They wanted to design skyscrapers, but officials say they built a house of deception.

A group of up-and-coming Big Apple architects from one of the country’s most prestigious firms was busted in a cheating ring involving a key exam — and some could now be stripped of their credentials, according to the profession’s governing body.

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards recently named and shamed eight people it said shared or received content from its Architect Registration Examination, a grueling, six-part test required to become a licensed architect — and which it says ensures people’s safety isn’t put at risk by sketchy designs.

“That license exists as a contract between the state government and the public that the holder of the license is qualified to protect you, to protect your health, to protect your safety and protect your welfare,” council CEO Michael Armstrong told The Post.

“And if somebody has been inappropriately qualified … then that contract between the government and the public has been broken,” he said.

Almost all of the accused drafting dodgers currently work for or were once employed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill — the firm that designed One World Trade Center and many of the world’s tallest buildings.

They were outed by a whistleblower, and the council’s probe found the eight New Yorkers — Charles Harris, Irene Wangpataravanich, Marti Gottsch, Rami Abou-Khalil, Isaiah Miller, Miguel Ferreira Da Silva Brochado, Nicole Kotsis and William Eng-Feng — guilty of circulating exam content through an email chain, according to the NCARB.

The wrongdoing began with one person emailing another some exam material, and that person then added to the missive and forwarded it, and so on, according to Armstrong.

But one of the test-takers actually tried to pass off the group’s actions to The Post as no big deal — claiming that they’re commonplace in the industry.

“It’s not like we snuck into the exam and took photos. We didn’t remove any content from any of the exams. We just had conversations,” said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “In any office, people talk about exams.”

Two of the accused, Abou-Khalil and Eng-Feng, had already received their architecture licenses, according to the state Education Department’s database.

NCARB said it has suspended the certificates it awarded the pair.

The other six are barred from receiving the board certificate for two years.

The Education Department said it is “aware of this matter and is currently reviewing relevant information.”

Gottsch and Kotsis declined to comment. Harris and Abou-Khalil didn’t return requests for comment. Wangpataravanich, Miller, Ferreira Da Silva Brochado and Eng-Feng couldn’t be reached.