Hot real estate market leads to fake 'architect' claims

In housing-obsessedVancouver, everybody these days is supposedly anexpert in architecture.Except when they're not.

Extreme demand for home designersin the Lower Mainlandhas led to a glut of professionals falsely claiming expertise in "architecture."And the real architects are starting to take notice.

They're talking to you 'arkitekt'

The Architectural Institute of B.C. has issued no fewer than 12 illegal practice findings against people foradvertising expertisein either "architectural design" or something like it in the past three months.

The AIBC'sgeneral counsel, Thomas Lutes, says the institute also expectsto file three civil suits in the next two weeks.

"There are certainly a lot of non-architects who can and do provide excellent design services," Lutes said.

"However, there is certainly a cohort of designers who are supplying lowquality design, low quality services tomembers of the public. And when they go so far as to call themselves ''architects', we have the ability to step in."

As it turns out, the AIBC is mandated under B.C.'s Architects Act to ensure anyone who isn't amember of the institutecan't hold themselves out in a manner suggesting they're a registered architect.

A bulletin issued in November 2012 says the prohibition includedtitles ranging from 'architectural technician'to 'architectural consultant'; even applying theprefix 'archi-'in a "building design/construction context such as 'architectonic'is forbidden.

Europhiles take note:'arkitekt' and'European architect' are also on the list.

"It's an interesting word, because unlike some other professions including my own as a lawyer the word 'architect'and the connotations around 'architect' are generally quite positive," saidLutes.

"And so, I think whether the person really means to hold themselves out to have professional qualifications or not, the use of the word 'architect' has cachet."

Just because you read it on LinkedIn ...

Many of the citations on the AIBC's websiteinclude descriptions made onLinkedIn profiles and Facebook. Almost all the people citedfor illegal practice "took immediate steps" to address the institute's concerns.

"Social media and the ease of self-publication and marketing has increased the volume of what we call misrepresentations," Lutes said.

"The fact that a LinkedIn profile is available around the world means that the misrepresentationis there for everybody to see. And so we get more people reporting to us about these kinds of things I believe because of social media and the internet."

Lutes says complaints come from members of the institute as well as other designers and people within city hall planning and permit departments.

He says people who hire faux architects have no means of recourse or complaint beyond the courts when things go sideways on a project.