Clarifying Overlapping Practice Between Design Professions

The ICOR Practice Overlap Initiative brings together leaders from the design disciplines landscape architecture, architecture, engineering, surveying, and interior design to clarify where practice overlap is appropriate and where distinct professional scopes exist. This session highlights research that incorporates diverse disciplinary perspectives that informed this work and the collaborative approach to defining how practice overlap is defined and regulated. By identifying clear practice boundaries, this effort promotes fair and competency-based regulation while reducing confusion and inconsistency across jurisdictions. It also helps ensure that all design professionals, including interior designers, can contribute fully within their scope of practice. The panel will discuss how defining acceptable overlap and scope distinctions benefits all disciplines, fosters greater clarity in regulation, and strengthens collaboration across professions.