The paper argued for the obligation of architects to make buildings buildings that people will find 'beautiful'. Whilst an obligation to accessible beauty is universal to humanity, its satsfaction can be local for a ny culture. Four objections to the thesis are discussed, but the conclusion is that, amongst the several moral obligations architects are faced with, that to provide accessible beauty is a fundamental obligation.

Published in English with parallel Chinese translation. The book considers the relationship between Western philosophy and architecture. We discuss philosophy’s contribution to architecture and the way in which we can reflect philosophically about architecture, that is to say principally about individual buildings rather than cities. This double role of philosophy is unusual in what might be seen as a technical field: a philosophical investigation would more often look critically at the process of gaining new knowledge or designing and producing something, (...) or it would try to understand or evaluate types of artefacts (for example computers). In contrast, the practice of architecture is already deeply involved in and shaped by philosophical reflection and ideas. Architecture is guided by architectural theory, an ongoing discourse that bridges between philosophy and the practical discipline. Thus when philosophy looks at architectural artefacts or production, it investigates something that is itself partly philosophical, at least in the widest sense of the word. (shrink)

Proceedings form a conference held in Cambridge in 2004. Architecture intersects with ethics in numerous ways and though the book aims to examine some of them, it does not pretend to be comprehensive. Ethical dilemmas arise for all of us as individuals and in every kind of work, since we all make decisions daily which imply a scale of values as to where to place our energy or our resources. At a global scale the huge disparities in affluence between differing (...) parts of the world, and between differing sectors of society in the so-called developed world, raise awkward issues of judgement that have led many who are trained in the design disciplines to feel that the exercise of their skills is irrelevant, at least until such disparities are substantially reduced. But the focus of this book is on the particular professional dilemmas that architects face, broadly within the context of the developed world. Within this topic there is plenty to discuss. Despite the final section of the book, which does examine some more general philosophical issues (namely the pervasive influence of the thinking of Heidegger and Kant), the kinds of dilemmas raised are not “fundamental”, and mostly revolve around “everyday” ethical issues – what is it right to do in these circumstances? It therefore aims to inform the practice of architecture, to encourage a more self-reflective professionalism, and to assist in a broader understanding of issues of practice by those who theorise. (shrink)