MBIE Registration Submission^W019

This proposal was made by Groupwork and The Night School under pre:fab platform in response to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)’s call for submissions on the future of architectural licensing in Aotearoa in 2023.

Executive summary:

We argue that all those working to design the built environment are architects, and that this title should be regulated in a new way by a single authority.

Levelling up through this new scheme is based on project complexity and associated risk (much like the existing LBP scheme), but also on a project’s scale and function as these factors pertain to its present and future economic, social, and cultural significance and environmental impact through an accompanying non-technical ‘Future Environments Endorsement Framework’ (FEE) that supports and validates the relevant competencies.

Alternative pathways for acquiring the competencies required at each licensing level that recognise the wide variety of perspectives, values, experience, and specialist skills of people seeking licensing are proposed with the aim of increasing accessibility to the industry and diversifying what constitutes legitimate content in the discussion and practice of architecture.