WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ARCHITECT AND AN ENGINEER?

In order to understand what the differences between an Architect and an Engineer are, we must first basically define these.

An Architect is a person who designs buildings and is typically the point person of a design team. 

An Engineer is a person that specializes in the design of a unique aspect of the building such as electrical systems, Air Conditioning systems, and plumbing designs. 

Architects and engineers must work together closely to design and construct the building. Although their duties overlap to an extent, they are totally separate professions with their unique skills and responsibilities. 

Architects and Engineers take a different curriculum in school. During college, architects will take more art-related classes, whereas engineers will take more science, technology and math classes. These different educational paths reflect the different focuses each professional brings to the project. While architects concentrate on the aesthetics of the project, engineers instead focus on the structural components of those projects. 

Generally speaking, the architect draws the plans showing general views and details of all the spaces and elements of the building, then the engineer based on those plans he draws another set of plans showing the specific size of all the structural components of the building. 

Therefore the key difference between an architect and an engineer is that the architect focuses more on the artistry, beauty, and design of the building, while the engineer focuses more on the technical and structural aspect of the building. 

If you as a customer need a little room, an addition to your existing house, renovate your existing residence, or to build the home of your dreams, then the very first thing that you need to do is, to hire an architect, because he is the qualified professional to translate your needs, and desires into habitable, functional, and beautiful spaces. Once the architectural design has been accomplished satisfying your needs then the architect will work together with the engineer to make sure all the structural components of the space or a building will perform their functions in perfect harmony. 

Mr. Batista is the most recognized, authoritative, and award-winning engineer and contractor in Florida. Over his 30 year distinguished career, he has been both Engineer of Record and Contractor on thousands of jobs.