ARE Practice and Business Content

When taking the Architectural Registration Exam (ARE), I often wondered why it included content that I felt was more relevant to business and out of place on an exam for licensing architects. 

Over time, it became clear to me that it all goes back to the architect's duty to the health, safety, and welfare of the public through licensure. 

The health of a business is crucial in any instance, but it is even more important to keep an architectural business healthy. Not to negate the work of other businesses and the importance of what they do, but an architect takes on some pretty hefty work. Architects shoulder a heavy responsibility, which is not always immediately apparent in schooling and training, and one that should not be taken lightly. The best explanation I have heard was by comparing architecture with medicine. The backstory was the question of why architects have to go through such rigorous schooling, training, licensure, and exams that are comparable with those of medical professionals. The response was that while a doctor is responsible for one person at a time, architects are responsible for potentially thousands of people at a time!

When an architect designs a building and/or supervises its construction, it must be secure for the health, safety, and welfare of the public, which is why it is imperative to have the necessary knowledge for licensure. Think of it this way: if an architectural firm goes belly-up in the middle of a job (which, unfortunately, is not uncommon), what happens? There could be restructuring and/or the owner may have to hire another firm to finish the work, which could lead to delays, changes in relationships, degradation of a site due to weather conditions and exposure, etc. Maybe the client does not have the funding for a new contract due to inflation or added costs of starting up work again (which could take years to solve), which could lead to choosing sub-par materials, sub-par contractors/subcontractors, and so on. During the interstitial time, codes could change, causing the proposed building to no longer be up to code. The job site could potentially be abandoned during this period and could have unauthorized occupants using the unfinished space. This might expose them to potentially dangerous conditions, or they might create dangerous conditions on that unfinished site, posing a threat to the larger public. 

This is all purely conjecture, of course, and much more complicated than what is suggested here. But hopefully it illustrates the importance of the business content of the exams and why every licensed architect should have the tools to build and maintain a successful business-not just for themselves but for their duty to the public.