Definition of “Architect” Through Time

The lineage of the word architect comes from the ancient Greek words ‘arkhi’, which meant “master” and ‘tekton’ meaning “carpenter” or “builder”.

The architect progressed from the trades for millennia, beginning as an apprentice, progressing to a journeyman and then finally as a master being able to turn around to design and direct the work. Wright knew this and referenced that Jesus was a carpenter, correctly questioning if an architect too: “Nazarene Carpenter (I wonder if the carpenter wasn’t the architect in those days)”. It is why he referred to his school as a “workshop”, his students as “apprentices”, and Sullivan as his “master”.

1755 Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson

Architect – A contriver of a building; a builder

1828 Webster’s Dictionary

Architect – A person skilled in the art of building; to form plans and design of buildings, and superintend the artificers employed

1913 Webster’s Dictionary

Architect – A person skilled in the art of building; one who understands architecture, or makes it his occupation to form plans and designs of buildings, and to superintend the artificers employed

2024 Collins Online Dictionary

Architect – A person who designs buildings

Note the change over time of the definition of ‘architect’ – from a synonym to builder to solely a designer.

This is the fifth post in a weekly series debunking the myth that Frank Lloyd Wright was only an architect. In fact, based on my research, he was first and foremost a builder. Here is a link to the first article in the series.

Frank Lloyd Wright: A Builder at Heart at Odds with Today’s Architect

Frank Lloyd Wright too was a master builder – an architect in the purest sense of the word.

His foundation was in craft—the launching pad and runway for his ability to put his brilliant creative ideas into physical form. While we may not be able to duplicate the genius of Wright, he provided us the blueprint for success in building an architect from scratch: have a strong foundation in building. This is what he did and how he advised his pupils. This inherent logic that held steady for millennia has now been diluted to the point where we are below ignorance on the subject.

The lies that created the disconnect between architect and builder

We find ourselves at a time and place where it is accepted that the architect and builder are segregated in their status, their education, contractually and the industry at large. Even pitted contentiously against each other on different sides, while their very existence depends on each other. Imagine a chef who exclusively writes recipes separated from those that only cook; musicians trained only to write music yet do not know how to play it.

It is hard to conjure chefs who don’t cook or songwriters who don’t play because it is completely void of logic. When I graduated and joined a design firm, my job was to tell others what and how to build, yet I had never built anything in my life! I thought, how could this be? Somehow, the illogic to have those that create our built environment, the architect and the builder, be divided has come to be the uncontested status quo.

How did we get here? Next week I will share details!