Architect

An architect, also known as a building designer, is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a building's construction, whose role is to guide decisions affecting those building aspects that are of aesthetic, cultural or social concern. More generally, an architect is the designer of a scheme or plan.

Related Topics:
Planning - Designing - Building's - Construction

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"Architect" is derived from Latin: architectus, and from Greek: arkhitekton (master builder), arkhi (chief) + tekton (builder, carpenter). http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=architect&searchmode=none

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Architects and landscape architects are considered professionals on par with doctors, engineers, and lawyers, and they must frequently make building design and planning decisions that affect the safety and well being of the general public. Architects are required to obtain specialized education and documented work experience to obtain professional licensure, similar to the requirements for other professionals, with requirements for practice varying greatly from place to place (see below).

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The most prestigious award a living architect can receive is the Pritzker Prize. It is considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for architecture. Other awards for excellence in architecture are given by the American Institute of Architects and Royal Institute of British Architects.

Related Topics:
Pritzker Prize - Nobel Prize - American Institute of Architects - Royal Institute of British Architects

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Although architect is a specific term referring to a licensed professional, the word is frequently used in a broader sense to define someone who brings order to the built or unbuilt environment through rational and irrational constructs using the tools of design. For example, naval architects, software architects etc., and graduates of schools of architecture not doing regulated project/construction documents are often called architects. However, non-licensed architects and designers working in the construction industry are prohibited from referring to themselves as architects in most countries.

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