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The Arb has been forced to confirm that it will not take action against the band Architects for misuse of title.

The metalcore band from Brighton has been reported to the Architects鈥� Registration Board in a cheeky email from a member of the profession.

Ray Bryant, a retired architect, pointed out that none of the members of the band, founded in 2004, was on the Arb register.

Bryant said the group, whose albums include Ruin, had been using the title for 12 years. 鈥淪o I guess it must be all right,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淚s it permitted to call yourself an architect if you are clearly working in another profession? Or is the plural not covered by the act?鈥�

It is illegal to practise as an architect if you are not on the register, but things become less clear if the word is used by someone who is not offering their services as a designer of buildings 鈥� such as the emerging disciple of 鈥淚T architect鈥�.

The Arb鈥檚 professional standards manager Simon Howard said people frequently reported lighthearted examples of misuse of title.

鈥淲e had complaints about L鈥橭real because they said they were architects of eyelashes,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we had complaints about Leighton Baines, the Everton leftback, because he was described as the architect of Everton鈥檚 success.

鈥淏ut we also get a lot of architects getting vexed about IT architects and that is a little more serious.鈥�

Anyone who is not an architect can call themselves 鈥榓rchitect鈥� as long as they鈥檙e not acting as an architect, and in that case you can鈥檛 call yourself 鈥榓rchitect鈥� unless you are an architect

Ray Bryant

The Arb鈥檚 professional standards administrator Sarah Loukes wrote back to Bryant saying the regulator took very seriously its statutory responsibility.

It would prosecute unregistered people presenting themselves as architects in the context of the construction industry, she said.

鈥淭he Arb accepts, however, that the word 鈥榓rchitect鈥� is being increasingly used in other contexts in the UK and indeed the rest of Europe and the US,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淵ou have indeed evidenced a good example.

鈥淪uch use may be a technical breach of the [1997 Architects] Act; however the reason for and intention of continued regulation of the title is principally to ensure that consumers of architects鈥� services are guaranteed a certain standard and quality of work. 

鈥淚t was never the intention of the Act to regulate the title for its own sake. The Arb, therefore, takes a pragmatic view and accepts that the use of the word causes no concern when used in a context which is clearly not related to the design and construction of buildings.鈥�

Bryant, who is allowed to call himself an architect because he has retired from practice, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 just interesting to know that anyone who is not an architect can call themselves 鈥榓rchitect鈥� as long as they鈥檙e not acting as an architect, and in that case you can鈥檛 call yourself 鈥榓rchitect鈥� unless you are an architect. Arb really needs another word!鈥�

The Arb sparked uproar among the readers of in 2012 when it asked us to stop calling Renzo Piano and Daniel Libeskind architects because they were not on the Arb register.

The then registrar Alison Carr later apologised and admitted the case caused 鈥減otential reputational damage鈥� to Arb and did nothing to further its aims. It then changed its procedures.