Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition?
This paper focuses on coordination, fragmentation, and the potential for transition in the system of building professions in the American construction industry. The paper relies mainly on local press coverage of three iconic New York skyscrapers—the Empire State Building (completed in 1931), the U.N...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| Online Access: | https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/njsts/article/view/2328 |
| _version_ | 1797719260175269888 |
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| author | Kathryn B. Janda |
| author_facet | Kathryn B. Janda |
| author_sort | Kathryn B. Janda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper focuses on coordination, fragmentation, and the potential for transition in the system of building professions in the American construction industry. The paper relies mainly on local press coverage of three iconic New York skyscrapers—the Empire State Building (completed in 1931), the U.N. Secretariat (completed in 1952) and One World Trade Center (completed in 2014)— to compare how the roles of different building professionals are seen by and portrayed to the public eye over time. The historic cases show how different professional groups—builders in the 1930s, architects in the 1950s, and engineers in the 2010s—imbued each project with “sustainable” qualities appropriate for its time. Using a system of professions (Abbott 1988[r]) approach, the paper describes and discusses the implications of changes in societal interest from doing to designing in American skyscrapers. The paper concludes by arguing that greater coordination between doers and designers in the construction industry, of the kind exhibited in the early days of skyscrapers, would enable the social production of sustainable buildings. For this to happen, however, society would need to place a higher value on tangible outcomes compared to lofty goals.. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:03:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f4e0a3b9b4194315b5945da03e85f3ad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1894-4647 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:03:14Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f4e0a3b9b4194315b5945da03e85f3ad2023-09-02T15:34:53ZengNordic Journal of Science and Technology StudiesNordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies1894-46472017-12-015210.5324/njsts.v5i2.2328Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition?Kathryn B. Janda0University of OxfordThis paper focuses on coordination, fragmentation, and the potential for transition in the system of building professions in the American construction industry. The paper relies mainly on local press coverage of three iconic New York skyscrapers—the Empire State Building (completed in 1931), the U.N. Secretariat (completed in 1952) and One World Trade Center (completed in 2014)— to compare how the roles of different building professionals are seen by and portrayed to the public eye over time. The historic cases show how different professional groups—builders in the 1930s, architects in the 1950s, and engineers in the 2010s—imbued each project with “sustainable” qualities appropriate for its time. Using a system of professions (Abbott 1988[r]) approach, the paper describes and discusses the implications of changes in societal interest from doing to designing in American skyscrapers. The paper concludes by arguing that greater coordination between doers and designers in the construction industry, of the kind exhibited in the early days of skyscrapers, would enable the social production of sustainable buildings. For this to happen, however, society would need to place a higher value on tangible outcomes compared to lofty goals..https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/njsts/article/view/2328 |
| spellingShingle | Kathryn B. Janda Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition? Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| title | Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition? |
| title_full | Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition? |
| title_fullStr | Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition? |
| title_short | Crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers: a system of building professions in transition? |
| title_sort | crafting sustainability in iconic skyscrapers a system of building professions in transition |
| url | https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/njsts/article/view/2328 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kathrynbjanda craftingsustainabilityiniconicskyscrapersasystemofbuildingprofessionsintransition |