Type and Duration
PhD-Thesis, September 2014 until January 2018 (finished)Coordinator
Institute of Architecture and PlanningMain Research
Sustainable Planning and ConstructionField of Research
Sustainable Urban DesignDescription
The role and capabilities of architects and architectural firms to act in a social responsible way in a globalized and multi-cultural context is investigated in this study. The underlying premise of this project is that architects and their firms do have a social responsibility both within and beyond their practice. It aims to close the gap between the normative ethical discourse and the descriptive daily practice and the enactment of ethics within and across the fields of building design and construction. The focus of this study is primarily on sustainable aspects within the process of producing architecture rather than on the evaluation of a building in its economic, ecological and social performance. Moreover, this study seeks to build a framework for architectural firms to enhance their ability to work and act in a socially responsible manner in an international context. Therefore, the research is theoretically founded on 1) Sustainability in the field of construction and the role of design service, and 2) the application of corporate governance and business ethics and, within it, Stakeholder Theory. Argumentative Discourse Analysis (ADA; Fischer, 1995; Hajer, 1995) provides an analytical framework for the investigation of the sustainability and responsibility discourse and the application of it in architectural firms. The objective is to contribute to underexplored areas in the international understanding of sustainable and responsible building processes.Keywords
Construction processes, Social Responsibility, Architectural Firms
