Categories of Membership

The ZIA Act currently provides for five classes of membership namely:

  1. Corporate Member – to be registered under this class of membership, one must be; must be resident in Zambia, has attained the age of twenty one years and holds a bachelor of architecture degree or its equivalent recognized by the Council. They must also have completed at least two years of post-graduate practical full time employment under the supervision of a registered architect, must have passed the professional competence examination conducted by the ZIA Council, and has paid the registration and membership fees prescribed by the Council.
  2. Honorary Member – Must be nominated by the ZIA President and approved by the ZIA Council based on distinguished practice in the architectural or allied profession; or rendered exceptional and important services relating to the architectural or allied profession.
  3. Life Member – must be a retired corporate member, and a person who has made outstanding contributions to the professions.
  4. Foreign Member – A person who decides to practice the profession outside Zambia and, except for not being resident in Zambia qualifies to be a corporate member.
  5. Student – A person may on the application to the council be admitted as a student member if he is undergoing post graduate period of training in any industry connected with architecture or an allied profession

 

How we work

The functions of the Zambia Institute of Architects are performed by the Council and the Council for purposes of performing its functions under the Act, establishes committees consisting of members of the Institute.

All committees of the council refer all their decisions to the Council for final decision.

The Council has the following Committees:

  • the Registration Committee
  • the Membership Committee; and
  • the Disciplinary Committee

 

Composition of Registration Committee

  1. the Vice President
  2. the Honorary Secretary
  3. two Past Presidents and fully paid up corporate members of the Institute
  4. the Chairperson of the Membership Committee; and
  5. a senior Corporate Member nominated by the President and approved by the Council.

 

Functions of the Registration Committee

  • consider applications for registration of architects
  • prepare programmes of training including acquiring of acceptable practical experience for trainees and graduates of architecture for registration as architects
  • liaise with approved institutions of architecture on practical training for architects and monitoring and working out modalities of the diary; and
  • to conduct examinations or interviews for professional competence at such times and places as the Council shall determine

 

The Membership Committee consists of the following members:

  1. the Honorary Secretary; and
  2. four members of the council nominated by the President and approved by the council

 

The functions of the Membership Committee are to-

  • process applications for all categories of membership and make Committee recommendations to the Council;
  • keep a register of various classes of membership;
  • recommend subscription fees for approval by the council; and
  • do all other things that the council may direct the Committee to do

 

The Disciplinary Committee consists of the following members:

  1. the Vice President
  2. a representative of the Attorney General
  3. a representative of the allied profession; and
  4. three members nominated by the President from among the corporate members and approved by the Council

 

The functions of the Disciplinary Committee shall be to:-   

  • hear and determine any complaint or allegation against a member of the Institute
  • hear and determine any complaint or allegation against a Committee
  • of the Council; and
  • do all such things as are incidental or conductive to the attainment of the functions of the Committee

 

Registration of Architectural Firms

Where a firm is registered by the Council, that firm shall file with the registrar, a memorandum of practice signed by all the partners stating-

(a)        the names and qualifications of each partner

(b)       the nationality of the partners

(c)        the name of the firm and

(d)       the address of the registered office, the postal address, the telephone and facsimile number of the firm

 

Offences under the ZIA Act – Section 35

A person not registered by the Council, shall not

(a) Establish a practice as an architect or be a partner in any architectural firm

(b) Practice or offer his services as, or hold himself out to be, a qualified architect   consultant or advisor

(c) adopt, use or exhibit the titles “architect”, “registered architect”, “project architect,” “consulting architect or any other term of similar description; or

(d) Do anything likely to lead persons to infer that he is a registered architect

(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to both

(3) Where an offence under subsection (2) is committed by a body corporate, every director or manager of the body corporate shall be deemed to have committed the offence, unless the manager or director proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or consent

(4) Where a firm does any act which if done by an individual would be an offence under subsection (2), every partner in that firm shall be deemed to have committed the offence, unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or consent.