ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers - (Page 71) grassroots Hurtful Words: What You Need to Know About “Interior Architecture” “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Well, that’s not entirely true. If you want to identify yourself as an interior architect, or describe your interior design practice as engaging in the business of interior architecture—please be a registered architect; if you aren’t, those words can in fact harm you! Of course, while no one will visit you and break your bones because you held yourself out to be an interior architect, you may find yourself embroiled in a legal proceeding brought against you by a state agency and defending yourself against the imposition of civil monetary fines or, worse yet, the possibility of criminal prosecution. And, it doesn’t matter one bit if you graduated from a college or design school with a degree in “interior architecture.”You can no more call yourself an interior architect, than I could call myself an attorney having only graduated from law school with a law degree. I first had to pass the bar exam and be admitted to practice in accordance with my state’s professional registration requirements. Recently, at the request of the ASID Board of Directors, I conducted a random sampling of 15 state agencies around the country and posed the following two questions: Can an interior designer who is not a licensed architect use the title “interior architect” or describe his or her services as “interior architecture?” Is a certified interior designer (or for that matter an interior designer licensed to practice interior design) permitted to use the title “interior architect” or describe his or her interior design services as including “interior architecture?” I think that these quotes, from just two of the many responses I received, will quickly illustrate the point. The Education Department of the State of New York advised: The word “architect” is a protected title. Only a person licensed in New York can call himself/herself an architect and offer architectural services in New York. Anyone else using the title “architect” may be prosecuted for committing a class A misdemeanor, and those offering to perform architectural services in this state may be charged with a class E felony. Similarly unlicensed persons might also be prohibited from using (emphasis added) of the word “architect” or “architecture” in conjunction with unrestricted titles as this may be misleading to the public when it is implied that professional services are being offered.The restriction does not apply to the use of such terms in the context unrelated to professional services, such as “architectural supplies.” An interior designer not licensed as an architect in New York state may not call themselves an “interior architect” and may not use the phrase “interior architecture” in connection with their interior design business. Doing so may mislead the public into thinking that the interior designer is licensed to practice architecture, when in fact only licensed architects may practice architecture. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs of the District of Columbia stated: Unless licensed to practice architecture under this subchapter,no person shall engage,directly or indirectly in the practice of architecture in the District or use the title “architect,”“registered architect,”“licensed architect,”“architectural designer,” or display or use any words, letters, figures, titles, signs, cards, advertisements or any other symbols or devices indicating,or tending to indicate,that the person is an architect or is practicing architecture. The legislative intent behind this provision is to protect the consumer and to avoid misleading the public as to the scope of both the architecture and the interior design professions.Our answer to your question would remain the same even without a statute in place.Each profession has a separate and distinct set of standards of practice and educational requirements.Therefore, it is the Board’s opinion that use of the title “interior architect” or “interior architecture,” by a person not licensed to practice —Alan M. Siegel, Hon. FASID Alan M. Siegel is a partner in the construction and design group of the New York law firm of Ingram Yuzek Carroll Gainen & Bertolotti LLP. He serves as national legal counsel to ASID and is co-author of A Guide to Business Principles and Practices for Interior Designers. Alan can be reached at asiegel@ingramllp.com. ASID ICON | SEP/OCT 2007 71 architecture, would cause confusion among prospective students,practitioners and consumers. If the editors of ASID ICON allowed me more space, I would cite each state’s response. Fortunately for you, the editors did not, but had they, you would read response after response, all similar to the positions taken by the State of New York and the District of Columbia. Namely, it is improper for anyone other than a licensed architect to hold themselves out as an “interior architect” or to practice “interior architecture.” If this caution is not enough to deter you from using this terminology, consider the fact that unlike most criminal statutes, public policy statutes (such as architectural licensing statutes) do not impose the standard of “culpability” for which a mental state is statutorily mandated. In other words, and in plain English, the “I didn’t mean it” defense is not available. Criminal liability can be established without having to prove any element of intent to violate the public policy statute. As one court held, “To require intent of the actor charged with violations of the sections of the Education Law regulating the ‘professions’ would seriously impede the enforcement of the statutes, thus negating the impact of the legislation and hampering the effort to protect the public from the inherent harm in trusting their lives and property to non-licensed individuals passing themselves off as a professional in a particular field.” If you have questions regarding use of the term “interior architecture,” please visit the related blog at the link on the ASID Web site, www.asid.org/government. http://www.asid.org/government
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