Ethical Decision Making in Architecture: Theories, Methods, Case Studies, Applied Ethics Anecdotes

Ömer Akın, Ph.D., has been a registered, practicing architect in the state of Pennsylvania, USA and in Turkey, since 1968; and teaching at the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, since 1977. He has been teaching a required course on Ethical Decision Making in Architecture for three decades.He has authored six technical/textbooks and encyclopedia entries that Amazon still offers: Representation and Architecture; Psychology of Architectural Design; A Cartesian Approach to Design Rationality; several entries in the Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Generative CAD; and Embedded Commissioning of Building Systems. The Psychology of Architectural Design has been a seminal title in the area of "design thinking" for over three decades. A former colleague, Bharat Dave, wrote about the Cartesian Approach to Design Rationality "Anyone who thinks architectural design is a subjective and irrational activity undertaken by creative and self-absorbed architects in moody offices in sublime isolation should take note... This book brings together support from fields as diverse as sciences, philosophy, cognitive psychology, design computation, and others to argue that architectural design is (and ought to be) an objective and rational process... As acknowledged by Akin, architectural history is replete with arguments for and against architecture as art or science, or both." The sellers of Embedded Commissioning of Building Systems write "[This book] provides an understanding of the underpinnings of embedded commissioning as the overarching building evaluation approach. [It] includes details on research findings in the areas of sensor networks, value based design, fields tools and AR/AV methods, just-in-time technologies, and wearable computers."Ömer Akın's literary interests run long and deep coming to fruition only recently through blogs (Coffee-Kahve Chronicles, 2013), and books. Hermit Crab (2016), a full length novel; Musings of a Male Menopausal Mutt (2017), a collection of poetry; and Discovered in Retrospect (2018), a collection of recollections; all available at Amazon Books. The sources of his work are both real and fictitious inspired by masters of Western and Eastern Philosophy: "When virtue is lost, benevolence appears; when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder."Contents of Ethical Decision Making in Architecture: Part ITheory: Ethics and Decision MakingChapter 1Ethics: Acting for the Greater GoodChapter 2Decision Making: Exercising ChoicesChapter 3Design Expertise and Creativity Chapter 4Institutional Ethics: Professional MoralityPart IICase Studies: Architectural DesignChapter 5Sydney Opera House: Risk vs. Innovation Chapter 6Decision Making and Ethics: in the Sydney Opera HouseChapter 7Fallingwater is Falling: Creativity Chapter 8Crystal Palace: Design Expertise Chapter 9Pruitt-Igoe: A Nation's ConsciencePart IIIMethods: Ethics and Decision MakingChapter 10Architectural Decision MakingChapter 11Plurality Theories of EthicsChapter 12Risk-Cost-Benefit AnalysisChapter 13Project Management: Planning / CPMChapter 14Design OptimizationPart IV Case Studies: Engineering Chapter 15Citicorp Tower Chapter 16John Hancock Tower Chapter 17K.C. Hyatt Regency HotelPart VApplied Ethics AnecdotesPrefaceWhat is Applied Ethics?Episode 1Air in Mainland China Episode 2Technology and Mental HealthEpisode 3What's with Industrial Farming?Episode 4Water, the Next Global CrisisEpisode 5Funding Our ClimateEpisode 6A Tale of Revenge Gone WrongEpisode 7Lawyer Purchases a Box of CigarsAppendixFood For ThoughtCitations and BibliographyFor more information contact the author at oa04@andrew.cmu.edu