Architecture and the Future

During my term of office I have regularly referred to the fact that we are living in a period of significant change. In Ireland, the pace of change has been fuelled by the effects of the Celtic Tiger economy. These effects have permeated all sectors of Irish society and is reflected in particular, in the transformation which has occurred in the architectural profession and the built environment.

As President I have had a unique insight into the profile of the profession almost 3000 members of various ages with skills and experience, some going back to the 1950’s and others whose careers will carry forward into the middle of the twenty first century.

We have evolved from a position where in the 1980’s most Irish architectural graduates had to emigrate to a situation where, over the past five years, a majority of new RIAI members have qualified outside the state.

Irish architects have raised the quality of their work as they have responded to the opportunities which the new economy presented them. Irish architects are now producing works of significance, not just at home but from Manchester to Milan and Cairo to Chicago.

However, while all of the economic signs remain positive and most members report a continuing supply of new work, some economists have expressed concerns that in recent times too high a proportion of activity in the economy is based in construction.

Ireland has become a gigantic building site and the economy could be described as being more Celtic Beaver than Celtic Tiger. With almost 13 per cent of total employment now engaged in construction in Ireland compared to 7 per cent n the UK and 5.4 per cent in the US, architects need to adopt a degree of caution about long-term prospects.

However, against the backdrop of this cautionary note, there are initiatives being implemented which will increase the demand for specialist architectural services in the Irish economy. The Planning and Development Act 2000 has increased the scope of work for members as conservation architects and urban designers.

The new Building Control Bill is expected to provide further opportunities for architects in response to the EU Energy Directive. Irish society has become considerably more sophisticated over the past fifteen years and there is now a real appreciation, by an increasingly discriminating public, of the benefits of quality architecture.

As a result of initiatives such as the Irish Architecture Awards, the Irish Architecture Foundation’s Loving Architecture Festival and other initiatives there is now a much greater awareness of architecture on the public agenda.

In these circumstances the RIAI needs to play an increasing role in making quality in architecture and urban design a major issue with government, public officials, public representatives and the general public. Even as the economy moderates I believe there will be opportunities for architects and the RIAI to widen the range of services they offer to clients and the public to meet changing demands.

ISSUES

Registration
Registration of architects was given a new impetus as a an issue of wider public concern following the RTE Prime Time programme broadcast in April, which focussed on the activities of an unqualified individual providing architectural services.

In response to the public outcry following the programme, Dick Roche, the Minister, at the DOEHLG, gave a personal undertaking to the RIAI to introduce a Registration Bill this year. This had led to a series of confidential bilateral contacts between the Department and the RIAI in relation to the Bill.

While the final content of the Bill will depend on the outcome of drafting by the Department and decisions by the Government, I am hopeful, subject to the specific concerns which we have raised in relation to the draft being addressed, that the RIAI will be in a position to welcome the Bill when it is published.

The Department has indicated that it plans to publish the Building Control Bill, which will make provision for registration of architects, by the end of 2005. When it is finally published and enacted by the Dail, it will represent the culmination of an inordinately long campaign, commenced by the Institute in 1888 and pursued by it with successive Governments from the foundation of the Irish State in 1922.

The new role as the registration body for architects will create a series of challenges and responsibilities for RIAI. However, it has been the view of successive Councils over the past decade that, on balance, the benefits to both architects and the public of having a registration act outweigh the difficulties it would undoubtedly create. I wish future Presidents and Councils every success in leading the RIAI in this exciting role as a registration body.

Competition Authority
One of my first tasks as President was to assist John Graby to put the finishing touches to the RIAI’s response to the Competition Authority’s Consultation Document in the New Year holiday period of 2004.

Having given the RIAI a very short response period, it is quite amazing that the Authority’s final report on the profession is now finally expected to issue in December.

Government Contracts
Over the past year, the RIAI, EI and SCS have been engaged in detailed negotiations with government officials in relation to the proposed new government contracts.

While we have attempted to engage in meaningful discussions, our experience to date has been that the officials seem intent on introducing forms of contract which will ultimately fail in their objective of achieving a fixed price format for all public contracts. We believe the introduction of the contracts in their present form is not in the long-term interest of the Irish taxpayer.

The proposals represent a fundamental threat to the long-term competitiveness of the industry and in particular to smaller companies. The RIAI, with Engineers Ireland and the SCS, will continue to lobby at all levels of government to persuade the decision-makers that there are more sensible ways to achieve their objectives.

Fees and Appointments
The Institute has been active in relation to the Government’s proposals to introduce fee competition in the selection of built environment professionals. The RIAI’s position has been to defend the competitive nature of the current 11/87 procedures. In parallel, we have emphasised that priority should be given to selection based on quality in the case of architectural appointments.

Planning
As our various surveys confirm, the operation of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is a particular concern of all RIAI members. Excessively bureaucratic interpretation and implementation by administrative officials has been the main focus of complaints.

We have made proposals to the Department for the introduction of Planning Charter and new Development Control Guidelines. The Minister is due to launch the new Development Control Guidelines in late November and the RIAI will review them to assess whether they have dealt with our concerns.

Health & Safety at Work Act
After lengthy negotiations and lobbying, the RIAI / Engineers Ireland / SCS team appear to have persuaded HSA officials on a satisfactory compromised approach to proposed new regulations. These are to be published imminently.

Building Regulations Certification
The RIAI and Engineers Ireland made proposals to the DOEHLG with a view to improving the general standard of compliance with Building Regulations. While the RIAI’s preferred method is a state administered building control system, an alternative involving certification by architects and engineers was also put forward. Negotiations are continuing with the Department in relation to this initiative and we anticipate proposals to emerge early next year.

Education
The effects of the continued growth in our economy reflected itself in architectural education with a number of colleges putting forward proposals to open new schools. In order to brief institutions on RIAI policy on education and, to put this in an international context, an Architectural Education Forum was arranged jointly with the Higher Education Authority in June.

This was attended by representatives of nine educational institutes. This September saw the opening of architectural courses at the University of Limerick and Waterford Institute of Technology and increases in the intake in the existing schools at UCD & DIT.

Events: Throughout the year, the Institute has hosted a series of exhibitions at the Merrion Square, which has been made more accessible to both members and the public. Our Architecture Awards programme continues to have an increasing impact on public opinion and to reach a wider audience.

The establishment this year of the Architecture Foundation has the potential to be an event of great significance for the future of architecture and urbanism in Ireland, Under the direction of its new Curator, Shane O’Toole, the Foundation organised the Loving Architecture Festival in October.

The festival was a celebration of all aspects of the built environment and the people who shape it and involved over 50 free events nationwide. Having achieved so much in such a short time the foundation has the potential to make a significance.

The RIAI Gold Medal was presented by the President, Mary McAleese to O’Donnell and Twomey for their Ranelagh Multi-denominational School in November. A changed format for this year’s award, whereby a shortlist of ten schemes was announced and the identity of the winner was kept secret until the presentation ceremony, created a greater public interest in the award.

In addition the two public polls organised by the RIAI and Archiseek resulted in a “peoples choice” for the Fingal County Council Offices by Bucholtz McEvoy. These initiatives have certainly helped to bring the Gold Medal Award back to its rightful place in publicity terms, as Ireland’s premier architectural award.

The theme of urban design and urbanism has been an important part of the Institute’s agenda during my term of office. A number of seminars and exhibitions focussed on the theme of urbanism and urban design including the National Housing Conference in Cork in May, the “Building Better Communities Exhibition” launched in December and the “Reflecting City Exhibition” which was exhibited in Dublin, Paris and Istanbul and the “Building Better Communities” exhibition launched in Dublin in December. These are intended to create a greater public awareness of the importance of urban design.

The RIAI has lobbied for new policy initiatives aimed at promoting quality in urban design and architecture to ensure standards in the regeneration extensions to our villages, towns and cities to achieve integrated sustainable communities.

The implementation of this objective has been identified by the ESRI and other expert groups as a key to ensuring that Ireland maintains its newly achieved position as a successful knowledge economy.

Appreciation
At the conclusion of my term as President, I would like to thank all my colleagues who have contributed by their efforts to the ongoing success of the RIAI. This group includes many people including the Officers, Council members, committee and taskforce members and all others who, through their endeavours have made their individual contributions to the strength of the Institute.

My own contribution would not have been possible without the support of my wife, family and my fellow directors Brian O’Neill and Ronan Smith to whom I owe a special thanks. However, it is the RIAI’s team, under the leadership of our Director John Graby and Kathryn Meghen, that is the real basis of the Institute’s success as a professional body. To each of them we all owe a special debt of gratitude.

Finally, I have particularly appreciated the support and encouragement given to me by the membership during my term of office. At the conclusion of my term I feel confident that the Institute and its members can look forward to continuing progress.

I also have confidence that architects have an increasing potential to contribute to the needs of clients, users and society through their knowledge and design ability. I believe that the architectural profession can be confident, in these early years of the twenty first century, of a future of continuing progress in which architecture plays an increasingly important role.