Architect - June 2009 - (Page 14) 14 dialogue MIKE MORGAN ARCHITECT JUNE 2009 WHAT’S IN A NAME? I AM NOT NOW, and never have been, an architect. Why not? I went to architecture school and have spent my entire career in the field. But I have never worked at a firm, designed a building, supervised the construction of one, taken the ARE, or obtained state registration. In brief, I am as familiar with architecture as they come, but I have no legal ground to call myself an architect. Despite my great respect for the terms and conditions that dictate who is and isn’t an architect, I was startled by the volume of letters we received objecting to a specific application of the title in our April 2009 Salary Survey. We broke down the survey according to different career stages, including “Architect (Licensed)” and “Architect (Unlicensed)”—a minor detail, perhaps, but a big no-no for many of our readers. “If a person is not licensed they are not an Architect, and I am offended that you would even provide them a category in your magazine,” wrote Jennifer Showalter, Architect. Not all of our correspondents took the matter personally, but all of them made the same, absolutely fair point: In many states, you can’t call yourself an architect unless you’ve passed the exam and hold a state license. (Never mind that web designers and others have adopted the term wholesale.) The topic sparked a heated debate among members of our LinkedIn group; more than 100 comments flew back and forth. It’s a matter of public record when, why, and where someone can call themselves an architect. What’s unclear is the proper term for those who have graduated from architecture school, work at an architecture firm, and aren’t yet licensed. There’s no common denominator for people in that situation—a group ranging in circumstance from recent graduates to firm principals. The architects who wrote to defend the exclusivity of their hard-earned titles applied a variety of different ones to their unlicensed counterparts: designer, intern, architect-in-training. Nobody used the term whippersnapper, but it wouldn’t have surprised me. According to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards website, the proper term is intern: “In the architecture profession, an ‘intern’ is any person who by means of their education or experience has qualified to enter the IDP [Intern Development Program].” But “intern” hasn’t stuck the way “resident physician” has in medicine, and for good reason: To the world at large, an intern is a college student in wrinkled khakis working a summer job, not an adult with an advanced degree. To call such a person an intern sounds narrowly like a put-down. It’s time to come up with a better title. I AM AS FAMILIAR WITH ARCHITECTURE AS THEY COME, BUT I HAVE NO LEGAL GROUND TO CALL MYSELF AN ARCHITECT. LETTERS THE DEBATE CONTINUES Terreform ONE, whose work appeared on the March 2009 cover of ARCHITECT and in the article “Urban Renewal” on page 42 of the same issue, writes in response to a letter from Michael Sorkin that appeared in the May 2009 issue. We believe Michael Sorkin is distributing inaccurate and damaging claims about our organization Terreform ONE. In 2006, Michael Sorkin and Mitchell Joachim founded a new nonprofit organization called Terreform. This name they mutually agreed upon would represent their partnership and collaboration with others. A year later many of the additional partners believed that the one partner—Sorkin—was not promoting the work of Terreform. He had numerous conflicting agendas including his private practice. He also published our work under his office of 20 years: Michael Sorkin Studio. Our nonprofit was sharing the same space as the profitdriven Michael Sorkin Studio; this is a severe conflict of interest according to IRS 501(c)(3) guidelines. Terreform soon devolved into a classic example of “Founder’s Syndrome.” We found it impossible to collaborate with Sorkin as an equal. We were afflicted with one member who wished to solely control our collective mission and redefine it at will. The breaking point occurred when he forcefully introduced a project outside of our charitable goals—a seven-star luxury hotel in China. Therefore, we asked Sorkin to leave Terreform. Since that moment he has continued to pilfer our prior work as his own. Terreform ONE (Open Network Ecology) has chosen its own direction without Sorkin and within the essence of our original mission statement. His brands of business methods are highly unethical. He has taken our logo and design work without any compensation or permission. We have no relationship with him whatsoever. Our name is trademarked, and we legally operate under the seal of New York State. Sorkin has used a few of his academic connections to attempt to tarnish our reputation. We are being bullied and threatened by this individual. We are in the business of providing a better future. Sorkin is in the business of promoting himself and battering others as a critic. We are wasting our valuable energy in defense WWW.ARCHITECTMAGAZINE.COM http://www.architectmagazine.com Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Architect - June 2009 Architect - June 2009 Contents Dialogue Contributors News Best Practices Specialist Local Market Detail Legislation Eco Products Products Books, Objects & Exhibits Crit Screen Grab The Elusive Mr. Ambasz Now Hear This Follow the Money El Dorado 1966 Architect - June 2009 Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page Cover1) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page Cover2) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page 1) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page 2) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page 3) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page 4) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page 5) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page 6) Architect - June 2009 - Architect - June 2009 (Page 7) Architect - June 2009 - Contents (Page 8) Architect - 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June 2009 - Crit (Page 55) Architect - June 2009 - Crit (Page 56) Architect - June 2009 - Crit (Page 57) Architect - June 2009 - Screen Grab (Page 58) Architect - June 2009 - Screen Grab (Page 59) Architect - June 2009 - The Elusive Mr. Ambasz (Page 60) Architect - June 2009 - The Elusive Mr. Ambasz (Page 61) Architect - June 2009 - The Elusive Mr. Ambasz (Page 62) Architect - June 2009 - The Elusive Mr. Ambasz (Page 63) Architect - June 2009 - The Elusive Mr. Ambasz (Page 64) Architect - June 2009 - The Elusive Mr. Ambasz (Page 65) Architect - June 2009 - Now Hear This (Page 66) Architect - June 2009 - Now Hear This (Page 67) Architect - June 2009 - Follow the Money (Page 68) Architect - June 2009 - Follow the Money (Page 69) Architect - June 2009 - Follow the Money (Page 70) Architect - June 2009 - Follow the Money (Page 71) Architect - June 2009 - Follow the Money (Page 72) Architect - June 2009 - Follow the Money (Page 73) Architect - June 2009 - Follow the Money (Page 74) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 75) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 76) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 77) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 78) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 79) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 80) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 81) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 82) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 83) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 84) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 85) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 86) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 87) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 88) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 89) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 90) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 91) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 92) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 93) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 94) Architect - June 2009 - El Dorado (Page 95) Architect - June 2009 - 1966 (Page 96) Architect - June 2009 - 1966 (Page Cover3) Architect - 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