About the Profession "Architecture is the imaginative blend of art and science in the design of environments for people. Decision-making, team leadership, and creativity are key elements of making architecture, and there is tremendous excitement in seeing a design idea become a physical reality. People need places in which to live, work, play, learn, worship, meet, govern, shop, eat: private and public spaces, indoors and out; rooms, buildings, and complexes; neighborhoods and towns, suburbs and cities. Architects -- professionals trained in the art and science of building design and licensed to protect public health, safety and welfare -- transform these needs into concepts and then develop the concepts into building images that can be constructed by others. In doing so, architects communicate between and assist those who have needs -- clients, users, the public as a whole - and those who will make the spaces that satisfy those needs -- builders and contractors, plumbers and painters, carpenters, and air conditioning mechanics. Whether the project is a room or a city, a new building or the renovation of an old one, architects provide the professional services -- ideas and insights, design and technical knowledge, drawings and specifications, administration, coordination, and informed decision-making -- that balance an extraordinary range of functional, aesthetic, technological economic, human, environmental, and safety factors, into a coherent and appropriate solution for the needs at hand."* The vast majority of architects complete a degree in architecture from a university program accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB). An architecture curriculum is intensive and demanding, often requiring many hours of late-night effort. Design studio -- individual work guided by frequent review with a professor -- and lecture and laboratory courses in engineering, technology, history, planning, and the environment will be combined with studies outside the professional curriculum. Many programs culminate in a year long design thesis project. An alternative way to become an architect is through the "apprenticeship" Syllabus Program offered by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). Further information is also available from the RAIC pamphlet Building a Dream - A Career in Architecture. *This excerpt is referenced from akropolis.net