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Ethics in Architecture Responsibilities and Moral Decisions in Sustainable Design DOI: 10.34810/rljaev1n12id389295 2 ETHICS IN ARCHITECTURE RESPONSIBILITIES AND MORAL DECISIONS IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN Karen Boujaoudeh Khoury Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of ethics in the professional practice of sustainable architecture. What is the architect responsible for, and to whom is s/he responsible? How does the architect make moral decisions when challenged with ethical encounters that ascend both at the level of ‘practice’ and ‘theory’ in the broader space-time framework of architectural realization? The paper designates the value of ethics in the profession nowadays and whether this value is being taken into consid- eration not only theoretically but practically throughout the project’s life cycle. The results of a small questionnaire survey of project managers, architects and building contractors reveal a list of ethical measures to be considered by architects when executing a sustainable project in an urban context in Lebanon. It leaves the reader with an open window of discus- sion on what architects should be aware of during the sustainable practice of this profession. Is the architect practicing ethics in his career or is s/ he only restricted to its theoretical measure? Keywords: Ethics, theory, architecture, sustainability, practice Ramon Llull Journal_12.indd 41 21/7/21 13:32 42 RAMON LLULL JOURNAL OF APPLIED ETHICS 2021. iSSUE 12 pp. 41-53 INTRODUCTION Architecture in the Construction Industry: Where does sustainable architecture stand as a profession? Activity or ‘practice’? Architecture is an art, not a science, and for that reason its standards and principles are aesthetic. Nevertheless, it is not similar to other arts, because since its purpose is to create suitable places and sustainable environments of social life, its purpose is by desig- nation ethical. Architecture is functional: sustainable design and its outcome form part of the same activity. Resolutions taken by architects in their daily practice have a constant influence on the lives of occupants and those affected by their work of design. These are obviously ethical decisions, but they are similarly professional ‘best-practice’ decisions taken in order to achieve the ideal results for the project in hand. For that reason, the ethical problems linked with architecture are within the practice of ar- chitecture, and their resolution is a basic of doing ‘fine’ architecture. Architecture is a job developed with the discrepancy between artists and handicrafts. But what makes it interesting is that architects as leading builders had common skills with craftsmen and other artisans from the beginning. LITERATURE REVIEW MORAL DECISIONS IN THEORY Ethics is defined as ‘the branch of philosophy dealing with values relat- ing to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain action and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions’ (Wassermann, Sullivan and Palermo 2000). Morality as a monitor to the ethical behavior, ‘a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior’ (Oxford Dictionary), is understood as one of the drives which assisted people to create societies, community, and cities. This feature makes ethics crucial for architecture. Architects began to fascinate the imagination of philosophers when the American Institute of Architects transformed its Code of Ethics several times between 1960 and 1987, replying precisely to numerous vital Supreme Court judgments. Even though the new code is sophisti- Ramon Llull Journal_12.indd 42 21/7/21 13:32 BOUJAOUDEH 43 ETHICS IN ARCHITECTURE RESPONSIBILITIES AND MORAL DECISIONS IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN cated in differentiating ethical standards of supreme behavior from the least, compulsory “Rules of Conduct,” it is somewhat basic in substance. The AlA Code of Ethics replies to disorganized public and legal insights of the correct role of architects in society, struggling to satisfy by leaving out the officially violent requirements formerly believed to be ethically mandatory. In terms of singular occupations, it is frequently presumed that archi- tects are not only gifted in the design and construction of buildings, but also of the uppermost ethical competence (J Dobson, 2010); N Carroll, 2015, for example, has outlined this back to the American Institute of Architects Code of Ethics set in 1947. The present code of ethics rotates around the notion that the common good is right for issues not established in laws (N Carroll, 2015). Ethical values are general and dissimilar to legal, social or religious moralities. ‘Ethical inquiries deal with supportive or dangerous perfor- mance toward people or other beings. They have to be notable amongst social demands which deal with the duties, customs and prohibitions of groups, or religious demands that deal with the nature of sanctity, or legal interrogations which deal with what has been organized into law in specific civilizations. The reason behind evolving as an ethical scholar involves an open-minded empathic reasonability, becoming more truth- ful, genuine and open, less biased, and more lenient. This method requires time and practice’ (Paul and Elder, 2006). A significant feature of ethics in the construction industry is individ- ual ethics repeatedly understood by construction professionals as just handling others with an equivalent degree of honesty as they would like to be treated (T Beachamp, N Bowie, 2004). MORAL DECISIONS IN PRACTICE Architecture is a profession associated with diverse concerns and fields. Architects are anticipated to be socially conscious and simultaneously have awareness on numerous technological schemes. The architect has to transform the knowledge from several fields into ‘architectural knowl- edge’. Furthermore, as a director or planner she/he frequently has to link the information among verbal terminologies, dissimilar kinds of graphic means or structural and environmental systems throughout the design period. Ramon Llull Journal_12.indd 43 21/7/21 13:32 44 RAMON LLULL JOURNAL OF APPLIED ETHICS 2021. iSSUE 12 pp. 41-53 “The Business of the architect is to make the designs and esti- mates, to direct the works, and to measure and value the different parts; he is the intermediate agent between the employer, whose honor and interest he is to study, and the mechanic, whose rights he is to defend. His situation implies great trust; he is responsible for the mistakes, negligence, and ignorance of those he employs and above all he is to take care that the workman’s bills do not exceed his own estimates. If these are the duties of the architect; with what modesty can his situation, and that of the builder or contractor, be united”. Sir John Soane. For project managers, one of the serious fundamentals of their profes- sion is the contemplation of ethics and social responsibility (Fry, T., 2009). There should be no clash among ethics and virtuous management. The architect as an artist is exceptionally capable to exercise moral thoughts in the course of moral negotiation. One might suppose ethical discrepancies to be met with self-confidence and overcome with intelli- gence. Nevertheless, architecture is very unlike other arts, since its purpose is to create suitable places and contexts of social life, then its determination is by definition ethical (Jane Collier, 2006). Architecture is a talent, an obsessive engagement with design, a profes- sion, and a business (D. Koehn, 2017). It is also a practice in the logic that diverse groups of people work together to accomplish particular activities; their communications and interactions create a ‘culture of practice’ in any given condition (Davis, C, 2001). And consequently, architecture as a profession is not restricted to the architect only. Con- tributors involved in the entire process of construction play a part in this profession. Therefore, ethics is not only an obligation for the architect but rather a requirement for all members involved in the construction industry. Project managers, engineers, contractors and specialists along with the architect, cooperate to achieve a project. It is vital that project managers accomplish their work in an ethical method. This quotation, from the preamble of the Code of Ethics for Project Managers (Watson, D., 2001), confirms the scope of proper ethical conduct required by project managers. Construction contractors are also likely to perform in an ethical rou- tine. A recent discussion survey of construction professionals designated the important role ethical conduct plays in construction contracting (T Beachamp, N Bowie, 2004), an unpredictable point in view of people Ramon Llull Journal_12.indd 44 21/7/21 13:32 BOUJAOUDEH 45 ETHICS IN ARCHITECTURE RESPONSIBILITIES AND MORAL DECISIONS IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN working in the construction industry are deemed as likely to withstand a major damage and five times more likely to be murdered than the aver- age for all industries (Davis, 2001). Being honest and accurate is also said to be an essential aspect of professional reliability, particularly when making dues and estimations (JA Brickley, CW Smith Jr, JL Zimmerman, 2002). Unlike architects, conversely, construction contractors have a repute for unethical performance, the main difficult being, according to a survey led by the journal Building Research and Information (H Sadri , 2012), the high level of arguments between managers and builders. Their com- monly poor behavior has been said to have emerged from the inflow of new construction companies with new people who bond that profes- sional
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