data, more data
In theory, the architectural profession is not left alone in Poland. We have the Chamber of Architects (IARP), we have the SARP. And yet nothing has changed over the years.
To pay architects well, we need to price projects well. In England, widespread knowledge of pricing is taken care of by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), the equivalent of the IARP.Office management (including project valuation) is one of the mandatory elements of the course preparing for professional licensing. - Tomasz Koczur (UK), architect, 30 years old, 4 years of experience
No mechanism has been established to try to promote rates consistent with the Architect's Honorarium. Nor do any of these entities keep any major statistics or extensive market research. Yes, we know how many architects are licensed in Poland, but we don't know how many are not. According to data from Rzut, as many as 85 percent of young designers under the age of thirty-five are not licensed. We don't know how salaries are shaped by provinces, cities, graduated universities, experience. We have no mechanisms to control the current and future state of the profession. This driving without brakes is very dangerous. Even now we only partially know what we don't know, and this is thanks to private initiatives. And yet it could be worse.
Today, young architects face a choice: to do the qualification or not. They have access to basically no database showing the Polish market situation for employment in architecture. I for one would like to know what's going on in the market. What might await me.Especially since, from the perspective of my past experience, employers pay half (or most) with passion (and free overtime), not with a bank transfer. - Milena Karpowska, architect, 35 years old, 9 years of experience
SARP is basically a club of architects. The chamber, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with protecting the professional title of architects and who can have architectural licenses and who cannot. In contrast, no one is concerned with the rights of workers in the architecture industry.
problems, solutions, challenges
And here we come to the crux of the problem, something that could have helped back in the 1990s if such a solution had been put in place then. We have an association of architects (SARP), we have a professional self-government of architects (IARP). What we don't have is... a professional union of architects.
This is a solution that evokes mixed feelings in Poland. It would be possible to build such a professional union using the experience of Western countries, where similar systems are already in place. Of course, no one can be forced to do anything, we are, after all, operating within the free market. At the same time, it is simply legal to create conditions or entities that offer to be in the club of "better workers" on an optional basis. This is neither price collusion nor interference with the aforementioned free market. So the question is: "Why not?"
A new architectural services calculator should be created. Much simpler, clearer for both architects and investors. There should be rules for remuneration in design studios, according to the guidelines of the future architects' union. Of course, as written above, this would be optional. However, the affiliation of a design firm with this union would provide an opportunity for the studio to promote this cooperation, in a way raising the reputation of the firm.
SARP should make the rules clear: there will be no signing of the association to a competition with a fee below a set percentage of the investment, or if the costs of developing the competition work are not reimbursed.
Model contracts should be used for hiring, and perhaps for individual projects, such as those created by the aforementioned association. Ideally, they should be collective, that is, established with other unions or professional groups in the architecture and construction industry. And here we move smoothly to the topic of interprofessional cooperation in the context of transparency of price lists, salaries or the creation of collective agreements.
Entities such as the IARP or SARP should become more strongly involved in issues of data collection regarding the architectural profession and the publication of such data. And this, in turn, should contribute to the creation of new strategies for the coming years that will help strengthen the position of the architectural profession in the market and contribute to the development of the profession in Poland.
The Chamber of Architects should start a dialogue, and perhaps a cooperation, with graduates of architectural studies who are just thinking about getting architectural licenses, or with those who, for some private reason, do not want to do these licenses. In fact, it is within the IARP's purview to dialogue with architecture students, not to cut itself off from them. The practice of district chambers' representatives on the Polish Internet of cutting off substantive discussions if the interlocutor is not listed as having active licenses should end.
The two aforementioned largest architectural entities in Poland should also have a much better dialogue with the younger generation of architects - whether in the real world or (especially!) in the digital world. On top of that, both institutions could also do more to educate the public about architecture. The good news is that something is starting to change for the better in this area, on a small scale for now.
Of course, as has been repeated for years, much also depends on the architects themselves. Those need to stop accepting commissions for a token roll. The young, on the other hand, should rebel against low rates. And it is the latter group that is already very definitely beginning to put up - either in public forums on the Internet, briefly and clearly criticizing bad deals, or simply changing the industry.
conclusions
The situation regarding the salaries and working conditions of young Polish architects is the product of many factors. One of the most important is the catastrophic underpricing of design services, which is reflected in the salaries of employees. The prospect of such wages is causing more and more young architecture graduates or those studying architecture to start retraining for other professions.
a typical studio job ad
The architectural profession is beginning to enter a phase of negative selection, which could have dire consequences for employers and, in the long run, for ordinary Polish residents.
As with global warming, we are approaching a certain point from which there will be no turning back. We must take immediate action to change earnings in our industry.
On the issue of young architects' salaries - the argument is often made that these are people without skills and experience, hence such low proposed rates. Surely this has to do with the mantra repeated at universities - that the profession is not learned during studies, but only on the job. However, it is worth noting that this is not true. A minimum of knowledge of industry software, a sense of aesthetics, spatial imagination are required of those starting out. After all, it is not the case that every random person caught on the street would have the background to do the work of even a draftsman. I understand the connection between the price of architectural services and wages especially for lower positions, but it is in the interest of both younger trainees and very experienced colleagues to fight against the undercutting of labor costs. If we consider that the work of a lower position is so cheap, this also translates into the salaries of the higher ones, and ultimately into the valuation of the entire project, and therefore the profit of the studio. How do we break out of the market situation we have created for ourselves? I don't know.But I have a feeling that without systemic action, we will only be led to improvement by a long and painful crisis resulting in a shortage of architects. - Agnieszka Maga Baryła, architect, 33 years old, 9 years of experience
The solutions are many. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. We have Polish architects scattered around the world who can pass on the know-how of the countries where they work. What mechanisms they have in place to monitor the industry in terms of legislation, quality, rates or employees. We also have a fantastic young generation of architects in the country. Among them there are many who would very much like to participate in such a process. What is needed is more dialogue and openness to new possibilities. It also takes determination and perseverance. Yes, among many other activities there is also a place for architectural education among Poles. We are really quite behind as an architectural industry in Poland. On a huge number of levels. This makes us bury ourselves more and more in the belief that simply nothing can be done with this profession anymore. What's left is passion, because the salary is almost gone. Only is it possible to pay the electricity bill with passion?
Piotr ZBIERAJEWSKI
illustrations by the Author
