California Architects - Architectural Rendering and Design
Napa Valley, Napa, County, San Francisco North Bay, Ca. USA

An architect

is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a building's construction. The word

 "architect" is derived from the Latin architectus or from the Greek arkhitekton. In the broadest sense an architect is a person who translates the user's needs into the builder's requirements. An architect must thoroughly understand the building and operational codes under which his or her design must conform. That degree of knowledge is necessary so that he or she is not apt to omit any necessary requirements, or produce improper, conflicting, ambiguous, or confusing requirements. Architects must understand the various methods available to the builder for building the client's structure, so that he or she can negotiate with the client to produce a best possible compromise of the results desired within explicit cost and time boundaries.

Architects must frequently make building design and planning decisions that affect the safety and well being of the general public. Architects are required to obtain specialized education and documented work experience to obtain licensure, similar to the requirements for other professionals, with requirements for practice varying from place to place.

The most prestigious award a living architect can receive is the Pritzker Prize, often termed the "Nobel Prize for architecture." Other awards for excellence in architecture are given by national regional professional associations such as the American Institute of Architects and Royal Institute of British Architects. Other prestigious architectural awards are the Alvar Aalto Medal (Finland) and the Carlsberg Architecture Prize (Denmark). (Continue).

Also See:

Winery Designers

Architectural Illustrators
Drafting Services

Building & Home Design & Planning Services

Building Supplies
Contractors Guide
Interior Design
Space Planning

Browse /Search