Architectural practice of sustainability: A question of worldview

Sustainability challenges the predominant mechanical paradigm rooted in 17th century science and calls forth a new ecological worldview. In this way, sustainability may be to the 21st century what humanism was to 15th century Europe and its historic movement toward mechanism. This study examines changes in attitudes, values, and behavior indicative of the shift from the mechanical to the ecological worldview particular to architects and their practice. Studying these two worldviews offers a way to inform and reorient the process of design to achieve more sustainable rather than less sustainable built environments.; According to Horst Rittel (1930-1990), a pioneering theorist of design and planning, the worldview of the designer is implicated in every decision involved in the design process. Rittel also challenges the ability of a mechanistic design approach indicative of Modernism and based upon Newtonian science to be responsive to interactive open systems and social needs. Carolyn Merchant, environmental historian and theorist, establishes the ecological and mechanical worldviews operational in today's Western Society and their underlying premises as presented in her work, The Death of Nature. The dichotomy between Merchant's mechanical worldview and ecological worldview is summarized by the diametric emphasis each places upon object (product), process, relationships, and context.; This study used two empirical research strategies to analyze and describe how the worldview of the architect leads to more or less sustainable built environments. These two strategies are: (1) comparative analysis of worldview orientations and patterns in practice; and (2) attitude survey research among 185 architectural students in 2004 and 2005. Using grounded theory and the "constant comparative" method of data analysis (Glaser and Strauss), distinct patterns of similarities and differences emerged from the data consistent with Merchant's worldview premises and revealed a central phenomenon: Worldviews and Their Conditional Influences upon Architectural Practice. Theoretical concepts generated by comparative analysis were verified in survey research and confirmed two worldview orientations and their distinct courses of action, one mechanical and the other ecological.; Research findings imply that an ecological design approach that prioritizes process over object, relationships over autonomy, and context-dependence increased the possibility of a sustainable outcome. Alternatively, a mechanical design approach prioritized object over process, autonomy over relationships, and context independence and indicated a tendency toward less sustainable outcomes. The shift from a mechanistic design approach to an ecological and sustainable design approach requires a revolutionary change in how architectural design is practiced and taught. This study presents mapping, civic engagement, and storytelling as three strategies to reorient practice toward an architectural practice of sustainability. A theoretical model integrates findings as a guide to sustainable design action.