As of Monday, November 13, this event has been postponed. We will share a new date as soon as possible.
In February 2023, a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) was signed between the UK’s Architect’s Registration Board (ARB) and US National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). This was brought into effect after years of collaboration between the two organizations and informed from the British architect’s perspective by Catherine Clark, President of Royal Institute of British Architects, USA (RIBA-USA). The existence of the MRA means that an architect who meets the eligibility requirements and is licensed/registered, in good standing in either the UK or the 44 U.S. jurisdictions that accept the MRA agreement may be eligible for reciprocal licensure. The MRA will enable the flow of architects and their ideas between these two countries which have such parallel but diverse modes of practice. This is increasingly important as we shift our profession to take the lead in response to a changing professional climate.
New York State is not a signatory to the MRA. However, architects who are registered in additional states or territories may be eligible for reciprocal licensure. This event will bring together speakers representing RIBA-USA and NCARB to cover the extent to which the MRA will apply to US-based architects.
Speakers:
Catherine Clark, Int’l Assoc. AIA, RIBA ARB Dip Arch BSc, President, RIBA-USA,
Harry M. Falconer JR., FAIA, NCARB, HonD, Hon. FCARM, Vice President, Experience and Education, NCARB
About the Speakers:
Catherine Clark is a British-trained and licensed architect who has lived and worked in NYC for over 20 years. She is the President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, USA, having previously run the New York RIBA Chapter. For the past seven years, Clark has been campaigning to reinstate a reciprocal agreement between the UK and US for architect’s licenses. As part of their Barriers to Trade initiative, Clark worked closely with the British government and with both the architectural professions regulatory bodies in the UK and US to speak to the value of this policy change on a personal level, and on behalf of RIBA’s US members, and future generations of architects on both sides of the Atlantic. Her architectural experience ranges from master-planning social housing for a 10 hectare site in Hampshire, UK, an RIBA Award-winning nursery school in Brixton, London, to working on New York City’s first "green school." In her personal practice in New York she has undertaken high-end residential designs for prominent fashion families in "white glove apartments" and many family residences in Brooklyn. Her work has been featured in Design Brooklyn, Bespoke Careers' book The Culture of Practice, and New Yorker Magazine. Clark studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, and helped establish the RIBA Part 3 Course in NYC. She is also a Part 3 architectural professional license examiner with a specialty in international candidates. As President of RIBA-USA, Catherine was part of the working group to support the Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Brooklyn gain it’s dual NAAB and RIBA accreditation in 2021.
Harry Falconer leads the department to provide professional support for the Architectural Experience Program® (AXP™) as well as NCARB’s education-related programs including the NCARB Education Standard, Scholars in Professional Practice, Education Alternative for Certification, Foreign Architect Certification programs, and continuing education initiatives. He is responsible for administration of the Council’s outreach initiative to schools, professional conferences, and firms; and management of the Architect Licensing Advisors Community program. Falconer also leads the development and management of the Council’s international mutual recognition arrangements and relations. Falconer’s career in architecture includes over 22 years in practice prior to joining NCARB’s team. He is licensed to practice architecture in Virginia. He is a member of the AIA College of Fellows and is NCARB certified, Falconer was awarded NCARB’s President’s Medal for Distinguished Service, for his leadership in the Intern Development Program (IDP). In 2019, The Boston Architectural College conferred the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa upon Falconer, recognizing his transformative vision and work within architectural education and the profession.
AIANY, NCARB, RIBA-USA
