Cornwall Architects give a brief description of what an architect is and the role they play in todays day and age.

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

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 in Cornwall and any other place 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.

In practice there has recently been an interest in sustainable ("green") design. Although not really requiring that an architect be licensed, some interns or architects seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation.

It is achieved by learning about LEED principles and scoring and then passing a test on the subject. They are then considered LEED accredited professionals. Buildings that achieve a certain quantity of points from a checklist can become LEED certified buildings.

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 Royal Institute of British Architects. Other prestigious architectural awards are the Alvar Aalto Medal (Finland) and the Carlsberg Architecture Prize (Denmark).

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