The text is from 07-8/22 A&B.
In our #Mlodzipolscyarchitekci series, we ask questions to young architects about the problems and conditions facing young people after graduation.
Licenses - why are young architects reluctant to obtain them?
We don't think the situation is due to the reluctance of young architects, but rather to a system that can make it difficult to obtain authorizations. We ourselves do not have licenses, even though our design experience is very large, and the quality of the solutions we propose can be evidenced, for example, by awards in design competitions.
Our ambition was to gain professional experience in the best foreign design offices, because it was there that we could learn the most interesting working methods, develop our understanding of what architecture is and work on the most interesting topics. When we returned to Poland, we didn't want to waste any more time working for someone else, even though it probably would have enabled us to make our credentials in a few years. We took up the challenge and set up our own author's studio. Unfortunately, the system of obtaining authorizations in Poland excludes such a scenario and forces you to work for others. You have to practice locally in Poland, in someone else's studio, not in your own practice. For us, it's more important to work on our own vision of architecture, because this is the only way to maintain control over the quality and architectural values we believe in.
We hope that the Chamber of Architects will follow the ambitions of young designers and make it possible for architects like us (who set up studios right out of college) to obtain design licenses, expanding the understanding of "practice" and valuing projects qualified as relevant experience.
However, we are happy that we can successfully practice the architectural profession without formal licenses, just like other young architects running their studios in Poland, whose projects stand out.
Warsaw under Construction 9 festival - installation on the Defilad Square in Warsaw | proj.: BudCud
© BudCud
Conditions for practicing the profession for the young
Being an architect and urban planner in Poland is difficult. You have to have a thick skin and arm yourself with iron patience. The hardest part is when you have the ambition to create your own language and design in accordance with your beliefs about what qualities of architecture are most important. There is practically no room for ambitious and critical architecture in Poland, as we see every day - newly constructed buildings are very similar to each other, there is no room for innovation.
Unfortunately, ambitious and prestigious projects among architects from the front pages of national architecture monthlies also often turn out to be a trap for young architects. As an example: during the work on a large urban plan, a more experienced architect with a larger studio took over the joint work and won the city's tender, leaving out our co-authorship. Both the organizers of the project and the city architect ignored the situation, and it is they who should take care to respect the rules of cooperation and correct such violations of intellectual property rights. We are currently waiting for the reaction of the Chamber of Architects of Poland, we have reported the matter to the Chamber's Ombudsman for Professional Responsibility - we hope that the first consequences will be drawn by them.
Such situations are difficult challenges that we have to face, and for which no one prepared us. Nevertheless, we invariably love our profession. We are happy that we come across very conscious clients at home and abroad, with whom we manage to develop good projects tailored to the needs of their users, while satisfying our own ambitions.
Warsaw under Construction 9 festival - installation on Plac Defilad in Warsaw | proj.: BudCud
© BudCud
An easier start in the profession, or what kind of start?
An easier start is a more conscious start. We believe that schools should provide more practical job-preparation skills - both regarding working as part of a larger design team in a large studio, as well as those needed to run one's own business. An easier start means - in addition to awareness and knowledge of the tools of the profession - the ability to choose different scenarios for practicing the profession and knowledge of potential specializations within the profession. In addition to design skills, the ability to present projects convincingly, work and manage a group, the basics of running a business and taking care of one's own copyrights are also important. In the profession, the ability to think independently and flexibly to solve project problems and difficult situations related to the operation of the office is important.
Institutional support not related to education, but to running one's own practice would also be useful. In Denmark, there is a system of scholarships for the most promising creatives, which makes it possible to set up an office without stress, giving the opportunity for a longer period to focus, for example, on doing competitions rather than looking for commissions. Germany organizes special soft skills courses for male and female designers taking their first steps in the profession, giving them the opportunity to expand their competencies.
We believe that more design competitions at multiple scales would also give more opportunities for young architects to build a position and seek a distinctive language. It is important that the topics of the competitions be diverse - maybe then commercial architecture would not be the only one discussed in Poland.
Warsaw under Construction 9 festival - installation on Plac Defilad in Warsaw | proj.: BudCud
© BudCud
