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| Canberra Accord on Architectural Education Ratifie |
| 30.09.08 |
| CAA Council has ratified the Accord signed by President Gordon Holden in April 2008 |
| Accreditation and validation agencies from Australia, Canada, China, Korea, Mexico, the United States, and the Commonwealth Association of Architects announce the ratification of an Accord declaring substantial equivalency of professional degrees in architecture covered by their accreditation/validation systems. The Accord was signed by representatives of these systems in Canberra, Australia on 9 April 2008.
The Canberra Accord establishes that as of 1 January 2010 academic qualifications in architecture accredited/validated by The Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), the Canadian Architectural Certification Board/Conseil canadien de certification en architecture (CACB/CCCA), the National Board of Architectural Accreditation (NBAA) of China, the Korea Architectural Accrediting Board (KAAB), the Consejo Mexicano de Acreditación de Enseñanza de la Arquitectura (COMAEA), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) of the USA, and the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) will be considered substantially equivalent by those agencies. Degrees, or qualifications, awarded prior to 1 January 2010 are not included in this agreement.
Quoting from the Accord:
“Having exchanged information on, and examined their respective criteria and procedures for accrediting/validating academic qualifications in architecture, the signatories have concluded that their systems are substantially equivalent. Through the Canberra Accord…….the signatories recognize the substantial equivalence of their systems in terms of accrediting/validating the academic requirements for the practice of architecture at the professional level.
“This being the case, academic qualifications in architecture accredited/validated by one of the signatories should be accepted as having substantial equivalency and recommended for recognition by all signatories, subject to additional requirements imposed by local regulations.
“It is anticipated that the Accord will facilitate international mobility of graduates in architecture and contribute to improving the quality of architectural education through benchmarking.
“The Accord is a transparent (peer review) system for determining substantial equivalence of architecture degree program/mes. It is considered to be reflective of the core principles of the UNESCO-UIA Charter for Architectural Education (Revised Version 2005) and the relevant sections of the UIA Accord on Recommended International Standards on Professionalism in Architectural Practice (Revised Version 2005).”
‘Substantial equivalency’ is defined as follows:
“The term ‘substantial equivalency’ identifies a program/me as comparable in educational outcomes in all significant aspects, and indicates that it provides an educational experience meeting acceptable standards, even though such a program/me may differ in format or method of delivery. Substantial equivalency is not accreditation or validation.”
At the first general meeting of the signatories in Canberra, George Henderson of the CAA was elected to chair the Accord for the next year and the NAAB was selected to serve as the secretariat for the Accord through 31 December 2012. The next general meeting will be hosted by the KAAB in Seoul, Korea in April 2009. Further information will be available in November 2008 at www.CanberraAccord.org or through the offices of the NAAB at smatthews@naab.org.
In 2006 representatives of the signatories to the Accord, UNESCO, and the International Union of Architects (UIA) met in Washington, DC to talk about the possibility of a multi-national agreement on equivalency of academic credentials for architects. A similar agreement, called the Washington Accord, has been in force for engineering agencies since the 1980’s.
It was agreed at the first meeting that the discussion would be continued at a second meeting in 2007 in Ottawa. Representatives of the CACB agreed to do a comparative analysis of requirements currently in force for the participating agencies. The analysis was circulated prior to the next meeting and, given its demonstration of equivalency, became the basis for an agreement to have a third meeting in Canberra in 2008. The CAA volunteered to write a draft agreement for the Accord. The draft was circulated and debated prior to the meeting in Canberra where it was signed. The Accord, the participants, and details of the meetings are available through Sharon Matthews at smatthews@naab.org and at the temporary Web site, http://collaboration.aia.org/iav.
In addition to organizational duties, it is intended that the secretariat should promote the equivalency of degrees with the regulators of architectural licensing in each of the countries affected. The long-term aim is to aid mobility of architectural qualifications.
It is important to emphasize that this is an open-ended, multi-lateral agreement which welcomes new signatories where substantial equivalency can be demonstrated. Clear processes for doing so are currently being negotiated among the signatories.
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| CAA |
| 18th Assembly and Conference Postponed |
| 12.11.06 |
| The Commonwealth Association of Architects 18th General Assembly and Conference due to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh 25-29 November 2006 has been postponed due to civil disorder in the country |
| The political transition to interim government since the Bangladesh government was dissolved on the 28 October has not been straightforward and indeed the differences between the various parties have led to civil disorder. In view of the continuing uncertainty and having carefully considered the matter CAA and conference hosts the Institute of Architects Bangladesh decided that there was no option but to postpone the 18th General Assembly and Conference.
The response to the conference has been strong, and the programme with presentations both from invited speakers and those making submissions in response to the call for papers most stimulating. Considering this and the huge investment (both intellectual and financial) made by all parties thus far, the decision was taken with great reluctance. However these factors were outweighed by the risk of conditions in the city of Dhaka compromising the smooth running of the conference.
The intention now is to minimise losses by 'freezing' the considerable preparation work, both logistical and in assembling all the papers for publication, for a period of just over 3 months and to run the conference after the elections in Bangladesh which must be run by the end of January 2007.
The following message was issued by the IAB
Dear Sir/Madam,
With deep regret we inform you that despite making all necessary preparations, due to the prevailing situation in the country it has become uncertain whether a successful Assembly and Conference could be held on time. We are in constant touch with the CAA who have agreed to postpone the events to a later date around end-February / early-March, 2007. We fully understand this may / upset your plan and create inconvenience to some of you.
We are extremely sorry and apologise for things beyond our control.
We hope that you will be able to attend the 18th CAA GA & Conference in happier circumstances on fresh dates which will be communicated to you as soon as a decision is reached. All members of the IAB are eager to meet you in Dhaka in future.
Thank you for your trust and cooperation.
With regards,
Dr. Mahbubur Rahman
General Secretary, IAB
and Secretary, CAA Organizing Committee
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| CAA |
| Revalidation visit to Papua New Guinea course |
| 20 May 2006 |
| A CAA Revalidation visit to the architecture course at UNITEC Lae, Papua new Guinea 5-11 May 2006. CAA 'in region' representative gives an insight into the school and country beyond taken from his diary of the visit |
| Curiosity about the intriguing country of Papua New Guinea is charged, not only by the exotic wildlife and vernacular architecture displayed on the web, but also by the ignorance of travel agents of the logistics and preparations necessary for getting there! Information on visa formalities, ticketing and security are hard to come by. Entry visas for Papua New Guinea are routed through the Australian High Commission in New Delhi (I live in Mumbai) and eventually a route via Singapore was found but tickets for the Singapore-Port Moresby sector are only available on the web for collection in Singapore. To imagine that I almost bought tickets via Sydney!
The journey is long with a 14 hrs stopover in Singapore before boarding an Air Nuigini flight to Port Moresby - the only international airport of Papua New Guinea. The time between arrival in the morning until departing for Lae (pronounced ‘Lay’) at 1500 hrs was used to visit the offices of some local and Australian firms of architects. They all seem busy.
There are star-rated hotels near the airport and in the cities. These are expensive but one is advised use these for security reasons.
It takes about 35 minutes to reach the campus of the University of Technology (UNITECH) Lae from the airport. The drive is through fields, hilly landscape and magnificient trees. Jackfruit, breadfruit, mango, coconut, beetle nut and of course teak trees are in abundance everywhere. Roadside vegetable markets display a rich variety of vegetables, including taru and Chinese taru, tapioca, pit pit, sweet potatoes, bandicoots, and leafy vegetables and fruits including papaya, bananas.
The University campus covers an area of over a hundred acres with neatly planned buildings set between huge trees. There is large football field and a Rain Forest Habitat park. All students live on the campus in the hostels designed for them and staff houses are on stilts according to local tradition. Constructed with wood and steel pipes they display hierarchical consciousness and are well protected by mosquito screens. This provides good ventilation and perhaps protection from reptiles!
In May it starts getting a bit cooler as the rainy season draws to an end yet it rained almost every night, heavily, making excellent weather for early morning walks. Magpie robins and fantail flycatchers wake you with their musical songs at dawn (0500 hrs). Security issues trouble the people particularly in urban areas and have their beginnings in the migration of people from remote islands and highlands to the cities in search of a better livelihood. These gather as in many other parts of the world in squatter colonies. No one leaves the university campus, or home, at night.
In contrast a visit to the village beyond the airport and the Ramou valley takes in lush green landscape, rivers and rustic hills and unpolluted air. The villagers are a helpful and friendly lot. All of them speak three languages, English, Motu and Pidgmi. The chewing of beetle nut mixed with mustard beans and lime powder is a common habit among most. All village huts are framed in un-sawn wood and covered with Kurai grass and Sago leaves to create simple but beautiful dwellings. Techniques for harvesting rainwater and water storage are practiced.
Pictures of traditional house-huts in the interior areas show well-built dwellings using local materials. Good craft skills using wood, seashells and handloom fabric with fine patterns exist. The University has a project to record and conserve the art and architectural heritage of the 19 provinces of the PNG. The late Prof Wallace and Mrs Ruff and Mrs Ruff assembled a large resource initially.
The department of architecture is a good building of the Modernist spirit with excellent exposed concrete structure and glass louvers. It must have been even better with its ground floor serving as a stilt floor-allowing maximum flow of natural air through the buildings’ two small inner courts. The need for space has forced the administration to construct rooms in the stilt area thus preventing air movement.
A brisk 35 minute walk from the Guest House to the Rain Forest Habitat on the north west end of the campus takes you to a beautiful bird park. The aviary contains exotic and colourful birds including several species of the birds of paradise, hornbills, sicklebill, crown pigeons, owls and Loria. The Habitat is also home to tree kangaroos and alligators.
The Architecture school seems a happy one, working like an extended family and there is good camaraderie among the staff. The students’ work shows a high level of design sensibility with good handiwork, models and sketching.
It would have been nice to extend my visit by two or three days beyond the concentrated working days of the validation visit and to travel to Madang as Warwick Bell did to relax and experience the marine life.
Narendra Dengle
Pune, India
Contact: shankav@vsnl.com
Editor’s note: The recommendation of the Visiting board will be posted in the news section and the CAA list of validated courses updated as soon as the report is accepted by the CAA Validation Panel Executive Committee
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