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H. Carleton Godsey of Louisville-based Godsey Associates Architects
Moves Up Mexican, Canadian, and American Relationships in Industry
United States Architects and Mexican Architects Agree to a Tri-National Mutual Recognition of Qualifications

March 8, 2006--(Louisville, KY)—H. Carleton Godsey of Louisville-based Godsey Associates Architects serves this year as president of NCARB, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and recently signed a historically significant agreement between Mexican, Canadian, and United States Architects. The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), to be ratified by members of the organizations through a majority vote in June of this year, established the recognition of qualifications for architects in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. This means that policies are now in place to have architects cross borders and present credentials that can be honored for direct work assignments across country borders as architects. Implementation details will be worked out after final ratification by the parties in June.

This was in negotiations for approximately four years. Carleton Godsey, said that his role in this process has been to improve the profession and carry out his desire to move the profession toward worldwide policies and standards. “As a result of NAFTA, there was a desire to have mobility between the US & Mexico. Prior to this, there were no formal agreements.” The first substantial MRA was ratified between US and Canada in 1994. This does not supercede that agreement.

The leadership of NCARB, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Committee of Canadian Architectural Council (CCAC), and the Comite Mexicano para la Practica Internacional de la Arquitectura (COMPIAR) representing the profession of architecture met last year in October to sign this MRA between the three nations. It will be ratified by the regulatory agencies in June 2006.

Tri-National Agreement To Be Ratified

The MRA lays out that architects from all three countries have been practicing for 10 years certified post-registration/licensure, at least two years of which must be in verified responsible control of the comprehensive practice of architecture, and documented by a dossier of work. 

“We expect to see economic-increased activity with the freedom to move around under this MRA,” said Michiel Bourdrez, Director of Education and International Services for NCARB.

In the United States there approximately more than 100,000 architects affected, according to NCARB. “Up to this point, architects have often had to partner under local firms’ direction in various countries to get in the door. This particularly assists firms in bordering area, such as architects in Arizona, New Mexico, and California,” Godsey said.

About Godsey Associates Architects
Louisville-based Godsey Associates Architects was founded in 1967 by H. Carleton Godsey. Registered to practice in 38 states, the firm is now in its 39th year of providing professional architectural services. Godsey Associates Architects has executed more than 7,000 individual projects internationally, of all types and sizes. This includes large medical facilities, such as Brandywine Medical Center in Brandywine, Pa.; Science Mountain Medical Center in Big Spring, Tx.; and Northeast Regional Medical Center in
Kirksville, Mo.

Godsey Associates Architects has designed facilities for several major corporations located in Kentucky. These clients include Humana, United Parcel Service and Kentucky Fried Chicken now Yum! Brands, Inc. The multi-million dollar design build for the UPS Heavy Freight facility at Louisville International Airport will be completed in the 2nd quarter of this year. Godsey Associates Architects have also completed projects for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Division of Engineering. The firm was selected to design the multi-million dollar expansions of the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The South Wing C, a $44 million project, was recently completed and the East Wing, a $50 million project, will be completed in October 2007. 

About NCARB 
NCARB comprises the architectural registration boards of all 50 states as well as those of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Isalnds. NCARB assists its member state registration boards in carrying out their duties and provides a certification program for individual architects. To achieve its goals, NCARB develops and recommends standards regulating the practice of architecture.