Beyond Cairns…. It is amazing what was achieved at the Cairns convention: The international forum attended by institute presidents and other representatives from USA, UK, NZ, Japan,
Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Tonga, Fiji, PNG, China, the CAA, the UIA and ARCASIA together with the RAIA
executive unanimously issued a communiqué in full support of the UIA accord on professional architectural
practice standards. This historic document will pave the way for the globalisation of the profession. This
internationally unique agreement will underpin and inform the forthcoming World Trade Organisation
negotiations on free trade in architectural services. It is with justifiable pride that the RAIA has had a
significant influence on the creation of this document. In addition, the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the American Institute of Architects signed an
important agreement in Cairns allowing reciprocal membership rights and an undertaking to work toward full
reciprocity in education, professional development, and registration. This agreement will have significant
ramifications for RAIA members. A new education policy also emerged from the many discussions prior to as well as at the convention, and has
so far achieved strong support from CHASA (which was re-born at Cairns as the Australasian Association of
Schools of Architecture, AASA), SONA/RAIA, as well as the RAIA executive. The proposed new policy
encompasses a broader vision of the profession, comes to terms with competency based assessment in
conjunction with the traditional curriculum based approach, and encourages greater involvement of students in
reviewing courses. It also seeks to combine individual talents and aspirations with the unique and familiar
studio-based design education approach that has underpinned our profession so successfully in the past.
Most importantly it seeks to re-engage the profession with a changing world to better understand how we can
contribute to that change through leadership and education. Establishing and maintaining recognised standards for education and practice in architecture emerged as key
issues in the rapid development of exporting opportunities for architectural services. The EEC has achieved
effective free trade in services by establishing and agreeing on standards, similar to the North American Free
Trade Agreement involving Canada, USA, Mexico and Chile. If Australia has any interest in exporting services
we must, like others, be prepared to identify, enforce and maintain the standard of service we can provide,
otherwise foreign markets will maintain barriers against Australian Architects. As the Cairns deliberations continued, the Industrial Relations Commission delivered its decision on the
Architects Award case. Not surprisingly, they have established a national award for architects. The profession
should continue to be concerned about the notoriously low remuneration levels within the profession in
Australia and to collectively resist the destructive free-fall in fees through irresponsible tendering which our
governments presently encourage. The USA and many other countries have already matured beyond this
blinkered approach to procuring design services and their communities and consumers are appreciating
the benefits. When we got “beyond the barrier” in Cairns, things didn’t look too bad. There is a lot of work to do and many
changes we need to make. But we are on the right track. The national award winners were testimony to this.
Confident, well researched, and founded in a healthy re-interpretation of our social and cultural roots, the
emerging architectural work represented by this years RAIA award winners is a huge vote of confidence in
the future. This exuberance culminated in the presentation of the 1998 RAIA Gold Medal to Gabriel Poole, who received a
standing ovation after his A.S.Hook Memorial Address. Gabriel, the jackaroo as philosopher, the artist as
interpreter, his love of the land and people, his uncomplicated directness, is uniquely Australian just like
his architecture. The RAIA cannot make the future. That’s for architects, amongst others, to do. The RAIA can, however, facilitate
changes that will increase the ability of architects to improve the quality of our built environment through
design excellence and innovation. Membership of the RAIA is an important way that all architects can
contribute to creating and leading the changes forecast in Cairns.  Graham Humphries FRAIA
National President |
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