Bangkok--1 Sep--Architect Council
Architect Council of Thailand (ACT) states its visions and working performances during the years of 2007 — 2010, paving ways for more aggressive professional developments from the ground up. The Council hopes to encourage Thai architects to tone up their muscles for the world competitions that would significantly increase after AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) comes into sight in the next few years. And on this occasion, the Council debuts the next President who will continue the Council’s works, establishing new strategies and maneuvering the country toward leading the professional architecture of ASEAN.
Admiral Thanit Kittiampon, President of Architect Council of Thailand (ACT), acts on the account of the Council’s meeting where Mr. Chaowarat Charnveerakul, Interior Minister as Chairman of the Special Architect Council, presided with a speech on Thai architectural visions.
Admiral Thanit recalls his presidential years during 2007-2010 as the years of uplifting the Thai architectural professions to be on par with international standards supported with mission to eventually lead in the ASEAN arena. Throughout the years, ACT works have prepared Thai architects towards the opening of AFTA on professional architecture in 2015. While bringing upon Thai architects more open opportunities to work abroad, AFTA means increased in foreign competitions. Thai architects have been known for their high skills and capacities, but still need official and solid supports to apply their professions in foreign countries. Also, many of them are less familiar with working with foreign partners and their lack of proper marketing knowledge is one of many disadvantages they have on the world arena. This is where the ACT comes in by giving it the main mission to overhaul the regulations and laws as well as the structural working elements for those professional architects to work smoothly in and outside the country. Also, the ACT will establish new foundations which will lead to many new turning points of the Thai professional architecture in the future.
1. Elevating the standards and professional licensing procedures by administering more exams per year and allow licensing examinations for all 4 existing architectural professions. Also, there will be a full resource on licensing exams where members can study and practice on the past exams in order to achieve professional licenses. From normally once a year, the ACT should be able to administer as much as 5 licensing exams a year, exposing more opportunities and convenience for practicing architects nationwide. Also, there will be licensing examinations that allow, for the first time in 7 years since 2003, those practicing landscape architecture, urban architecture, and interior architecture to test for professional licenses from now that only the main architecture can obtain professional practicing license.
2. Updating the approval standards and procedures for university architectural programs. By reviewing the program for the official approval every 5 years instead of issuing a life-time approval on college architectural curriculum should allow the ACT to closely monitor the what students are currently studying and see whether the curriculum are up for the real-world practices. The 5-year curriculum review has now been passed as a new regulations of the ACT.
3. Appointing a professional development sub-committee for architecture to draft new ACT regulations on continuous professional development for individuals practicing controlled architecture of the year 2009 as announced in the Government Gazette on 25th September 2010.
The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the continuous professional development for all individuals practicing controlled architectures with seminars or activities designed to elevate knowledge, capacity and experiences of those practicing the controlled professions.
As the supporting organization who regulate and supervise the professional architectural standards in Thailand, the ACT will administer the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) by strengthening up the professional stamina, skills and ability of those practicing professional architecture as a way to warrant their working standards and the standards of the Thai architects as a whole.
4. The sub-committee and regulations of the Continuing Professional Development or CPD have been installed to stimulate the continuous self-development for those in the profession as a way to keep up with the changing world. Architecture always needs improvements and updates and those practicing the professions will always need to attend conferences, seminars, or activities designed to give them just that. From now on, those practicing professional architects will need to renew their licenses every 5 years with a report on the requisite activities as stated in the CPD regulations.
5. Acquiring own ACT building. This is a big achievement to celebrate the ACT’s 10th anniversary as its committee has successfully designed a standardized energy-efficient building prototype on a 500-square-wa land with a 80-car parking and function rooms.
6. On the international fronts. To strengthen international relationships and knowledge sharing, the ACT has built a working network with international organizations through the ASEAN ARCHITECT and APEC ARCHITECT programs. The ASEAN ARCHITECT will be registered especially for Thai architects with the ACT foreign sub-committee’s establishment of the Local Collaboration Framework to facilitate the joint works of Thai architects and their foreign partners. This move is a preparation for the influx of foreign architects once the AFTA takes place. There will also be a proper office for ASEAN ARCHITECT in Thailand as a way to establish a good image and standard of Thai architecture in the world forum. By establishing the ASEAN ARCHITECTURE, the ACT called for the forum’s logo competition where Thai architects competed with their foreign counterparts and won hence the Thai-designed logo of ASEAN ARCHITECT will be used as the standard for all the ASEAN ARCHITECT works in the future.
7. Getting management and administration of the ACT straight. The ACT has 7 working departments - Administration, Aecretariat and Meeting Coordination, Registration and Licensing, Laws and Ethics, Educational Accreditation and Examination, Foreign Affairs, and the Continuing Professional Development or CPD — all with clear and solid job descriptions. The newly established CPD is the result of the visionary perception that Thai architects will need further professional trainings and seminars with credits to be accumulated towards achieving and regularly renewing their professional licenses. CPD has long been an established criterion for professional architecture in many foreign country and by establishing CPD in Thailand, the ACT has given Thai architects a proper self preparation to compete further in the global markets.
Admiral Thanit, upon handing the position over to the next President, says the future of the Thai professional architects are hinged upon the success of 2 missions — strong educations and competing in the foreign fronts. For example, procedures of local educational accreditation and plans to move forward into the global market need to be clarified and materialized. “We need to strive further on to become the architectural leader in ASEAN and in the region. Thailand has been teaching architecture in universities for over 75 years and we have a vast number of professional architects practicing in the industry. It would be a real shame, therefore, if we allow other countries to lead in the industry we have mastered for almost a century.”
For more information, please contact
Architect Council
Khun Amornrat or Khun Jutibodee
Tel. 0-2318-2112 ext. 173, 175