THE ARCHITECTURAL PROFESSION IN IRELAND

PRESENTATION TO ARVHA GROUP
Dublin, 25 May 1999
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF THE ARCHITECTS OF IRELAND

Size of the Architectural Profession in Ireland

Architects, town planners and surveyors = 2,997 persons

Architects / Population in EU Member States
Member State
Architects
Population

Ratio1 Architect :
Greece

14,000

10,256,464

732
Germany

96,800

81,817,499

845
Luxembourg

494

425,017

860
Denmark

5,800

5,200,000

896
Belgium

9,850

10,170,241

1032
Spain

24,000

39,143,394

1630
Portugal

6,000

9,853,100

1642
Ireland

2000

3,621,035

1810
U.K.

31,000

57,649,200

1859
Sweden

4,500

8,644,119

1920
France

26,500

58,494,000

2207
Finland

2,300

5,147,349
2237
Austria

2,000

7,989,000
3994
Netherlands

3,000

15,424,122
5141
Italy

---

---
---
TOTAL
228,244
313,834,000
1375

Sources: Data supplied by professional associations in each Member State to the Energy Research Group, School of Architecture, University College Dublin, 1996.

Population statistics - www.stats.demon.nl

RIAI Membership

The RIAI has approximately 1600 architect members in Ireland

Total

Males

Females
Members and Fellows

1342

1073

199
Technician Members

208

193

15
Associates

75

52

23

Architects’ Salaries - Private Sector 1999

Highest

Lowest

Average
Architect 10 +

60000

19000

40850
Architect 6-9

35000

19000

22850
Architect 3-5

30000

16000

20500
Architect 1-3

23000

13000

16000
Technician 10 +

35000

18000

27200
Technician 5-10

30000

16000

20800
Technician 3-5

25000

12000

17800
Technician 1-3

20000

8000

14700

Architects Salaries - Public Sector 1998
County Architect

£35,207

£40,429
Senior Executive Architect

£27,778

£33,052
Executive Architect

£21,848

£29,28

Sources: Hays Montrose, 1999
Department of the Environment, 1998

Construction Industry Salaries – 1999

  • Highest Architect’s Salary: IR£ 60,000 =

Euro 76,185 =

FF 499,736
  • Lowest Architect’s Salary: IR£ 13,000 =

Euro 16,500 =

FF 108,276

Comparison of Salaries in Construction Industry

5-10 Years Experience
10+ Years Experience
Architect

27,200

31,900
*Quantity Surveyor

26,500

33,000
*Civil/Structural Engineer

28,000

39,500
*Building Services Engineer

30,000

40,000
*Contracts Manager

32,000

36,000
Trades Foreman

28,000

32,000
*Accountant

31,000

40,500

*The positions in these professions also include additional benefits such as company car, health insurance, pensions, over-time.

Source: Hays Montrose, 1999

Construction Law

  • The Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts
  • Building Control Act and Building Regulations (12 TGDs + 100s standards, codes of practice, product regulations, etc.)
  • Environmental Protection Agency Act
  • Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act
  • EU Law and EU Directives
  • Other legislation:
    • Air Pollution
    • Fire Services
    • Sanitary Services
    • Water
    • Pollution
    • Arbitration
    • National Monuments
    • Sale of Goods
    • Etc.

300 pieces of legislation listed in RIAI Technical Information Microfile

Architect’s Role in the Project

  • Majority of construction work carried out on the basis of separate appointments for design and construction.
  • Architect is usually lead consultant and construction manager
  • Design team may include:

structural engineer

building services engineer

quantity surveyor (building economist )

other specialists

Architect’s Control of Construction Process

  • RIAI Contract Forms

Five Building Contract forms published by the RIAI are used for almost building contract work in Ireland.

Parties to the contract are the client and the contractor.

The Architect is named in the contract as the person who administers the contract.
  • Periodic site inspection during construction
  • Certificate of Practical Completion
  • Final Certificate of Payment
  • Opinion on Compliance with Regulations

Fees

  • The RIAI publishes scales of recommended fees for different levels of services and different building types.
  • These are neither enforced or prohibited by the State.

Employment of RIAI Members

  • 50% are either self employed or principals in private practice
  • 25% are in private sector salaried employment
  • 20% are in public sector employment
  • The number involved in education is unknown, but not inconsiderable.
  • About 5 percent are involved in other kinds of activities.
  • A small number of RIAI members (186) are living and working outside the State

Private Practice

  • It is estimated that there are 400 private architectural practices lead by architects qualified to EU Directive 85/384/EEC in the State.
  • Of these, 320 hold Practice Membership with the RIAI.

Architects Employed by the State, 1996
Office of Public Works

82
Department of Arts, Culture & the Gaeltacht

16
Department of the Environment

13
Department of Health

5
Department of Education

26
Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry.

1
Department of Foreign Affairs

1
Total

144

Source: Developing a Government Policy on Architecture. Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, 1996.

Architects Employed by Local Authorities, 1997

  • There are 33 Local Authorities (counties and cities) in Ireland
  • 18 employ no architects

The remainder employ a Total of 88 Architects

Education and Training for RIAI Membership
  1. Degree in five-year full-time course in a recognised school of architecture
  2. Two years of approved practical experience, at least one of which must be in the EU.
  3. Examination in Professional Practice.
Recognised Courses

There are only two schools of architecture in the Republic of Ireland: University College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology

Both are accredited by the RIAI.

  • The RIAI also holds a Final Examination, equivalent in standard to the Recognised courses.

All three are listed in The Architects’ Directive (85/384/EEC)
  • Practical Experience has to be in an office working under the supervision of a Member of the RIAI or of someone who would be eligible to be a Member
  • Examination in Professional Practice covers professional ethics, building law, building contracts, project management, practice management, etc.,

Registration / Licence to Practice

  • There is no statutory regulation of the practice of architecture in Ireland.
  • Any person, qualified or unqualified, may legally offer to provide architectural services to the public
  • Membership of the RIAI is the only guarantee of professional qualification

Architects’ Share of Construction Design

The profession's share of construction design varies by building type:

Public sector

residential, educational, health and semi-state work, is usually architect designed, whether by public sector employed architects or by the private sector on contract.

Private sector

  • most industrial and commercial building design work
Private residential sector:
  • 90% of apartment buildings
  • 10 % of owner occupied dwellings
  • 25 % of dwellings for sale

Role of RIAI Architects

  • An architect needs RIAI membership to get any tax- funded work
  • Architects Opinion on Compliance with Regulations needed for property transactions

Irish Economy
  • Rapid economic growth.
  • Increased disposable income.
  • Falling interest rates
  • Increase in population (net in-migration)
  • Falling unemployment - 1993 : 16% - 1997 : 9%.
  • Strong private sector investment coupled with double digit growth in public sector investment.
  • Government policy generally has positive impact on construction industry

Irish Construction Industry - 1997

Construction sector output = 19% of GNP.

Value = IR£7,654 million

= Euro 9,718,575 million

= FF 63,749 million
  • Increase of 12% on 1996 output levels, following a corresponding increase of almost 17.7% in 1996.

Cumulative increase of 60% between 1994 - 1997.

  • Housing sector has doubled output since 1991.

In 1997 39,000 units built.

Only 3,000 of these public sector.

Construction Industry Employment

  • 104,500 people directly employed (April 1998)

Another 40% were employed in the manufacture and distribution of building materials, plant hire and in professional services.

Total = 135,000 = 10% of the national total for people in employment.
  • Construction industry is very fragmented

60% of the estimated 6,000 building firms employ fewer than 5 persons.
  • About 6,500 people work in construction related professional services
  • Variation in Construction Industry Production

Building

Housebuilding

1996

1997

1998

1996

1997

1998
Germany

-2.3

-1.7

-1.7

0.0

-0.3

-1.8
UK

-1.2

3.7

4.4

-1.2

4.2

3.3
France

-2.6

-1.7

-0.2

-2.3

-0.7

1.1
Italy

1.5

0.3

0.2

-2.4

-0.7

1.1
Spain

3.3

4.2

3.6

5.4

5.0

3.6
Netherlands

1.0

5.1

2.9

-1.4

6.4

2.5
Belgium

-3.2

3.4

4.0

-6.2

2.0

3.0
Portugal

3.5

11.2

3.7

3.3

11.3

5.0
Sweden

4.5

-7.4

8.8

6.2

-10.5

18.0
Austria

-1.2

-0.3

0.6

1.4

-0.4

-0.4
Denmark

7.8

5.4

0.8

3.6

3.5

0.0
Ireland

25.1

15.1

10.2

27.5

15.5

6.1
EU

-0.4

0.6

1.2

-0.3

1.1

0.7

Percent variation in production in real terms on previous year. (FIEC)

Variation in Construction Industry Production

New Housebuilding

Rehabilitation

1996

1997

1998

1996

1997

1998
 
Germany

0.1

-0.5

-2.0

0.2

-0.1

-1.6
UK

-3.9

9.4

1.7

0.2

1.5

4.3
France

-3.0

-3.0

0.0

-1.8

1.0

1.9
Italy

-3.8

-2.0

-1.0

-0.8

1.9

4.7
Spain

6.0

5.2

4.5

5.0

4.8

3.0
Netherlands

-3.5

10.0

2.5

1.0

2.2

2.4
Belgium

-8.2

2.3

3.6

4.7

0.5

0.0
Portugal

3.0

12.0

5.0

5.0

7.1

5.3
Sweden

11.3

-19.2

27.4

4.6

-7.7

15.3
Austria

1.2

-1.4

-2.0

2.5

3.2

5.4
Denmark

4.9

9.0

2.4

2.2

-2.5

-3.0
Ireland

19.9

18.4

5.3

39.5

11.6

7.1
EU

-1.1

1.2

0.9

0.8

1.1

2.1

Percent variation in production in real terms on previous year. (FIEC)

Irish Attitudes to Architects

In 1994 Landscape Market Research Ltd. were commissioned by the RIAI to carry out a two surveys on peoples' attitudes to architects. One examined how architects are viewed by the general public in Ireland

• Over four out of six people felt that architects and the buildings they design make a fairly/very important contribution to the quality of everyday life.

• Two out of five people believe that all buildings are designed by architects. The rest believe that about three-quarters of buildings are designed by architects.

• Most people thought that an architect is a college graduate who must have passed an examination in order to qualify to practise.

• Asked which occupations they had most regard for, people ranked the nine occupations listed in the following order: doctors, priests, gardai, accountants, architects/engineers/solicitors, bankers, quantity surveyors.

• Almost one in five Irish adults (people over 15) have had occasion to use the services of an architect either personally or through their work. This is equivalent to almost 500,000 people.

• People do not use architects often in their lives. Of those who had used an architect before, four out of five had last done so over two years previously; almost two thirds had done so over five years previously.