Eric, In regard to your comment:
"
My understanding is that in NY & NJ a structural engineer can stamp house plans and this was a hot topic of conversation on this site in which you could imagine what the belly aching was about."
I do not maintain a NY license but grew up there and worked there before I was licensed. I believe you are correct that in NY an engineer can stamp plans for a house, and I worked for a structural engineer at one point that did just that.
Not so in NJ. If a building is for people, it requires an architect's stamp. Some buildings for equipment - industrial, an engineer is permitted to be the lead professional.
There are no "residential designers" or "draftsman" or other "architects nightmares" in NJ, sort of, however working under these laws has given me a unique perspective and experience in the kind of work that most architects would never touch. I'm not saying its good or bad. And I'm not saying the nation shouldn't adopt NJ's model, rather I am saying that most architects have no idea what it means and what it would be like.
So what is it like?
Well, despite the fact that every permit for a residential project requires an architect's stamp, there are not an appreciable greater amount of architects in NJ than other densely developed regions. It certainly has not created 97% more work over the 3% of houses designed by architects. Why? Because there are ways around this that are widely exploited, and in practice its not that much different than other places. It does not impact the wealthy developer, it hits the low income home owner.
The enforcement that every job receives a stamp is loosely enforced, in some places more than others, since permits are issued on a town by town basis from NJ's 600+ municipalities.
Many small projects are designed by builders, and stamped by cooperative architects. Why they would participate in this, I can not say, but it is widespread.
Many pre-drawn house plans are issued permits, either by
by cooperative architects stamping them, or under the home-owner exemption that Thomas described.
The home-owner exemption requires the homeowner to prep their own plans, and prep them correctly, in theory limiting the ability of anybody submitting a permit drawing on a napkin. Sounds good, but in practice, many small works are drawn by the contractor, and submitted by the owner under this exception. Many plan reviewers accept stock plans even when its clear the Owner did not prep the plans. The irony is that this requires the owner to certify that they are responsible for the design, and the law has unwittingly become a mechanism for unlicensed designers to transfer liability away from themselves and on to the owner.
I am not casting judgement on this, I'm just saying that this is the way it plays out. Can it be improved? Sure. But if we were to button this up, and make it tighter to prevent these loopholes, we would clearly not have enough architects to do all the work, and a housing industry grousing over the imposed additional expense. They grouse about it now. You don't service everybody, or leave the lower range of work unable to afford services, then guess what - the law will not last, or loopholes will be exploited.
If your state does not have laws like NJ, then when an architect is hired its because the consumer sees it as adding value to the project. You are providing something that they can not get without hiring an architect. The consumer sees it as an exclusive luxury, or desired expertise, or creating value. Make that mandatory, and sure, the above will still apply to the range of work it does now, but it will also bring on a hoard of other work that does not. You will be facing a world of consumers that see you as an unwanted and unneeded imposition, a mandatory expense, a waste of their money. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to work under those conditions? Are you ready to work on the bottom of barrel work that comes along - somebody that has been told by the inspector that they need an architect, and they come to you hoping to spend $50 on a "sketch".
I'll tell you this, I've learned a lot by serving people in this situation, about how to create value where nobody expects it or came looking for it. And I've learned a lot about how the vast 97% of stuff gets built, and how builders work at this level of quality and cost. And I've learned how to navigate that and provide service without a loss in places where architects in other states typically never tread.
You really want to go there? Just be careful because I assure you that you have no idea what you are asking for when you say it should be a stamp for every permit.
Eric is exactly right - "
The problem here is that we would all love to see a United States that required Architect's stamps on all buildings, but some of us recognize that we have a lot of work to do before this pipe dream can become a reality while others seem to live in a fantasy land where if you whine enough you can make changes with no idea of how it actually works on the ground."
enough, I waste my time on this crowd.
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Gregory La Vardera
Architect
Gregory La Vardera Architect
Merchantville NJ
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2012 07:04
From: Eric Rawlings
Subject: THIS is why only licensed architects should be designing homes
My understanding is that in NY & NJ a structural engineer can stamp house plans and this was a hot topic of conversation on this site in which you could imagine what the belly aching was about. You're in a completely different environment with a high concentration of urban areas. NC & GA, not to mention most of the United States, are made up of rural areas where licensed Architects are hard to come by.
The problem here is that we would all love to see a United States that required Architect's stamps on all buildings, but some of us recognize that we have a lot of work to do before this pipe dream can become a reality while others seem to live in a fantasy land where if you whine enough you can make changes with no idea of how it actually works on the ground.
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Eric Rawlings AIA
Owner
Rawlings Design, Inc.
Decatur GA
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