Architect vs. Architectural Engineer

An architect is someone who designs buildings and other structural projects, while an architectural engineer is an architect that utilizes engineering principles and technology to construct key systems within a building.

An architect focuses on the visual look of a building's exterior and interior. They draw up blueprints and other plans that guide a construction team in the building process. Some common duties of an architect are communicating with clients, project management, creating blueprints, visiting and monitoring a construction site, and making reports on project progress.

An architectural engineer deploys science and math principles to create specific engineering elements of a building. They take part in developing engineering plans for a construction project and making sure these plans comply with safety laws and regulations.

Architectural engineers perform many other tasks including studying blueprints and then creating plans of their own, finding and fixing engineering mistakes, and testing engineering systems post-construction.

Here are the key differences between an architect and an architectural engineer:

• An architect focuses more on creating visually appealing designs for the exterior and interiors of buildings

• An architectural engineer focuses on creating engineering systems for a building

• An architect creates blueprints for a building project

• An architectural engineer uses an architect's blueprints to help with planning for an engineering system

• Architects have more communication with clients than architectural engineers

• A key component of an architectural engineers job is the safety of the building and making sure any systems are up to code

• Architects' roles rely more on creativity, where architectural engineers rely more on math and science

• Architects have higher salaries than architectural engineers