ABSTRACT
As a profession, architects are obliged to apply their knowledge in the service of society, in return for the protection of title. A recent article in the Architects’ Journal cites new research from the Federation of Master Builders and the Office of National Statistics that indicates bricklayers, floorers, scaffolders and painters are all paid more than architects. Richard and Daniel Susskind, in their book The Future of the Professions , define the role of professions as ‘the way in which expertise is made available in society’. In this broadest sense, the profession is the point of interface between those with specialist knowledge and the public who are served by the application of this knowledge. This asymmetrical relationship is enabled by what they term a ‘grand bargain’, a social contract that grants exclusivity over a domain of knowledge in exchange for applying this knowledge for the benefit of all.
