BC Building Designers Have a New Voice
BCABD
Working to raise the standards in building design.
Residential and Building Designers in British Columbia are an important part of construction in the province. The majority of single family homes as well as many multi-family residential projects and small buildings are designed and drafted by designers, not architects. Over the years associations have stepped up to protect the rights of BC’s designers, allowing for them to continue to practice. Originally the Canadian Association of Professional Building Designers (CAPBD) was formed to prevent the AIBC (Architects Institute of BC) from barring designers from practicing building design under Part 9 of the BC Building Code. Later the CAPBD became the Building Designer’s Institute of British Columbia (BDIBC), which continued to carry on the fight for all designers in the province. In most recent times, the BCIBC came under the oversight of ASTTBC in its role in supporting various practice institutes. The framework for ASTTBC institutes evolved and eventually changed prompting the formation of a group known as the ASTTBC Building Designers. Members of ASTTBC are professionally registered as either Certified Residential Designers (CRD) or Registered Building Designers (RBD). ASTTBC is an organization with a deep history in British Columbia helping shape the professional landscape and upholding high standards of certification and training.
Over the last few years the Government of BC has introduced new legislation called the Professional Governance Act (PGA). The purpose of the PGA is to work with professional organizations to set standards for practice and right to practice. ASTTBC is one of five organizations that has received recognition under the new PGA legislation. This recognition will allow ASTTBC to set forth standards of practice and rights to practice for it’s members in their various professions. Their goal is to see registered designers be recognized to the fullest extent of their competencies and have defined independent rights to practice as scheduled in the PGA. This would not only be true for building designers but across all of the various disciplines technologists, technicians and technical specialists practice under ASTTBC’s mandate. This would be an amazing step forward for all designers in the province, but how will that affect designers not registered with ASTTBC? The answer to that question is met with uncertainty, thus the need for a new resource for designers in the province to have a voice.
Members of the ASTTBC Building Designers working group in cooperation with ASTTBC discussed the need for another association of design professionals. The purpose of the association is to show the Government and other players in the industry how valuable designers are to construction in BC. These designers and draftsman are the individuals who are drafting and designing homes either for other clients or builders, or are designing and drafting their own projects. We are excited to announce the formation of BCABD Building Designers. Basic membership is free for any draftsman, designer, builder, developer, student, home owner, or anyone else who is interested in the continued rights to design single family homes and other small buildings in BC. BCABD also wants to raise the standards for design documents in the province, provide education, increase communication with officials, and better network with suppliers in the construction industry. It is very important for all who have a stake in the design and construction industry to work together to protect the rights of designers working in BC. Visit the BCABD website at www.bcabd.org and see what the BCABD Building Designers can do for you, join them today.
