Perception of the architect profession as a profession of public trust in Poland

Robert Idem

doi:10.37190/arc250314

Abstract

This article examines the perception of the architect profession as a profession of public trust in Poland. The research investigates how architects are viewed in terms of their social responsibility and ethical obligations, analyzing the factors that influence public perception of the profession. The study explores the relationship between professional practice, public expectations, and trust in architectural services.

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2025

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Robert Idem*

Perception of the architect as a profession of public trust in Poland

DOI: 10.37190/arc250314

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

Abstract

Since the establishment of the professional self-government of architects, the profession of architect-designer has evolved into a profession of

public trust. This paper presents three perspectives of this perception – the legal perspective, the public opinion perspective and the perspective of the

architects themselves. The aim of the research was to identify the specics and perceptions of the profession of public trust in regard to architects. The

research methodology used was based on literature studies, analysis of legal sources and case law, interpretation of data from public opinion survey

reports, and original quantitative and qualitative social surveys of architects. The research showed that the former two perspectives on the perception

of the profession are fairly convergent. It was found in the survey of architects that practising a profession of public trust has already become part of

their professional identity. However, the position of architects compared to other professions of public trust leaves much to be desired – hence the

importance of building a favourable image of the profession and regulating it more comprehensively.

Key words: profession of public trust, professional body, architects’ profession

Introduction

Practising the architectural profession is subject to spe-

cic conditions resulting from culture, custom or the law

in force. In many countries, the profession is regulated. In

Poland, the profession of architect-designer is not only reg-

ulated, but it also belongs to a limited group of professions

of public trust by virtue of law. Thus, for nearly a quarter of

a century, it has been associated with the functioning of the

professional self-government (Izba Architektów Rzeczpo-

spolitej Polskiej – IARP [The Chamber of Architects of the

Republic of Poland]), which supervises the practice of the

profession

. Over the last two decades, the functioning of

the architectural profession as a profession of public trust

has enabled an analysis of its perception from the perspec-

tive of various interested parties.

* ORCID: 0000-0002-0199-9106. Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk

University of Technology, Poland, e-mail: robert.idem@pg.edu.pl

The establishment of the statutorily obliged professional self-gov-

ernment was intended to establish rules of professional ethics and to su-

pervise their observance. It represents a clear temporal caesura in this

case. For nearly a century, the profession was regulated by the public ad -

ministration only in terms of building qualications.

The concept of a profession of public trust is neither clear -

ly dened nor well-established in public awareness. Addi tio -

nally, its specicity varies between professions – its mean ing

diers in the case of such professions as a doctor, a lawyer

and an architect. The following study aims to identify the

specicity and perception of the profession of public trust

regarding architects. The thesis of the work is that practising

a profession of public trust can be seen as an element of

architects’ professional identity.

This article presents three perspectives on the percep tion

of the architectural profession. Firstly, the legal per spec tive,

under which legal provisions for practising professions of

public trust are analysed with reference to architects. Sec-

ondly, the public opinion perspective; based on the results

of social surveys, features that dene the profession of

public trust were distinguished and the perception of the

architect’s profession in comparison with other occupations

was presented. Thirdly, the opinion of the architects them-

selves; based on original research by the author, the archi-

tects’ perception of the practice of the profession of public

trust has been presented. Finally, a comparative analysis of

the attributes of a profession of public trust arising from the

above three perspectives has been made and conclusions

have been drawn.

146 Robert Idem

State of research

A signicant part of the state of research consists of lite-

rature on professions of public trust related to law-making

and law commentary. It consists, inter alia, of post-confer-

ence materials published by the Polish Senate Publishing

House entitled Zawody zaufania publicznego a interes pub -

liczny–korporacyjnareglamentacjaversuswolnośćwyko

ny wa nia zawodu [The professions of public trust and the

public interest – corporate rationing versus freedom of prac-

tice] (Legat, Lipińska 2002), and a thematic study by Biuro

Analiz i Dokumentacji Kancelarii Senatu [Oce of Ana -

lysis and Documentation of the Senate Chancelle ry] (Biu-

ro Analiz i Dokumentacji Kancelarii Senatu, Kras no wols-

ki 2013). An article by Joanna Smarż (2012) is devoted to

the legal aspects of dening the concept of a profession of

public trust. Magdalena Wółkowska (2018; 2024) described

the juridical perspective with regard to the profession of an

architect. Marta Woźniak (2023) presented an overview

publication on the notion of public interest ( inextricably

linked to any profession of public trust) in a spatial con

text. Few popular science publications, by ar chitects, on the

practice of a profession of public trust appear in architec-

tural periodicals; among them, Piotr Zbierajew ski presented

a subjective critical account (2023). The state of research is

supplemented by reports of public opinion surveys regard-

ing professions of public trust (CBOS 2004; Zawody zau-

fania… 2008) and on architects themselves (CBOS 2014).

The review of the state of research indicates a gap in scien-

tically detailed research on the practice of a profession of

public trust by architects (in terms of qualications, compe-

tencies, norms of professional deontology, regulation and

image of the profession).

Methods

The research methodology has been adjusted to the type

of research – a chart presenting the course of the research

process with a description of the main data sources, re-

search methods and objectives is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Diagram of the research process with a description of the methods applied (elaborated by R. Idem)

Tabela 1. Schemat przebiegu procesu badawczego z opisem zastosowanych metod (oprac. R. Idem)

Analysis element Main data sources Research methods Goals

The law

(Konstytucja… 1997;

Ustawa o samorządach zawodowych… 2001;

Ustawa o ułatwieniu dostępu… 2014;

Wyrok Trybunału… 2015)

literature review,

analysis of legal sources

and case-law

synthesis of the features that describe

the legal aspect regarding the practice

of a profession of public trust,

reference to the profession of architect

Public opinion

social opinion survey reports

(CBOS 2004; 2014;

Zawody zaufania… 2008)

analytical interpretation

of data

synthesis of analyses of public opinion

surveys regarding the perception

of professions of public trust and architects

Opinion of

the architectural

community

social survey of architects

–

identification of the perception

of the architectural profession

as a profession of public trust

– – quantitative surveys

online surveys

(n = 1006)

– – qualitative research

in-depth interviews

(n = 15)

identifying the dimensions of the perception

of the profession as a profession

of public trust

They were performed as part of the author’s original broader study entitled Postawyarchitektówwobecskodykowanychnormetykizawodowej

[Attitudes of architects toward codied standards of professional ethics], the results of which have not been published before (Brosz 2018). Information

about the study:

– The purpose of the study was to measure the attitudes of representatives of the professional group of architects towards codied ethical norms in

the form of Kodeks Etyki Zawodowej Architektów [The Code of Professional Ethics of Architects], and to explore other spheres of professional activity

in terms of the ethical dimension.

– Problems – the main issues: 1) attitude to the norms included Kodeks Etyki Zawodowej Architektów [The Code of Professional Ethics of Archi-

tects], 2) sense of connection with the professional community, 3) perception of the architectural profession as a profession of public trust, 4) copyright

in the perception of architects, 5) competition activity.

– Person responsible: Robert Idem, data processing and report writing: Maciej Brosz.

– Implementation of eld work: May–July 2018.

– Methodology/Method/Sampling: 1. A quantitative survey was conducted using an online survey method, the selection of respondents was pur-

posive based on the operative of the members of The Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland. Access to the survey based on the internet link

provided to members of The Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland via an email letter sent by The Chamber of Architects of the Republic of

Poland authorities to each member. 2. A qualitative study was conducted using the method of individual in-depth interview. Selection of respondents

– purposive. The purpose of the qualitative study was to identify and deepen the contexts and problem areas surrounding the main issues of concern.

– Research tool: 1. A quantitative survey: an online questionnaire on the limesurvey.org platform, with a high level of standardization, including

22 questions, of which 21 were closed, 1 open, 4 metrics, 3 scalograms. 2. A qualitative study: individual in-depth interview based on dispositions,

covering 5 thematic issues.

– Respondent: licensed architect, member of The Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland.

– Sample size: quantitative survey n = 1006, qualitative survey n = 15.

Perception of the architect as a profession of public trust in Poland 147

The results of the work are presented in the next parts

of the article in which perspectives on the perception of

the architectural profession as a profession of public trust

are described. These include the legal perspective, public

opinion and the architectural community perspective. The

conclusions provide a comparative analysis.

Results

Legal perspective

The concept of the profession of public trust rst emerged

in 1997 in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Ar-

ticle 17.1 of the Basic Law stipulates that […] by means

of a statute, self-governments may be created within a pro-

fession in which the public repose condence, and such

self-governments shall concern themselves with the prop-

er practice of such professions in accordance with, and for

the purpose of protecting, the public interest (Konstytucja

1997). This provision is found in Chapter I, concerning the

principal rules of the political system, which testies to the

rank of professional self-governments as one of the institu-

tions of a democratic state of law.

The Constitution uses the term “profession of public

trust”, but does not dene this term; neither do other laws.

With no detailed considerations of the denition of this no-

tion (cf. Legat, Lipińska 2002; Smarż 2012), it has been as-

sumed for the purposes of further considerations, following

Waldemar Wołpiuk, that […] the constitutional legislator,

while establishing regulations in which extra-legal notions

are used intentionally, á priori assumes that their meaning

willbeclariedinthemodeofapplicationoftheConstitu-

tion and in the mode of jurisprudence (Wołpiuk 2002, 132).

Kazimierz Ferenc (2011) noted that the public interest,

that is care for spatial order, has been referred to as an ar-

gument for the establishment of the self-government of ar-

chitects. As Marta Woźniak observed, the notion of public

interest belongs to vague terms and is included in the cate-

gory of vague general clauses (yet, on the grounds of plan-

ning and spatial development law, it has its legal denition

that limits this vagueness). However, the […] permanent

state of tension between the public interest and property

rights [...] is observable (Woź niak 2023, 87)

In 2001, the Act on the Professional Self-government

of Architects, Civil Engineers and Urban Planners (Usta-

wa o samorządach zawodowych… 2001) came into force.

Thereby, the architectural profession is among the few oc-

cupations with statutorily established professional self-go-

vernment. In general, these self-governments can be classi-

ed into four groups representing the professions:

The Act on Spatial Planning and Development in Article 2 denes

the terms: public interest ([…] it should be understood as a general-

ized goal of aspirations and activities, taking into account the objecti-

edneedsofthegeneralpublicorlocalcommunities,relatedtospatial

development); and spatial order ([…] it should be understood as such

shaping of space that creates a harmonious whole and takes into ac-

count all functional, socio-economic, environmental, cultural, as well as

compositional and aesthetic conditions and requirements in orderly rela-

tions) (Ustawa o planowaniu i zagospodarowaniu przestrzennym 2003).

– legal (e.g., advocates, legal advisers, notaries),

– medical and related professions (doctors, veterinary

surgeons, pharmacists, nurses and mid-wives),

– business-related (expert auditors, tax advisers, patent

attorneys),

– technical – architects, construction engineers (cf. Wa-

li górski, Pawłowski 2005).

The statutory conrmation of the status of a profession

of public trust through the establishment of professional

self-government is far from certain and unchangeable. Al-

ready in 2004, the draft of the Act on Professions of Public

Trust and amendments to certain acts thereof did not include

the profession of architect (Taczewski 2024). In 2014, on

the basis of the so-called Deregulation Act, the professional

self-government of urban planners was repealed (Ustawa

o ułatwieniu dostępu… 2014). Furthermore, the Constitu-

tional Court considering the constitutionality of this law

ruled that the profession of urban planner bears no charac-

teristics of a profession of public trust

In the same judgment, the Constitutional Court approved

the previous case law on how the concept of a profession

of public trust should be understood and; taking into ac-

count the views expressed in the legal doctrine, the Court

assumed that the features of such a profession include:

a) the need to ensure that the profession is properly ex-

ercised in a manner that remains consistent with the public

interest […],

b)theprovisionofbenetsandthefactthatthemembers

of the profession in question come into contact with individ-

ualsintheeventofapotentialoractualthreattospecic

goods (e.g., life, health, freedom, dignity, repute),

c) the diligence and care of the representatives of the pro-

fessions in question for the interests of the individuals who

use their services, concern for the personal needs of such

individuals, as well as ensuring the protection of the sub-

jectiverightsofindividualsguaranteedbytheConstitution,

d)therequirementofspecicqualicationsforexercis-

ing the professions in question; this includes not only the

relevant formal education but also the experience acquired

and the provision of warranties for the proper exercise of

the profession in accordance with the public interest, taking

intoaccountthespecicnormsofprofessionaldeontology,

e) the acquisition of information concerning the per-

sonal and private life of individuals who use the services

provided by members of a profession of public trust; such

information constitutes professional secrecy and may be

exemptedfromthatsecrecyundertheconditionsspecied

in the rules of law […],

f) relative independence in the exercise of the profession

[trans. by the author] (Wyrok Trybunału Konstytucyjnego

2015, 15).

Judgment of the Constitutional Court of March 24, 2015. (Ref.

K 19/14): As a result of the activities of urban planners, as a general

rule, the individualized well-being of individuals is not threatened […].

Direct relations or special ties between urban planners and individuals

are lacking. Even if an urban planner […] has access to information

regarding the private lives of individuals, it is not essential for the for-

mation of architectural and spatial order (Wyrok Trybunału Konstytu-

cyjnego 2015).

148 Robert Idem

The concept of a profession of public trust generally

refers to a profession exercised rather than learned. How-

ever, while in the case of, e.g., a lawyer (a Master of Laws)

and an advocate, a clear distinction can be made between

a practised and a learned profession, it is not obvious with

regard to architects. The “architect” title is not legally

pro tected in Poland. The professional self-government

(IARP), by virtue of the regulations, unites a small fraction

of architects in total – only those who practice the profes-

sion of a designer (those who hold building qualications

and perform independent technical functions in construc-

tion)

. On the other hand, also by virtue of the law, it does

include non-architects (persons with related education,

holding a construction license for design in the architec-

tural specialization to a limited extent). The lack of legal

protection of the “architect” and the confusion as to who

belongs to the IARP may cause consternation in the public

perception.

Certain features link the concept of a profession of pub-

lic trust with the concepts of a liberal profession, a regu-

lated profession and a sectoral profession. The concept of

a liberal profession is of the oldest tradition and lacks a le-

gal denition; it is associated with practising a profession

on the basis of appropriate training, independently, under

one’s own responsibility, oering intellectual or conceptual

services, in the interest of the client or the public (Biuro

Analiz i Dokumentacji Kancelarii Senatu, Krasnowolski

2013). Regulated professions, on the other hand, include

those that require the fullment of certain conditions (in the

form of qualications or licences) in order to practice them.

Several hundred regulated professions can be identied in

Poland. With regard to the profession of an architect, this

refers to the legally regulated standard of education that

prepares for the practice of the profession and for the per-

formance of independent technical functions in construc-

tion. On the other hand, sectoral professions are those in

relation to which the regulations provide for the recogni-

tion of qualications acquired in particular countries of the

European Union (this applies to a narrow group of profes-

sions: architects, pharmacists, doctors, dentists, veterinari-

ans, nurses and midwives).

It is worth remarking, following Wółkowska, that the

regulation of the architectural profession is fragmented

and incomplete (especially in terms of who has the right

to practice it). Among the sectoral professions, only archi-

tects have no act regulating the profession. It is only the

functioning of the self-government and recognition of qual-

ications that are regulated. Therefore, an opportunity for

the appropriate establishment of the profession is seen in

the adoption of the Act on the architectural profession, for

which the self-government has been striving for years. It is

to specify the elements that formally regulate the individual

professions, i.e., the required qualications, protection of

There are currently several thousand members of The Chamber

of Architects of the Republic of Poland, while the number of qualied

architects is several times greater. The Chamber does not bring together

architects who do not hold building qualications, nor those who hold

qualications but wish not to belong to the Chamber, nor architects-ur-

ban planners, landscape architects or interior designers.

the professional title, or the forms and principles of exer-

cising the profession (Wółkowska 2024).

Public opinion perspective

According to public opinion surveys on the professions

of public trust (CBOS 2004), people in these professions

should:

– be characterised by irreproachable moral and ethical

attitudes,

– provide high-quality services,

– be obliged to observe professional secrecy,

– practise a profession of importance to the society as

a whole,

–

have completed a prior professional apprenticeship or

internship (as a condition for obtaining the professional li-

cence),

– have a special relationship of trust with the client.

Compliance with the above statements was indicated here

by 96% to 79% of the respondents. In public opinion, man-

datory membership of a professional corporation was not an

immanent feature of the professions. The majority was also

in favour of the postulate to limit the competencies of pro-

fessional self-governments on behalf of independent ethics

committees, namely in terms of deciding on admission to

the profession and controlling its practice in favour of gov-

ernmental bodies, and in terms of dening the rules of pro-

fessional deontology.

The above-indicated obligations describing the social

denition of a profession of public trust were conrmed

in a study Zawody zaufania publicznego w świadomości

Po laków [Professions of public trust in the awareness of

Poles], prepared for The Polish Chamber of Civil Engi-

neers by Pentor Research International S.A (Zawody zau-

fa nia… 2008). According to the majority of respondents,

representatives of these professions should:

– be characterised by irreproachable moral and ethical

attitudes,

– be obliged to comply with statutory regulations and

the code of professional ethics,

– provide high-quality services

– be committed to professional secrecy,

– perform work of major importance to society,

– be subject to verication of their skills (at the comple-

tion of their education and during their profession).

Compliance with the above statements was indicated

here by 89% to 73% of the respondents. Additionally, the

study revealed that:

– awareness of professions of public trust was low – one

in three respondents had no associations with the term;

among the professions most frequently associated sponta-

neously with professions of public trust, doctors, policemen,

judges, teachers, advocates and lawyers were mentioned

– meanwhile, among them, only doctors, judges and advo-

cates are professions of public trust; the results of the survey

placed architects among the little-known professions of pub-

lic trust (it was spontaneously indicated by only 2% of the

res pondents, alongside civil engineers with a result of 3%);

– t

he social esteem for architects as a profession of public

trust was average – it was held in high or very high esteem

Perception of the architect as a profession of public trust in Poland 149

by 40% of Poles (civil engineers – 41%, urban planners

– 27%); greater esteem was enjoyed by the medical pro-

fessions (doctors, pharmacists and pharmacists, nurses and

midwives – over 60%) and the majority of the legal profes-

sions (judges, solicitors, notaries, legal advisers – between

60% and 45%);

– architects belonged to the group of occupations whose

recognition as a profession of public trust was relatively

rare (support of 48%, similar to that for civil engineers; less

legitimacy was given to urban planners – 38%); greater so-

cial legitimacy of public trust status was enjoyed by medical

professions (doctors, nurses and midwives, pharmacists and

chemists – from 88% to 70%), and legal professions (judg-

es, lawyers, notaries, legal advisers – from 87% to 75%).

Additional information about the public perception of the

profession was provided by the results of the public opin-

ion survey Polacy o architektach [Poles about architects]

(CBOS 2014). According to the results, the percentage of

people using the services of an architect stood at as low as

20%. Respect for the profession was higher among those

who use its services (68%) than those who do not (55%). Al-

most half of the respondents agreed with the opinion that ar-

chitects are generally reliable and honest, and are concerned

with delivering their work for the benet of others – at the

same time, 38% of respondents shared the opinion that they

use their knowledge and acquaintances mainly for mercan-

tile purposes. The aesthetics of Polish cities were accepted

by 67% of respondents – at the same time, it was indicated

that the appearance of urban areas is mainly inuenced by

local authorities (55%); only 11% of respondents indicated

architects in this case. Respondents most often associated the

architectural profession with a craftsman who designs build-

ings, a specialist responsible for the technical side of build-

ings, or a draftsman. Applying the results of these surveys to

the present considerations, due to the weak link between as-

sociations with competence and care for the public interest,

these surveys basically conrm the previously mentioned

unfavourable social assessment of the architectural profes-

sion in the context of exercising a profession of public trust.

The perspective of the architectural community

(IARP architects)

In the architectural community, the prevailing belief is that

their profession is a profession of public trust (Fig. 1). When

asked about the perception of the architectural profession as

a profession of public trust, the vast majority – two-thirds

(67.6%) of respondents provided an armative answer, in-

cluding a total of “denitely yes” and “rather yes” answers.

The largest group of respondents, accounting for 39.9%, is

denitely convinced of this fact (“denitely yes” answer).

The perception of the professional activity performed in

terms of public trust is not inuenced by the demographic

variables included in the survey (gender, age, nature of the

professional function), except the territorial scope of the

activity performed. As visible in Table 2 below, the per-

centage of armative responses is higher among respon-

dents whose professional practice extends beyond the local,

voivodeship extent. Thus, the highest percentage was noted

among architects declaring their practice to be nationwide

(72.9%), and a slightly lower percentage was observed

among those who considered their practice to be nation-

wide and international in scope (69.7%).

Respondents who replied in the armative to the ques-

tion concerning the perception of the architectural profes-

sion as a profession of public trust were asked two addition-

al questions. The rst question concerned the perception of

ethical obligations that result from such a profession, and

the second question addressed any potential experience of

diculties in the implementation of such obligations.

The existence of ethical obligations arising from the rec-

ognition of the fact that architects are a profession of public

trust was noted by almost all respondents (Fig. 2). It can,

therefore, be concluded that ethical motives are closely as-

sociated with the concept of a profession of public trust. In

this case, these obligations will be of a particular kind.

While the distribution of responses to the question on ethi-

cal obligations is almost uniform in form, this is no longer

the case when it comes to experiencing diculties in ful-

lling ethical obligations. Nearly a third of the respondents

Fig. 1. Sense of exercising a profession of public trust

among architects (n = 1006) (elaborated by M. Brosz)

Il. 1. Poczucie wykonywania zawodu zaufania publicznego

wśród architektów (n = 1006) (oprac. M. Brosz)

Table 2. Perception of the profession of public trust compared to the scope of professional activity of architects (n = 1006) (elaborated by M. Brosz)

Tabela 2. Poczucie wykonywania zawodu zaufania publicznego na tle zasięgu działalności zawodowej architektów (n = 1006) (oprac. M. Brosz)

Definitely not, rather not

[%]

Neither no, neither yes

[%]

Rather yes, definitely yes

[%]

Social, voivodeship 24.2 11.8 64.0

Nationwide scope 17.8 9.3 72.9

Nationwide and international scope 24.3 5.9 69.7

definitely

not

7.5%

1.2%

27.7%

39.9%

rather

not

rather

yes

definitely

yes

I don’t know,

I have never

considered it

neither yes,

nor not

Answer

Scope of activity

9.6%

14.1%

150 Robert Idem

The concept of a profession of public trust in the con-

text of the activities of architects involves – or should in-

volve – a deeply rooted awareness of the consequences of

the actions taken. On the one hand, this involves a sensi-

tivity towards the sense of quality of life of the recipients

of architecture as a living context, and on the other hand,

responsibility for the long-term consequences of one’s ac-

tions. The actions of architects […] remain for years, leav-

ing an almost historical mark, […] which creates the risk of

devastation for generations (respondent’s opinion, in:

Brosz

2018, 14). In this context, it is worth remembering the in-

dividualistic tendencies of architects to leave their mark on

space, […] the key element here is the inter-play of individ-

ual elements, […] and in this environment, a saturation of

individualists is present. One building next to another does

not form a whole (respondent’s opinion, in: Brosz 2018, 15).

Respondents emphasised the importance of balancing

the interests of dierent groups that are included in the pro-

fessional sphere of architecture. Among these groups, re-

spondents mentioned clients, investors, principals and end

users, i.e., people who directly benet from the individual

developments – residents, passers-by, users of public space.

According to respondents working in clerical positions,

stakeholders also included petitioners/interested parties in

oces where architects work. Balancing the interests of

the dierent groups is, according to the respondents, a key

issue and is directly linked to the aforesaid responsibility.

The whole trust aspect is about interacting with people and

this cannot be forgotten. Designing to the dictates of the

investor without consideration of the welfare of later users

is, well… a disaster in this profession (respondent’s opi-

nion, in: Brosz 2018, 15). In describing the dierent dimen-

sions of the balance between stakeholders, the respondents

directly included elements of thinking about the world in

architectural terms, referring to functional and economic

designandthenalarchitecturalform (respondent’s opi-

nion, in: Brosz 2018, 15).

The third dimension of trust inherent in the architectur-

al professional role is related to competence expectations.

Respondents uniformly spoke of expertise and knowledge

of the eld, […] trust is made very simple when the con-

tractingpartyiscondentthatthearchitectknowshisorher

profession and, in addition, adheres to common law, con-

struction law and professional ethics (respondent’s opinion,

in: Brosz 2018, 15).

Conclusions

A comparison between the jurisprudential requirements

in regard to professions of public trust, and the social ex-

pectations towards practitioners of those professions, and

with the characteristics specic to the profession of public

trust in regard to architects, shows no contradiction (Fig. 4).

Juridical requirements basically overlap and are com-

plementary with social expectations; a particularly strong

correlation can be seen in the area of qualications and

professional deontology standards. The architectural pro-

fession meets the legal requirements and social expecta-

tions arising from professions of public trust. The qualities

indicated by architects in qualitative studies to be the sense

(29.8%) had never experienced diculties. Almost half of

the respondents (46.6%) had encountered diculties of this

kind several times in their professional practice. Notewor

thy is the fact that the “yes, often” response was given by

17.2% of respondents (Fig. 3).

The community of respondents who experienced di-

culties in fullling ethical obligations which accompany

practising a profession of public trust constitutes a total of

70.2% of the respondents (however, it should be remember -

ed that this percentage of persons was drawn from the

com munity of respondents who consider the architectural

profession to be a profession of public trust). The fact of

experiencing diculties in fullling ethical obligations re-

mains unrelated to gender, age, professional role and scope

of activity.

What are the dimensions associated with the percep-

tion of the architectural profession as a profession of pub-

lic trust? What dimensions constitute this aspect of ethical

attitudes in professional activity? The qualitative comple-

mentary research undertaken made it possible to transcend

the limitations imposed by the standardised form of the

questionnaire used in the quantitative online survey. In

the opinions addressing the denition of the meaning and

signicance of the architectural profession as a profession

of public trust, three narrative plans can be distinguished.

Those relate to the spheres of (1) awareness of the role per-

formed with emphasis on sensitivity and responsibility, (2)

balancing against the interests of the stakeholders of one’s

activities, and (3) competence-related expectations.

Fig. 2. Architects’ perception of the existence of ethical obligations

resulting from the recognition of architects as a profession

of public trust (n = 680) (elaborated by M. Brosz)

Il. 2. Dostrzeganie przez architektów istnienia zobowiązań etycznych

wynikających z uznania faktu, iż architekt to zawód

zaufania publicznego (n = 680) (oprac. M. Brosz)

Fig. 3. Architects experiencing difficulties in fulfilling

ethical obligations (n = 680) (elaborated by M. Brosz)

Il. 3. Doświadczanie przez architektów trudności w realizacji

zobowiązań etycznych (n = 680) (oprac. M. Brosz)

never yes, once

yes no I don’t know

yes, often

yes, several times

6.4%

17.2%

29.8%

46.6%

98.4%

0.7%

0.9%

Perception of the architect as a profession of public trust in Poland 151

and meaning of practising a profession of public trust (such

as sensitivity, responsibility, balancing public and private

interests, or competence) – fall within the juridical require-

ments and social expectations.

According to the results of public opinion surveys (de-

scribed in subsection entitled Public opinion perspective),

the position of the architectural profession, as compared

to other professions of public trust (legal and medical) is

far from being the strongest; these surveys place architects

among the lesser known professions of public trust. In turn,

the regulation of the architectural profession is incomplete

from the standpoint of the legal system.

In the community of active architects, the prevailing

conviction is that their profession has the character of a pro-

fession of public trust. Among those who believe so, almost

all perceive the existence of ethical obligations resulting

from this fact. Thus, it is possible to positively verify the

hypothesis stated in the introduction, namely that practising

a profession of public trust is an element of the professional

identity of architects.

Summary

In the above paper, a juxtaposition of three perspectives

on the perception of this phenomenon has been achieved

and a general convergence of jurisprudential characteris-

tics, social expectations and architects’ self-reection has

been demonstrated. The examination of architects perceiv-

ing their occupation as a profession of public trust is a new

approach that complements the previous state of research.

It also makes it possible to conclude that practising a pro-

fession of public trust has already become part of archi-

tects’ professional identity.

However, the position of the architectural profession as

a profession of public trust is unsteady – despite its formal

status, it still appears in statu nascendi. The absence of full

regulation of the profession (in the form of enactment of

the act on the architectural profession) and issues regard-

ing the perception of the profession by the public indicate

the need to support the professional self-government with

research on detailed standards of professional deontology,

qualications and competencies, or a methodical manner of

balancing public and private interests in design.

Finally, it is worth emphasising that a state of division

of the professional community into architects (who are pre-

pared to shape three-dimensional space) and urban planners

(who shape mainly two-dimensional plans) results from le-

gal regulations. This divide diminishes the signicance of

the spatial vision of towns and villages and thus reduces the

role of the profession. Appropriate legal regulations could

serve as a tool for raising the status of the profession (and

thus the quality of space); unfortunately, negative changes

in this respect may also have an adverse eect.

Translated by

EmiliaMełgieś

Fig. 4. Matrix of characteristics

of a profession of public trust in

terms of comparing perspectives:

legal, public opinion and the

architectural community

(common references are marked)

(elaborated by R. Idem)

Il. 4. Matryca cech zawodu zau-

fania publicznego w ujęciu

porównawczym perspektyw:

prawnej, opinii publicznej

i środowiska architektonicznego

(zaznaczono wspólne odniesienia)

(oprac. R. Idem)

competencies

The architectural

community perspective

data source: social survey

striking the balance between public and private interests

responsibility

sensitivity

special relationship of trust with the client

verification of professional experience and skills in the course

of professional work

observance of professional secrecy

acquisition of personal and private information

that constitutes professional secrecy

exercising the profession in accordance with the public interest

contacting individuals in the event

of a threat to goods of a special nature

attending to the interests of clients, caring for their personal needs,

ensuring the protection of the subjective rights of individuals

specific qualifications (training and experience)

acquisition of personal and private information

that constitutes professional secrecy

independence in exercising the profession

impeccable moral and ethical conduct,

compliance with the code of professional ethics

providing of high quality services, compliance with regulations

exercising a profession of importance to society as a whole

The public perspective

data sources:

CBOS 2024; Zawody zaufania … 2008

The legal perspective

data source: Judgment of the Constitutional Court

(Wyrok Trybunału … 2015)

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the authorities of IARP for their support

inconductingtheresearchonattitudesofarchitectstowardcodiedstan

dards of professional ethics, and Maciej Brosz, for compiling the data and

editing the social research report.

152 Robert Idem

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Streszczenie

Postrzeganie profesji architekta jako zawodu zaufania publicznego w Polsce

Od czasu ustanowienia samorządu zawodowego architektów zawód architekta-projektanta stał się zawodem zaufania publicznego. W pracy przed-

stawiono trzy perspektywy jego postrzegania – perspektywę prawną, opinii społecznej oraz samych architektów. Celem badań było rozpoznanie specy-

ki i postrzegania zawodu zaufania publicznego w odniesieniu do architektów. Zastosowana metodyka badań opierała się na studiach literaturowych,

analizie źródeł prawa i orzecznictwa, interpretacji danych z raportów badań opinii publicznej oraz oryginalnych ilościowych i jakościowych badaniach

społecznych architektów. Wykazano, że dwie pierwsze perspektywy postrzegania profesji są w miarę zbieżne, a badania przeprowadzone wśród archi-

tektów pozwoliły stwierdzić, że wykonywanie zawodu zaufania publicznego stało się już elementem ich tożsamości zawodowej. Pozycja architekta

na tle innych zawodów zaufania publicznego nie jednak jest najlepsza, dlatego ważne jest budowanie dobrego wizerunku zawodu oraz jego pełniejsza

regulacja.

Słowa kluczowe: zawód zaufania publicznego, samorząd zawodowy, architekt