Architect

An architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton (arkhi-, chief + tekton, builder), i.e. chief builder. A looser usage of Architect is: the translator of the building user’s requirements of and from a building into an inhabitable environment. Moreover, the words architect and architecture are used in the disciplines of engineering, e.g. computer software architect; however, in some of the world’s jurisdictions, the professional and commercial uses of these etymologic variants, are legally protected from such loose denotations.

Professionally, an architect’s decisions affect public safety, and thus must undergo specialized training and education, and a practicum for practical experience in order to qualify for and earn a licence to practice architecture; the practical, technical, and academic requirements for being a licenced architect vary.

The most prestigious award a living architect can receive is the Pritzker Prize, often termed the "Nobel Prize for architecture." Other awards for excellence in architecture are given by national professional associations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Architects who have made outstanding contributions to the profession through design excellence, contributions in the field of architectural education, or to the advancement of the profession are elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and are given the postnomial FAIA after their name. Other prestigious architectural awards are the Alvar Aalto Medal (Finland) and the Carlsberg Architecture Prize (Denmark).

 

Source: Wikipedia