Public confusion prompts increase of logo use
Registered Architects are being urged to “fly their flag” by making their status as Registered Architects clearer to the public and potential clients.
The New Zealand Registered Architects Board is making available to Registered Architects a variant of its logo which identifies them as individual Registered Architects.
Architects can use the logo on their business cards, letters, emails and other personal communications.
To view the logo variant and read the Board’s rules for its use, go to the Board’s web site at
www.nzrab.org.nz/default.aspx?Page-183.
In essence, these rules say the logo variant can only be used alongside the name of an individual Registered Architect.
Board chair Ron Pynenburg says within the construction industry many people offer building design services.
“However, there is often confusion among the public as to who are architects and who are not.
Many of the complaints that the Board receives turn out to be about people who are not architects,” he says.
“Architects are distinct in that they bring to their work a creative vision of what the built environment can and should be, in addition to their technical expertise.
“Architects are also bound by a code of ethics that spans a complete duty of care to their clients.
“For historical reasons most architects in New Zealand cite their academic qualifications on their correspondence, but not the fact that they are Registered Architects. This needs to change, hence this initiative,” Mr Pynenburg says.
The New Zealand Registered Architects Board has also recently created a service to assist people to find out whether firms offering building design services employ Registered Architects or not.
This, along with a search facility to find out if an individual is a Registered Architect, can be accessed at www.nzrab.org.nz.
