Murtagh, N R A H R (2015) Harnessing the motivations of architectural designers to engage with sustainable construction. In: Raiden, A and Aboagye-Nimo, E (eds.) Proceedings of 31st Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2015, Lincoln, UK.
Abstract
Engagement with the sustainability agenda is not only organisational but also personal. However, there has been little attention paid in the construction literature to psychological factors which can influence sustainable construction. Drawing on psychological theories of motivation, the current study aimed to address this gap. Owner-managers of 16 small architectural design practices in the London area were interviewed and inductive thematic analysis was conducted on their responses. Four clusters of themes emerged: excellence in design, self-identity, enjoyment and other job motivations, which included impact on people. These intrinsic motivations are likely to be pursued for their own sake but also align strongly with sustainability objectives. By associating sustainability goals with intrinsic motivations, sustainability discourses come to be not only about climate change or the environment but more fundamentally a part of what people want to do each day. In this way, the reach of sustainable design may be extended beyond those who have a personal interest and commitment to the environment, and may contribute to industry-wide change.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | architectural design; motivation; sustainability |
| Index terms: | motivation, owner, drawing, commitment, sustainable construction, sustainable design, manager, architectural designer, architectural design, climate change, identity, thematic analysis, London |
| Subjects: | profession, practitioner, climate science, psychology, technical documentation, design practice, Geography, methods and analysis, sustainable construction, design process, sociology |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Human Resources, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here