Architecture is a
social art that touches all human beings at all levels of their
existence everywhere and everyday.
This is the only
discipline, which encompasses the four major fields of human endeavour :
Humanities, Science, Art,
and Technology,
actually putting into practice the professional inputs drawn from them.
In sum, Architecture is the matrix
of human
civilization - an authentic measure of the social status, and an
evocative expression of the ethos of an era.
When conserved, it
is heritage and when in ruins, it becomes archaeology, reconstructing
tell-tale pictures of the
past
civilizations.
The demands on the
profession over the years have become much more complex in nature and
much wider in scope.
Architecture uses
the philosophic wholesomeness of Humanities, the logical rationalism of
Science, the
passionate
imagination of Art and the inexhaustible resources of Technology. It
calls for originality, creativity,
conceptualization,
perception, aesthetic values, and a holistic judgment of people,
places, objects and events.
Architecture
is primarily the art and science of designing spaces for serving the
multifarious activities of human
beings and for
meeting their specific needs in a meaningful built environment. When
various engineering services are
rationally
combined with Architecture's basic elements of Space, Structure and
Form, the performance of human functions
and the operation
of mechanical utilities become efficient, pleasant and fulfilling.
However, in its broadened scope
and baffling
complexity, Architecture has generated specializations such as
Structural Design, Urban Design, City
Planning,
Landscape Architecture and Interior Architecture. Retrofitting of
Buildings, Architectural Conservation,
Construction
Management have also lately emerged as specializations. Each of these
compliment and support each other.
The primary objective of Structural Design is to
evolve a strong, durable and an efficient skeleton so that the
space which architecture encloses, and the form in which it expresses
itself as interior content and an exterior
container, becomes an organic extension of one another. Structure is so
fundamental to architecture that it actually determines
its two-pronged functions; the utilitarian appropriateness and the
expressive power of aesthetics. Structural design as
a creative discipline assumes an indispensable position as a natural
extension of Architectural Design. Endowed with
an extraordinary power of conceptualization and creativity, an architect
can conjure up unprecedented structural
systems leading to the genesis of design-ideas introducing new concepts
of Space and Form. In other words, the
architect's contribution to structural design can effectively bring
about qualitative change in the built-environment to stimulate
the advancement of society towards a higher order of civilization.
Urban
Design is architecture of the cities, highly complex and gargantuan in
scale. The primary aim of urban design
is to imbibe and
maintain a sense of identity and harmony among buildings, open spaces
and other structures by
means of a
pleasant and memorable visual imagery throughout the length and breadth
of an urban setting. Accessibility
at city-level and
the movement at all levels must be designed to operate smoothly.
Volumetric relationships,
harmonious spatial
sequences, transition from buildings to open spaces, streetscape and
the services infrastructure must
together invest a
townscape with an exclusive imageability.
Landscape
Architecture deals with the analysis, planning, design, management,
preservation and rehabilitation of
land and also
determines the environmental impact. It is a science capable of
objective analysis and synthesis leading to
an
ecologically-sensitive design, which is self-sustainable. It integrates
from the very conception, the elements of
architecture,
urban design and civil engineering for meaningful and practical
solutions. Landscape architecture coversa
wide spectrum of
professional expertise, ranging from landscape planning at the regional
and city scale on the one end,
to the small and
medium scale of public and private landscape at the other. It involves
dealing with such sites as
office plazas/
public squares, highways, city parks/ national parks, housing
developments, institutional campuses,
zoological and
botanical parks.
In case of Interior Architecture, the primary
objective is to generate a purposeful ambience such as would stimulate
the user's creative potential through multifarious activities. It must
facilitate the individual's sense of orientation,
identification and eventual appropriation of architectural spaces, that
meld the interiors and exteriors into symbiotic
relationships through varied experiences of scale, volume, light and
shade. Interiors are not only to protect the users from
the extremes of weather but also to nurture them emotionally. Since the
interior spaces are truly the life-force of
any building, they must be designed (and not decorated) as detailed
artistic articulation of the basic architectural
concept with deep insight and sensitivity to fulfill the fundamental
functional and aesthetic needs that are efficient and
pleasant to live and work in. The development of design is a very
conscious act and it infuses life into interiors subconsciously.
Creativity is the
essence of architecture and harmony an essential aim of architects.
Architecture that has
been recognized as
great, in the historic past as well as in our own time, has been
harmonious with nature and its
immediate
environment. These are the essential tenets of design which architects
aspire to follow.
Architecture
Design essentially is a product of an individual mind but realized
through association of experts from
allied fields who
contribute in the process of construction. Mutual respect and unders
anding work wonders for ensuring
high quality of
the end-product.
The
architectural profession feels deeply concerned towards national
priorities in the fields of energy
conservation,
ecology, environmental pollution, protection and preservation of
architectural heritage and their precincts,
low-cost housing,
urban renewals, rural upliftment, economic development at local and
district levels, etc. in the interest
of quality of life
both in rural and urban settlements.
The
practice of the architectural profession is
regulated by the
Architects Act, 1991, and the regulations
framed thereunder.
The Certified Architects Corroborations Qatar has
prescribed the
Conditions of Engagement and Scale of Charges under
the Architects
(Professional Conduct) Regulations, 1989. The documents
stipulate the
parameters within which the
Architect is
required to function. These define the responsibilities,
the scope of work
and services, and prescribe the
mandatory minimum
scale of professional charges with a view to making
the Client fully
aware of the duties and services which
he may expect from
the Architect. The professional services required by
the Client may not
be comprehensive in scope
in all cases and
accordingly a clear undersanding between the two must
be arrived at. The
Certified Architects Corroborations Qatar has prescribed the
Conditions of Engagement based on general practice of
the profession in
Qatar. These documents
are applicable to
all registered architects and such architects who have
specialized in
areas such as Structural
Design, Urban
Design, City Planning, Landscape Architecture, Interior
Architecture and
Architectural Conservation.
The
revised verson of these documents reflects the Council's response to
the many challenges which the profession
of Architecture is
facing at present, and is constantly endeavouring to meet them with
active concern and
unflinching
commitment.
*
Prescribed under regulation 2(1)(xii) of the Architects
Professional
Conduct
Regulations, 1989. This revised document was approved by the Council of
Architecture at its 40th Meeting held on 12th and 13th April, 2002, vide
Resolution No. 303.
|