Foreword

It is vital for any professional, with their mind toward longevity and endurance, to develop a moral philosophy. For it is exactly where one’s philosophies intersect with one’s actions that life truly takes off—a connection between motivation and outcome.

The following six tenets are a starting point—a pre-manifesto. The hope is I have the wherewithal to revise and better express them over the years.

Tenets

Access

The practice of architecture shall always pursue and advocate for universal, non-discriminatory access. The built environment shall support the greater over the few in all its expressions.

Universal access to life’s opportunities is critical to the health and well-being of a society. Opportunity given to one is opportunity given to all—benefiting all.

Contribution

Buildings act both internally on their occupants and externally on their surroundings. They bridge time with place—synthesizing with human undertakings of shelter, safety, economy, and community. These physical constructs will often outlive their initial sponsors and uses.

As such, the built environment is inherently part of the public trust—and in its service.

Good

The built environment is, by its very nature, a physical manifestation. This physical-ness shall never be used as an impediment.

The design and use of architecture as a tool or system of repression is purely unethical—akin to a doctor or nurse using their position to disable or harm. Architects shall play no part in, nor give advice on, any non-academic form of incarceration.

Humanity

The built environment is, at its core, a human expression. Decisions in the process of building shall be made to support the joy, dignity, and necessities of humans.

Humility

The practice of architecture, as with all forms of design, shall never be promoted or used as a substitute for solutions to complex, multidisciplinary issues—psychological, sociological, economic, environmental, or spiritual.

Nature

The history of the built environment—human civilization—is fundamentally rooted in the exploitation of nature. All work shall pay homage to and respect this fact.

Vernacular architecture is high design disguised as the mundane—like a spoon or a soda can—providing contemporaries with millennia-past solutions for real and ongoing conditions which often persist far longer than the civilizations they serve.

Summary

In an increasingly globalized, capitalist environment, the need for an ethical framework is critical. Conflicts of interest multiply as competition meets fragmented labor.

Written tenets serve as guiding rails—towards a practice both passionate and proud.