This is article will somehow enlightened us what really our responsibilities as a client? as an architect? and an engineer? in building a structure. There are misconceptions of hiring an architect and an engineer. Some client were not fully informed or aware on the process of building a structure. So read upon the lines as Arch. Celso Nieves, a filipino architect shares his thoughts on this topic.
THE ARCHITECT AND THE CIVIL ENGINEER ON BUILDING A BUILDING - What you should know. Arch. Celso C. Nieves, FUAP, UAPEMERITUS, PIA, AAIF
The client or owner hires the service of the architect, not the civil engineer (CE). He is more interested in the design on how he should occupy the spaces for safety, convenience, health, satisfaction, and their functional uses. He is not interested in the structural design of the building. The fee of the architect, called architectural fee, includes the fee of all engineers; that is, civil, electrical, sanitary, etc. As soon as the architectural plan is finished and approved by the client, the architect, not the CE, lays out the structural plan. He places where the beams are to run, the locations of the columns, their dimensions, and their sizes. The architect creates the forms in the plan. He hires the civil engineer to design the structure according to the architectural layout. The CE should not change anything of what is shown on this layout. This is what is called conceptualization. He hires the CE to do his expertise. The CE has all the authority to do his work. No one, even the Architect, should meddle with his structural ingenuity. Afterwards, the architect, not the client, pays the engineer. If the architect doesn’t like the CE, the architect can change him. But the CE cannot change the architect. The CE now submits to the architect all the original documents of his work. He puts the letterhead of the architect to his plans. Both will sign the plans. If after the construction, the structural fails, the client sues the architect, not the civil engineer. It is the architect who sues the engineer. So, the CE cannot design the structure without the architectural. He is dependent to the architect.
The other engineers, electrical, sanitary, mechanical, and the others should also follow the same procedure. During construction, the architect oversees the progress of the work. He sees that the works of the engineers are coordinated and that all engineers follow what is shown in the plan and specification. He also checks the quality and the workmanship of the one in charge of the construction. He is either the Project or Construction Manager.
It is clear therefore that the architect is the author and the master builder of the project call building. He creates and controls the progress from his mind as an idea to the finished product as a building. All engineers should follow the architectural plans and other documents. Although architects are also structural designers of building as called for in RA 545 and the second biggest unit in college, UAP, through a new law RA 9266, waived its right during its meeting with PICE so that the CE will have its sole right of its practice, and not compete anymore with the architect. In the meeting, PICE agreed also that it will drop down the architectural design and the CE should not practice it anymore. What is happening now is different. RA 9266 is impotent. For more than one-and-a-half decades, UAP is adamant pursuing our right. The CEs are still practicing our profession boldly and blatantly; even defying our Code of Ethics.
Addendum: The structural design unit of architecture in the board exam is 20%; while in CE, 33+%. The difference of 13+% is the infrastructure which is not the line of the architects. Therefore, in building, knowledge of both practitioners in the structural design of building is on the same level. END.