Do you know how to select a professional to design your home?

Be it a granny flat or office building in selecting a suitable professional for your project your most sensible reference – after making local enquiries – is the SACAP (South African Council for the Architectural Profession) registration body.

The primary responsibility and duty of SACAP is to protect the public against unscrupulous architects, technologists and draftspersons… i.e you need them on your side if you employ an architect and things go “wrong” between you.

SACAP administers the architects act and registers all practitioners in 4 categories dependent on education, training and experience, which are as follows:

1. Professional Architect (Pr. Arch.) – the highest level requiring a minimum of 6 years university based study and training followed by a minimum of 2 years “hands-on” practical experience under the supervision of a registered architect. The junior architect is then required to sit and pass 2 stiff professional practice exams before registering.

2. Professional Senior Architectural Technologist (Pr. Sn. Arch.Tech.) – the most senior of the technical levels requiring a minimum of 3 years university study thereafter followed by a minimum of 10 years experience and of course the 2 appropriate level professional practice exams.

3. Professional Architectural Technologist (Pr. Arch.Tech.) – requires a minimum of 3 years university study and usually at least 1 year of relevant practical experience before sitting and passing the appropriate level of professional practice exam.

4. Professional Architectural Draughtsperson (Pr. Arch. Draught.) – usually requiring at least 2 years of relevant practical training in basic construction technology and CAD operation before sitting the entry level professional practice exam and being eligible to register.

All of these categories of registration, from lowest to highest levels, are required to fully comply with the SACAP code of conduct or face disciplinary action to protect you as an employer and of course to protect all members of the public who might use the buildings, once built.

An important intention of this category system is to provide for upward mobility within the system.

An architectural draughtsperson is able to rise through the categories through work experience, study and hard work.

Registered architectural professionals – as well as all clients, employers and developers – are also subject to the SACAP Identification of Work (IDoW) which lays down the type and scale of project that can be undertaken by what category and level of professional.

For example all 4 categories are entitled to design, document and supervise a single storey house, and with this building type your guide would be personality, enthusiasm, experience and availability.

But only registered professional architects are entitled to design, document, control and supervise a hospital, clinic, museum or shopping centre.

The list is comprehensive and extensive.

Consult it before wasting time and possibly money on your selection process.

Ballito resident Ken Lever is a registered professional architect with more than 50 years of experience in the industry.