Fields of sustainable architecture

Owen, Ceridwen; Dovey, Kim

doi:10.1080/13602360701865373

Cited by 28 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…As seen above, the business discourse-being more inclusive of what counts as 'proper' things for an architect to do-could help architects working in the business sector to defend the noncreative architecture. It is perhaps especially visible among those who take a critical stance on an architect's self-understanding centered on creativity and aesthetics (eg, Habraken, 2005;Owen and Dovey, 2008;RIBA, 2005;Ryghaug, 2003;Till, 2009). work they do by defining it as part of their work. The creativity discourse, on the other hand, could be-and often was-used to defend architects' autonomy and status, since "within the creative discourse, the architect is seen as expert" (Cohen et al, 2005, page 784).…”

Section: Sense-making Architect Identity and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given how previous literature (eg, Cohen et al, 2005;Habraken, 2005) described the creativity identity discourse as the most prevalent among architects, and how concerns like sustainability have been (discursively) excluded from the core of architect practice by the creativity-aesthetic identity discourse (eg, Owen and Dovey, 2008;Ryghaug, 2003), it is perhaps surprising that climate adaptation appeared to be considered a natural concern for architects. However, discussions about climate adaptation-as opposed to, for instance, highly standardized responses-may be an example of "conflict about professional remit … hidden within apparent conflict over technical issues" (Fischer andGuy, 2009, page 2590).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Concern and Confidence. Architects Making Sense of Climate Adaptation

Tøsse

2014

Environ Plann B Plann Des

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Drawing on the analytical concept of 'sensemaking' as defined by Weick [1995, Sensemaking in Organizations (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA)], and on scholarship concerning discourses on architect identity and the regulatory context of architecture, in this paper I examine how architects make sense of the issue of climate adaptation.I found that discourses on architects' identity and context appeared to shape the way climate adaptation was made sense of, rather than the other way around. Also, architect identity and contextual factors were more important in architects' sensemaking than features of the climate adaptation issue itself. Most important among the identity-related element of architects' sensemaking was the conception of architects' expertise as holistic-encompassing both aesthetic-creative and technical-craft-related dimensions. Among contextual factors in architects' sensemaking, national building regulations and the industry's focus on cost efficiency were the most central.

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Section: Sense-making Architect Identity and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Concern and Confidence. Architects Making Sense of Climate Adaptation

Tøsse

2014

Environ Plann B Plann Des

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“…Repositioning sustainability as fundamentally a social, as well as an environmental practice enables a more synergistic alignment of ideologies [8]. It is perhaps no coincidence, therefore, that the discourse in the 2007 awards simultaneously celebrates the breadth and depth of practices in sustainability and heralds the demise of the award.…”

Section: Judging Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The practice of sustainable architecture has been described as trying to serve two masters in the context of a future ideal state where sustainability and architecture are undifferentiated [8]. This results in a paradoxical condition where sustainability is simultaneously conceptualised as being both an inherent part of architecture and as being a separable aspect of it [8]. The extent to which the framing of sustainable architecture moves towards the extremities of oxymoron or tautology is subject to the framing of the field of sustainability itself.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing the Field: The Award for Sustainable Architecture

Owen

Lorrimar-Shanks

2015

Arts

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Abstract:In this paper, we explore the effect that the increasingly powerful discourse of sustainability is having on the field of architecture. The term "field" derives from Bourdieu's conceptualization of fields as dynamic spaces of social relations tending towards transformation or conservation. While the overlapping fields of sustainability and architecture have historically been characterized by resistance, shifts in environmental discourse towards complexity and systems thinking and the inclusion of cultural, social, political and economic concerns within the broader mandate of sustainability signal a more synergistic ideological terrain. We use methods of narrative analysis to explore these shifts through the localized discourse of the award for sustainable architecture within the Australian context and offer a brief comparative analysis of the sustainable architecture awards discourse in Britain and North America. As arguably the most public elucidations of the profession's ideology, architecture awards are a productive place in which to explore constructions of "sustainable architecture". The narrative analysis reveals a trajectory towards assimilation supported by the positioning of sustainability as fundamentally a social, as well as an environmental practice. Contentions surrounding the ultimate disappearance of the award, however, reveal a more perverse relationship between sustainability and architecture.

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“…Sustainable architecture has been caricatured as a fractured 'field' where the scientific, functional and analytic thinking practiced by building scientists or engineers often contrasts sharply with the artistic and aesthetic thinking typical of architects and architectural practice [1]. From this perspective, an "art elite" utilise design to enhance the expressiveness and meaningfulness of a building whilst a "green elite" concern themselves with its efficient operation and performance [2] (p. 9). Some academics have been critical of the way in which this split has been institutionalised and also the manner in which the "wider debate has prioritised environmental concerns (energy use, climate change) and economic considerations (cost savings, speed of construction, short life spans for buildings)" [3] (p. 371).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Differentiation to Concretisation: Integrative Experiments in Sustainable Architecture

Farmer¹

2017

Societies

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It is widely recognised that the achievement of a sustainable built environment requires holistic design practices and approaches that are capable of balancing the varied, and often conflicting, demands of environmental, social and economic concerns. However, academics and practitioners have recently highlighted, and expressed concerns about the knowledge gap that currently exists within environmental policy, research and practice between understandings of the technical performance of buildings and their social meaning and relevance. This paper acknowledges these concerns and is developed from the author's own direct experiences of practice-led research and active participation in design-build projects. It argues for a theoretically-informed and socially-engaged approach to built environment research, pedagogy and practice that seeks to encourage an integrative understanding of the design, realisation and use of sustainable architecture. The paper draws on the Philosophy of Technology and in particular the work of Andrew Feenberg to analyse the buildings and to propose an integrated and inclusive framework for understanding sustainable design that acknowledges not just what the built environment does, but also what it means. It also suggests that what a building means also informs what it can do, and for whom. Although the technical and social dimensions of design can be interpreted as distinct practices and are often institutionally separated, this paper argues that the realisation of sustainable design must seek a conscious interaction and interchange between these two differentiated dimensions.

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Fields of sustainable architecture

Cited by 28 publications

References 7 publications

Concern and Confidence. Architects Making Sense of Climate Adaptation

Concern and Confidence. Architects Making Sense of Climate Adaptation

Framing the Field: The Award for Sustainable Architecture

From Differentiation to Concretisation: Integrative Experiments in Sustainable Architecture

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