Architects still very much needed
I was disappointed in the article in the March 28 issue about a group of Rolling Meadows students who designed a new fire station for Rolling Meadows.
Disappointed because the article gives the impression that architects are obsolete. They have been replaced by a computer program and a few high school students.
It makes me wonder why I spent five years in college, four years as an intern and passed a 36-hour, four-day exam to become a licensed architect. I could have saved many thousands of dollars, and years of stress by simply buying a computer program.
No brainwork or talent is required. Just learn to press a few computer keys. I guess that I've wasted my 45 years of experience in a dying profession.
What the article does not say is that the drawings produced by the students are only preliminary schematics and certainly not the kind of construction documents required for actual construction.
Building codes will require highly-detailed construction documents that define every single element of materials, and their methods of construction. These documents are required to meet the building codes, to acquire the building permits and to actually build the building.
State law demands that they be prepared by a licensed architect. Only years of experience can produce the kind of precise detailed information found on construction documents. It is far more complicated than that found on the preliminary schematics.
There are no shortcuts to design and build a safe structure that meets all the requirements of building codes, structural safety, accessibility, fire safety, environment, sustainability and budget requirements.
Using students to design a complex building is as dangerous as using your barber to do brain surgery!
Melvin S. Markson
Mount Prospect