Maybe you prefer big thinking or you are passionate about the design of buildings. Architects are the people who plan and develop designs for construction projects, plotting exactly how the building will look and how it will be laid out inside. Architects can work individually, or as part of firms of varying sizes.

As an architect you will need an ability to visualise the end of a project, a passion for design combined with an ability to master technical details. Architects must develop expertise in a wide range of areas, from design principles to building regulations, which they utilise in developing plans.

Architectural Technologists handle many of the technical details involved in housing design, such as material selection, assessing the regulatory requirements of concepts and identifying the most suitable technologies. Much of this work will be done in collaboration with architects, but they also coordinate with construction planners, surveyors and engineers in ensuring projects are appropriately supervised from concept to construction.

Career Paths

Becoming an architect involves following a very structured, defined path. For most persons studying to become an architect in Ireland this will involve graduating from one of the architecture courses accredited by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI). Following graduation, they will obtain a minimum of two years practical experience, where they will train under the supervision of a registered architect. They will then complete an examination in professional practice which when passed enables the trainee to qualify for admission to the Register of Architects and therefore to practice as an architect.

While this is the primary route and the one almost all students planning on a career in architecture will follow, there are other admission routes to the Register of Architects for those who have acquired the knowledge, skill and competence to practice as an architect through years of experience in similar roles or for those whose education in architecture occurred outside of Ireland.

Architectural Technologists follow a different route, as with Architects the main path is to take a course accredited by the RIAI. Architectural Technologists may also accumulate experience by working in an architectural practice as a draughtsman or technician.