Laws that set out the requirements for obtaining a bachelor`s degree or registration generally require applicants to be of legal age and morality, to have completed a certain degree of education, and to have a certain level of practical experience. Many states have an additional requirement for candidates to pass an exam. A legislator may provide that certain persons who practised architecture during a period prior to the legislation requiring an examination may register as architects without examination. Such legal regulation is called a grandfather clause. § 7300 Introduction. | § 7301 [Definition of practice] | § 7302 Architectural practice and use of the title “Architect”. | § 7303 State Authority for Architecture. | § 7304 Requirements for a professional license. | § 7305 Restricted permits.
| § 7306 Exempt persons. | § 7307 Special provisions. | § 7308 Compulsory continuing education of architects. The practice of the profession of architect is defined as the provision or offer of services that require the application of the art, science and aesthetics of the design and construction of buildings, groups of buildings, including their components and accessories and the spaces surrounding them, in which the protection of life, health, property and public welfare is concerned. These services include, but are not limited to, consultation, evaluation, planning, provision of preliminary studies, designs, construction documents, construction management and administration of construction contracts. This article refers to the profession of architect. The general provisions applicable to all professions contained in Article one hundred and thirty of this Title shall apply to this Article. A State Architecture Council shall be appointed by the Regency Council on the recommendation of the Commissioner to assist the Board of Regents and the Department in matters of professional licensing and professional conduct under section sixty-five hundred and eight of this Title. The board is composed of at least seven architects licensed in that state. An Executive Secretary of the Board of Directors is appointed by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Commissioner and is a licensed architect in that State. Only a person licensed or otherwise authorized under this section may practise architecture or use the title “architect”.
The court added that “an error of judgment is not necessarily evidence of a lack of competence or care, as errors and errors of judgment are relevant to all matters of life.” In other words, perfection is not the standard of care for the practice of architecture. This is the common law standard of care for architects, which is generally described as the level of skill and care used by architects practicing in the same or similar circumstances and in a geographic area. Through the collective application of this level of care, members of society strive to protect roads from accidents. We can consider this simple example as the standard of care for a motor vehicle driver. Society has developed an expectation that, over time, has become a norm that we often call the “common law.” Common law concepts from early court proceedings, repeated over time, have established themselves as standards of conduct and as a standard of care for the practice of architecture and other professions. But what does it mean to say that an architect will apply the common law standard of due diligence? If an architect makes a mistake and a client incurs additional costs as a result of the error, how does due diligence apply to an analysis of the facts to determine whether or not the architect should be held liable for the additional costs? In other words, if perfection is not the standard of care, how much imperfection falls into the norm? Or, if you can make a mistake and you are not careless, at what point does a mistake reach the level of negligence? One of the first cases in the United States that set the architect`s standard of care was Beede vs. Coombs, which was decided in Maine in 1896. In this case, an architect, Coombs, designed a house and barn for his clients, the Bees. The Beedes had a budget of $2,500 for the house, which was built for $2,700. Wife. Beede wanted more in his new home than the budget could afford, and Coombs tried to accommodate it with the design.
When an architect is accused of professional negligence, the architect`s actions are assessed against the applicable standard of care. Much has been written and published about the standard of care for architects. One can enter the library of curiosity, also known as the Internet, and spend hours weaving intellectual discussions and trials on the subject; Let`s try to simplify the problem with a few questions and then answers. The design of a building, structure or system that is a functional whole. In the event that an architect is refused payment for the services, he may bring an action for the amount of compensation agreed in the employment contract or, in the absence of an agreement, for the reasonable value of the services according to quantum Meruit`s theory. It is best to start with the expectation of practicing common sense and ordinary care in human behavior. For example, when we drive our vehicles, we are careful when changing lanes or crossing an intersection to look for other vehicles and avoid collisions. We consciously pay attention to it because we don`t want to cause injury. The driver is expected to apply the same care as other drivers would apply in the same or a similar situation or in similar circumstances. The conditions of employment of an architect are set out in a contract and are subject to the general rules of contract law.
Usually, the person who employs the architect becomes the owner of the plans, unless the employment contract provides otherwise. Usually, the architect keeps the plans after they have been paid, and the builder can own and use them during the construction of the building. Laws requiring architects to be registered and licensed are based on public order, which aims to protect citizens from unqualified practitioners. In many states, laws require the withdrawal of a license for behaviors such as fraud, dishonesty, recklessness, incompetence, or misrepresentation when an architect is acting in a professional capacity. A legal battle ensued, and the judge decided that even though Coombs had promised to design a house that could be built for $2,500, all that could reasonably be expected of an architect was to use his skills and abilities to achieve this result. The court found that an architect`s business requires that he or she have sufficient skills and abilities to provide the necessary services; and that it will exercise and reasonably apply such capacity and capacity without negligence, but that it does not imply or guarantee a satisfactory result. It is possible to commit to a higher level of service than the common law Standard of Care. For example, a contract can be seen as language in which an architect agrees to exercise the “highest” level of care or to provide drawings and specifications “without material errors”. Extreme caution should be exercised in the face of an increase in the standard of care.
