The Architecture of Ethics

Ethics is one of the most important and least understood aspects of design practice. In his latest book, Thomas Fisher shows how ethics are inherent to the making of architecture – and how architecture offers an unusual and useful way of looking at ethics.

The Architecture of Ethics helps students in architecture and other design disciplines to understand the major approaches to ethics and to apply them to the daily challenges they face in their work. The book covers each of the four dominant approaches to ethics: virtue ethics, social contract ethics, duty ethics, and utilitarian ethics. Each chapter examines the dilemmas designers face from the perspective of one of these categories. Written in an accessible, jargon-free style, the text also features 100 illustrations to help integrate these concepts into the design process and to support visual understanding.

Ethics is now a required part of accredited architecture programs, making this book essential reading for all students in architecture and design.

"We need to listen carefully, especially when working in cultures different from our own, to what people value and prioritize in their lives and not just about what they need functionally or what the codes allow legally." Thomas Fisher

"We think about health, safety, and welfare (HSW) primarily as codes, life safety, technical issues. There isn’t a clear consensus in the profession about what “welfare” means. The older meaning was the idea of “well-being.” Ethically, as architects, we have obligations to larger communities, to strangers, to other species. How do we create environments that accommodate lots of different people, regardless of their backgrounds? Those are questions that need to be addressed in terms of welfare and often are not addressed in design or in architectural education." Thomas Fisher

About the author

Thomas Fisher is a Professor in the School of Architecture, Director of the Minnesota Design Center, and former Dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He was previously the Editorial Director of Progressive Architecture magazine and has written nine books, over 50 book chapters or introductions and over 400 articles in professional journals and major publications. This is the third book he has written about architecture and ethics.