Architectural Design

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2nd ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: CPD0810-27/4028

177-184 ethics ethics section final_:ava basics ethics template 8/18/10 5:39 PM Page 182

Kirkbride Buildings

The mid-nineteenth century saw the rise

in state-supported treatment of the

mentally ill in the US and consequently,

there was a rise in the building of public

‘lunatic asylums’. Dr Thomas Story

Kirkbride was a founding member of the

Association of Medical Superintendents

of American Institutions for the Insane

(AMSAII). He promoted a standardised

method of asylum construction and

mental health treatment, known as the

‘Kirkbride Plan’. The first asylum opened

in New Jersey in 1847.

The building itself was meant to have

a curative effect and was considered

‘a special apparatus for the care of

lunacy’. Each building followed the

same basic floor plan described as

a ‘shallow V’, where central

administration buildings were flanked

by two wings of tiered wards. Wards

were to be short enough that a breeze

of fresh air could be carried through

them and have spacious windows to

let in light. Wards for the most difficult

patients had single corridors, which

made surveillance easier and security

better. At a time when few private

homes had central heating, gas or

toilets, Kirkbride Buildings incorporated

gas lamps in each room, central water

tanks above the administration centre,

and boilers in the basements that

heated air to be pumped into wards.

One aspect of architecture that raises

an ethical dilemma is that of sheer scale

and therefore the environmental impact

of the materials and energy required to

create and use buildings. Construction

of buildings and their use account for

around half of all greenhouse gas

emissions and energy consumed in

the US each year. Waste from the

construction industry in the UK is three

times that of waste from all domestic

use and many building materials are

considered hazardous and require

specialist waste treatments.

As the people who create the early

stage designs for buildings before

construction takes place, architects

are well placed to realise buildings that

operate with less energy and use less

materials. This can be accomplished

through a great number of approaches;

from proper siting, material selection or

day-lighting strategies. But how much

responsibility should an architect have

for the impacts of buildings when they

work alongside town planners, housing

developers or building regulators?

Is it up to these people to request and

plan for more sustainable architecture

or should architects have the influence

and inclination to change to the way

we live?

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CaseCase study study

2nd ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: CPD0810-27/4028

177-184 ethics ethics section final_:ava basics ethics template 8/18/10 5:38 PM Page 182