Training of architects
Article 46
1. Training as an architect shall comprise a total of at least four years of full-time study or six years of study, at least three years of which on a full-time basis, at a university or comparable teaching institution. The training must lead to successful completion of a university-level examination. That training, which must be of university level, and of which architecture is the principal component, must maintain a balance between theoretical and practical aspects of architectural training and guarantee the acquisition of the following knowledge and skills: (a) ability to create architectural designs that satisfy both aesthetic and technical requirements; (b) adequate knowledge of the history and theories of architecture and the related arts, technologies and human sciences; (c) knowledge of the fine arts as an influence on the quality of architectural design; (d) adequate knowledge of urban design, planning and the skills involved in the planning process; (e) understanding of the relationship between people and buildings, and between buildings and their environment, and of the need to relate buildings and the spaces between them to human needs and scale; (f) understanding of the profession of architecture and the role of the architect in society, in particular in preparing briefs that take account of social factors; (g) understanding of the methods of investigation and preparation of the brief for a design project; (h) understanding of the structural design, constructional and engineering problems associated with building design; (i) adequate knowledge of physical problems and technologies and of the function of buildings so as to provide them with internal conditions of comfort and protection against the climate; (j) the necessary design skills to meet building users' requirements within the constraints imposed by cost factors and building regulations; (k) adequate knowledge of the industries, organisations, regulations and procedures involved in translating design concepts into buildings and integrating plans into overall planning. 2. The knowledge and skills listed in paragraph 1 may be amended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 58(2) with a view to adapting them to scientific and technical progress. Such updates must not entail, for any Member State, any amendment of existing legislative principles relating to the structure of professions as regards training and the conditions of access by natural persons.