Ethics for Architects: 50 Dilemmas of Professional Practice (Architecture Briefs)

152 Pages·2010·0.502 MB·English

by  Thomas Fisher

Ethics for Architects

Ethics for
Architects
50 Dilemmas of Professional Practice
Thomas
Fisher
Princeton Architectural Press, New York
The Architecture Briefs series takes on a
variety of single topics of interest to architecture
students and young professionals. Field-
specific information and digital techniques are
presented in a user-friendly manner along with
basic principles of design and construction. The
series familiarizes readers with the concepts
and technical terms necessary to successfully
translate ideas into built form.
Also available in this series:
Architects Draw:
Freehand Fundamentals
Sue Ferguson Gussow
978-1-56898-740-8
Digital Fabrications:
Architectural and Material Techniques
Lisa Iwamoto
978-1-56898-790-3
Building Envelopes:
An Integrated Approach
Jenny Lovell
978-1-56898-818-4
Architectural Photography the Digital Way
Gerry Kopelow
978-1-56898-697-5
To my father, who first sparked my interest
in ethics, and my mother, who showed me
how to live a good life
Published by
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New York, New York 10003
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Printed and bound in China
13 12 11 10 4 3 2 1 First edition
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except in the context of reviews.
Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify
owners of copyright. Errors or omissions will be
corrected in subsequent editions.
Editor: Dan Simon
Designer: Jan Haux
Special thanks to: Nettie Aljian, Bree Anne Apperley,
Sara Bader, Nicola Bednarek Brower, Janet Behning,
Becca Casbon, Carina Cha, Tom Cho, Penny (Yuen
Pik) Chu, Carolyn Deuschle, Russell Fernandez, Pete
Fitzpatrick, Linda Lee, Laurie Manfra, John Myers,
Katharine Myers, Steve Royal, Andrew Stepanian,
Jennifer Thompson, Paul Wagner, Joseph Weston,
and Deb Wood of Princeton Architectural Press
—Kevin C. Lippert, publisher
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fisher, Thomas, 1953–
Ethics for architects : 50 dilemmas of professional
practice / Thomas Fisher.
p. cm. — (Architecture briefs series)
ISBN 978-1-56898-946-4 (alk. paper)
1. Architects—Professional ethics. 2. Architecture—
Moral and ethical aspects. I. Title.
NA1995.F57 2009
174’.972—dc22
2009036440
Contents

Introduction
10
1 2

General Obligations
Obligations to the Public
Conflicts of Interest Repressive Governments
17 39
Uncompensated Work Corrupt Politicians
19 41
Community Service Public Officials
21 44
Pro Bono Work Public Opinion
23 46
Living Conditions Public Bailouts
25 49
Working Conditions Public Reviews
28 52
Layoffs Public Health
30 54
Unequal Pay Cultural Differences
33 57
3 4
Obligations Obligations
to the Client to the
Profession
Self-Destructive Behavior Greed
63 87
Distrustful Behavior Insensitivity
65 89
Dishonest Behavior Jealousy
68 91
Deceptive Behavior Betrayal
70 94
Spendthrift Behavior Treachery
72 96
Solicitous Behavior Unfairness
75 99
Unrealistic Expectations Uncertainty
77 101
Manipulative Situations Cheating
79 104
Deceiving a Client
82
5 6
Obligations Obligations
to Colleagues to the
Environment
Office Affairs Environmental Hypocrisy
109 131
Working Hours Environmental Conflicts
111 133
Labor Law Violations Contextual Conflicts
113 136
Crediting Coworkers Social Justice
116 138
Accommodating Disabilities Future Generations
118 140
Firm Bankruptcy Other Species
120 143
Firm Loyalties Reducing Waste
123 145
Untrustworthy Colleagues Reducing Consumption
125 147
Rights of Nature
150
Postscript: Why Ethics Matters Now
152
Introduction
I began my architectural career with an ethical dilemma, when a firm agreed to let me work for them—for
free. Still in school, I needed money, but I also needed the experience, and so I accepted their offer, aware
of the unfairness of it, not only to me but also to others who could not agree to such terms because they
depended on summer jobs to pay for their education. That experience introduced me to the way architectural
offices worked, and it also initiated my interest in the ethics of professional practice, which led to this book.
Like most people, architects want to do the right thing. That is often easier said than done,
however, as I show in the case studies that follow, which are based on situations that I have encountered
directly or have heard of from colleagues. In each case I try to sort out the most appropriate response,
drawing from the four major approaches to Western ethics: what it means to be a good person (virtue eth-
ics) or to have a good society (contract ethics), and what is the right action in terms of the individual (duty
ethics) or the group (utilitarian ethics). A tabulation of the four approaches might look like this:
Good Character Right Action
Individual Virtue ethics Duty ethics
Group Contract ethics Utilitarian ethics
These four approaches to ethics relate to four of the phases of architectural projects: pursuing
and attaining the commission, assembling the team and signing the contract, developing the design and
contract documents, and administering the construction and close-out of the project. Although all phases of
an architectural project can raise a diversity of ethical dilemmas, each phase tends to draw more heavily on
one approach to ethics more than others.
The gaining of a commission often depends as much on the character of the architect and the
chemistry between the client and designer as on anything that the firm has already built. Here, virtue eth-
ics, with its emphasis on character traits such as honesty, integrity, and fairness, can make the difference
between an architect and client developing a good working relationship or not.
Upon receipt of a commission, though, the architect’s command of contract ethics becomes more
important. The negotiation of the rights and responsibilities of different parties, the heart of social contract
theory, plays itself out in the agreements between architects and clients, as well as in those between architects
and consultants. Doing this well, without antagonizing others or disadvantaging ourselves, makes all the differ-
ence between good and bad relations in a project.