In connection with the proposed amendments to the amendment and the petition Defend Architectural Privileges, we are asking questions to people associated with architectural institutions.
In the #ZawódArchitekt series, the following have spoken on our portal so far:
- Piotr Średniawa - President of the Silesian Branch of the IARP
- Marek Kaszyński - President of the Cracow SARP
- Hubert Wąsek - President of Częstochowa SARP
- Mariusz Scisło - SARP plenipotentiary for legislation.
Witold Zielinski answers the questions
- Vice President of the Małopolska Regional Chamber of Architects.
1. is the extension of authority to civil engineers and construction technician graduates a threat to architects?
Yes, because it creates in society the belief that "anyone can design", that "not a high school diploma but a sincere desire...", and at the same time increases access to low-quality projects at dumped prices. In practice, the exclusion of architects with knowledge, training and qualifications in design leaves this area of investment without any professional service. The goal of a modern society should be to take care of spatial order, which can be provided by people who are educated, well-paid, professionally prepared, with licenses that are not easy to obtain.
Moreover, it is high time to start a discussion in our public opinion on the introduction of price lists, because otherwise we will observe a gradual exodus of young, talented architects from the profession, who will tie their future to another, better-paid profession.
2 What should the discussion on reforming the architectural profession focus on?
On the basics, that is, on architectural education of all sectors of society from an early age, in order to raise the awareness of future consumers.
In addition, attention to spatial order should become a priority for the authorities. Space and its quality is an inalienable cultural and civilization value, and taking care of it is the responsibility of the whole society, including democratically elected authorities. The most important means to achieve this goal is to repair the investment law. The current regulations do not fulfill this task. They create spatial chaos, and the costs of this chaos are borne by us, i.e. society. As reported by the authors of a recent report by the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), spatial chaos in Poland contributes to economic costs, the annual value of which has been estimated at more than 80 billion zlotys, including the need to build and maintain redundant infrastructure and excessive congestion in Polish cities.
