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I attended a Summer School session the other night offered by our chapter, on “The Unauthorized Practice of Architecture”. This presentation was made by David Kosakoff, Counsel to our Board of Directors, and Annalee Cataldo-Barile of his office. My thanks to David for this presentation and for all of the dedicated service he provides our chapter. The program proved to be a concise primer for the legalities in practicing architecture in New York State. While I was aware of most of the regulations discussed, when presented in a short two-hour format, it certainly kept my interest!
David and Annalee touched on the latest requirements for obtaining a license in New York State and more importantly, keeping a license to practice architecture. Topics which affect our practice, some on a daily basis and some which we encounter only once and a while were discussed. Record keeping, rubberstamping and “conflicts of interest” were only a few topics covered, which if not handled properly may lead to a degree of reprimand from the Education Department.
David’s presentation simply brought to light again what a difficult profession we have chosen. Practicing architecture while balancing our responsibilities to the Education Department, municipalities and oh yes, our clients, can be a bit overwhelming at times. It goes without saying that practicing our profession gets more complicated every day. This holds true for us at any level, sole practitioners, partners and employees in firms, as we all have a unique role to play.
While it sounds like I was discouraged by the end of the first Summer School session, I was not. I was actually encouraged. David’s presentation just brought to light another facet of what makes our profession unique. We are all multi-task managers. We go about our daily “routine” subconsciously aware of our legal responsibilities. A day does not go by in our offices where we are challenged by adversity, be it from a client, a municipality or a co-worker. The encouraging part is that we all deal with it professionally. We resolve the issues and we do it in the manner in which we have been trained (albeit mostly “on the job” training).
This license we have secured no doubt does bring with it many legal obligations. We certainly can’t shirk those obligations if we want to continue practicing. But while we resolve these “business” issues of our profession, when all of that is said and done, the fact remains is that we are still architects. We are still the team leaders in projects we are commissioned in, both big and small and we have the opportunity and the responsibility to positively affect the lives of those around us through the built environment.
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