal issues) told that his group has been pushing for the new bill since 1998 to bring the Bermuda architectural act up to current standards globally.

?The fundamental things we should see is a new registration process, enlargement of what constitutes architecture and also an expanded range and role of architects in architectural services. The profession is a much wider and more in-depth profession than it has been when the act was passed in 1969,? he said.

Mr. Campbell says that his group also wants the new act to include a number of elements to provide better consumer protection than the previous act including a grievance procedure. Members of the Institute of Bermuda Architects have access to group liability insurance to ensure their work for errors or omissions.

?It gives the general public further safety that if someone is not a registered architect then they likely do not have liability insurance either so if there is a claim how would you find recourse,? Mr. Campbell said.

Jack Gauntlett is among the group of non-registered architects and in fact prefers to call himself a designer. He says the Institute is trying to use the act to create a monopoly, but he points out that even the department of planning recognises that anyone who can do an acceptable set of drawings is entitled to submit them.?I don?t understand the big deal about being identified as an Architect since the planning department will accept drawings from anybody,? he said. ?For things like houses, additions to houses, condos, apartments and all that there is no reason whatsoever that you have to use an architect. If there is a structural aspect, go to a structural engineer [who has liability insurance. You still don?t need an architect.?

Stephen West is also among the non-registered, but he defies anyone to call him anything but an architect given his almost 45-years of experience in the industry as well as19 awards for his architectural design. He says the Institute?s bid to see this bill passed, is simply an attempt to gain monopoly control over the industry.?I?m really upset about this. It is total protectionism. It is greed. They want it all they have always wanted it all,? he said. ?I?m a lot more experienced than a whole bunch of them and our architecture in Bermuda is being bastardised by so-called wonderful registered architects.?Mr. West was among a group of five who was ?cheated? out of registering in 1969. Back then academic qualifications were not required, but those allowed to register had to be working full-time in the profession on the island for a specified period of time.

?People who had less education than myself in the architectural world and field became registered,? he said adding that he missed out on meeting the time criteria by a matter of weeks.

?Those guys want to own the word ?architect?. How can they own the word? You can be the architect of a war, or an architect of an election, anything and that is where the protectionism comes in. They want to own the word.

He says there needs to be a balance ?between Government, this so-called act, the registered architects and those that have been in the business a long long time.?

Ultimately he would like to see the grandfather clause brought into action.

?I feel we have earned our inclusion.?

Mr. Campbell however dismisses the idea of grand fathering in anyone.

?We have put forward several solutions and colleagues across the aisle have not bothered to take them up and come onboard,? he said. ?The act doesn?t disenfranchise anybody from doing work and drawings. It just requires that a trained professional review the drawings before they are put into the Bermuda environment.?

With the two sides at odds, Government ? in particular environment secretary Brian Rowlinson ? has been through eight drafts of the bill in a bid to satisfy both groups. He told this newspaper this week that the legislation is still in its drafting stage and subject to the approval of the Minister and her colleagues.

?One thing I must stress is that the Architects Act is Government?s legislation ? not the architects?.

?The form and content of the final bill will reflect what the Government considers to be the best and most appropriate law for the registration of professional architects. It may or may not include all the provisions that the architects are looking for,? Mr. Rowlinson said.

Before beginning the first draft of the bill in 1998 and throughout the process, Mr. Rowlinson said that the Ministry has consulted with the Institute of Bermuda Architects and the Association of Architectural Technicians in an attempt to find some middle ground that satisfies both parties.

?We have not been successful which, in part, explains why the attorney-General?s Chambers and the Ministry are working now on the ninth draft of the Bill,? Mr Rowlinson said.? Suffice it to say that throughout the drafting process, the Ministry has paid close attention to preparing legislation that will address issues of public safety without disenfranchising existing practitioners.?