Association of Building Engineers

Association of Building Engineers
Abbreviation	The ABE
Motto	Probitate et arte ("Probity and art")
Formation	1925
Type	Professional body
Purpose/focus	The building engineering profession in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Headquarters	Billing Brook Road, Weston Favell, Northampton  NN3 8NW
Coordinates	52°15′32″N 0°50′11″W
Region served	United Kingdom
Key people	John Hooper, Chief Executive
Main organ	Presidential Team and Council
Website	www.abe.org.uk
Former name	Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors

The Association of Building Engineers (ABE) is a professional body for building engineers in the United Kingdom and overseas.

History

The Association of Building Engineers was founded as the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors (IAAS) in 1925 in London. The Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors became the Association of Building Engineers in 1993, its current name.

The IAAS was among the bodies which opposed a draft bill which was presented to Parliament in 1927 by the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) Registration Committee in the course of events which resulted in the passing of the Architects (Registration) Act 1931.

Under the 1931 Act, the Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom (ARCUK) was established with the duty of setting up, maintaining and publishing the Register of Architects. The IAAS was among the bodies named, together with the RIBA, in the First Schedule of the Act as being entitled to appoint one member in respect of every five hundred of their own members.

The Register of Architects is now maintained and published under the Architects Act 1997, which reconstituted ARCUK. In consequence, the IAAS was no longer an appointing body, nor any of the other bodies named in the 1931 Act, which has been repealed.

Structure

The ABE is a membership organisation and is governed by a board of directors that sets the objectives of the organisation - the executive team deliver these objectives. Entry to membership of the ABE is via several routes, and members must undertake continuing professional development throughout the lifetime of their membership of the association in order to maintain their professional standards.

Designations

The ABE has several designations for members, these are:

• Associate Members may use "ABEng" after their names and are at technician level of membership.
• Graduate Members may use "GradBEng" after their names for those at graduate level of membership.
• Corporate Members may use "MBEng" after their names and are considered fully professionally qualified.
• Corporate Fellows may use "FBEng" after their names and are senior corporate members.

Corporate members of the ABE are entitled to use the designation "Corporate Building Engineer".

Regions

The ABE has regions in the United Kingdom and Ireland each with elected Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Committee, these are:

• Eastern
• East Midlands
• Northern
• Northern Ireland
• North West
• Republic of Ireland

• Scotland
• Southern
• South West
• Wales
• West Midlands
• Yorkshire & Humber

Education

The ABE is an accredited assessment centre and offers a range of qualifications including BSc (Hons) Building Engineering.

See also

• Society of Architects (1884-1925)
• Faculty of Architects and Surveyors
• Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom
• Architects Registration Board
• Reform of Architects Registration
• Building engineering
• Society of Professional Engineers UK

External links

• Association of Building Engineers website