When Ryan Kennihan left Cornell University and drove to San Francisco he arrived on the morning of 9/11.

"As a result of that a lot of building work was put on hold. The dot.com boom was over too and San Francisco was like a ghost town. I worked for a good practice, Kuth Ranieri, for a while and then came to Ireland in August 2002."

His two best friends were already in Ireland and recommended it. Apart from that he knew nothing about architecture here. "There's really no knowledge of Irish architecture in America."

Before he came Ryan got copies of the AAI (Architectural Association of Ireland) award books and looked on the RIAI website.

When he arrived he got a job with Boyd Cody.

It's easier to become a qualified architect in Ireland, says Ryan.

"In the States you do your five years of study and then you have to do at least another four years on an intern development program to become licensed. That involves keeping records of all your work and the time spent on it, then you take a nine-part test covering all areas of building. Until then all of your drawings have to be stamped by a licensed architect.

"Here you can work away as an architect having just completed part two and even then part three is more for recognition by the institute (RIAI) rather than a licence to practice.

"I got my part three after working for a year-and-a-half here."

He also notes the self-regulation in Ireland when it comes to building regulations.

"In the building I worked on in San Francisco the building regulations guy was there every step of the way monitoring progress."

Ryan is struck by the quality of design in Ireland and the amount being built.

"I'm continually impressed with the quantity of buildings here that are really interesting design wise. In the States there is so much talent and money yet, despite this pure potential, there is not a lot actually being built. Most of the main buildings seems to be big cookie-box mansions. In Ireland there is an openness to just try something and give it a whirl so a lot of stuff ends up coming to fruition."

He also likes the fact that architecture is discussed in the property section rather than the arts pages of The Irish Times.

"This is extremely important. In the States, most writing on architecture happens in the arts section, so the people who read about architects and good buildings are those who are already interested in it and somewhat knowledgeable about it.

"By placing articles on good design in the property section, a place that everyone who is building or buying real estate consults, there is a much greater opportunity to reach all of those people who would have built a Greek-columned mock-Tudor bungalow, to say, hey, there is something else out there. You could do this instead! I do think it is having a major effect. It's one of the first things I would try to change when I go back."

Practising architecture in Ireland - an introduction is on May 9th-10th at the RIAI, 8 Merrion Square. It is an introductory two-day course aimed at foreign architects working in Ireland or Irish graduates recently returned from working abroad