The central point of Patrick Lynch’s argument is: “Until we follow the EU and ditch the RIBA visiting boards, we don’t know what UK qualifications mean any more.” What a bizarre argument.

The EU system is one whereby various government bureaucracies notify one another of the qualifications accepted by member states, often without any validation apparatus at all. It would be a hugely retrograde step to rely on that approach rather than one that at least affords some opportunity to check standards.

Of course the academy/practice balance must be monitored — the danger of “academic drift” has grown since architectural education moved almost wholly into the higher education world. Indeed, it is one of my arguments for abolishing Arb: it would force academics and practitioners into a closer, no-escape dialogue on the qualification process.

If Lynch doesn’t know what UK qualifications mean, his route would lead to nobody knowing.

Peter Gibbs-Kennet
Bisley, Gloucestershire

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