Context 167 - March 2021

26 C O N T E X T 1 6 7 : M A R C H 2 0 2 1 value-engineered. The capitalist system probably contributed to the growth of the economic sphere at the expense of the other two.To compensate for this imbalance, professionals have tried to meas- ure the economic gains of ecology. For example, they have looked for evidence of how removing parking and providing street trees can attract shoppers, or how property values can be raised by increasing access to green spaces. The social sphere is rarely dealt with at all. Applying mon- etary currency to the environmental sphere only results in the transference of these non-economic gains on to the economy sphere, increasing its relevance and devaluing the other strands further. Some might argue that quantifying social and ecological variables such as heritage, culture, nature, beauty, health and wellbeing could risk enabling savings in those areas. Conversely, the failure to quantify these eliminates their account- ability altogether, making asset reduction or loss a less threatening prospect. This lack of account- ability has left social and ecological fields arguing for agendas that respond to their specific ethical motives, but without much leverage. An accidental outcome of this imbalance is that built environment students lack sufficient exposure to all three strands of sustainability in equal measure. Take the field of architecture, for example: course accreditation criteria largely reflect a focus on the building as an object, and an overall tendency towards form and tec- tonics, only considering an understanding of impact in a course’s later years. However, the socio-environmental crisis we face dictates that designers must begin with an understanding of place. A comprehensive initial analysis of context and the ecosystem of the setting should precede the architectural design, which is always another component of a larger, complex system. Only then should the philosophical and technical descrip- tion of architectural objects follow. This much- needed shift in paradigm, from object-in-space to component-of-place, is crucial to sustainability. Course validation criteria disregard staff development in areas where other fields of expertise overlap with architectural practice, and limit the number of external visiting board members from other disciplines. Ironically, col- laborative approaches would anticipate that specialisms outside the realm of architectural practice have important roles to play in shaping an architect’s mind. Obsolete methodologies are not exclusive to architecture. Some urban design courses focus on form-first master planning. This may be a naive attempt to validate the relevance of urban designers as technical specialists, as necessary as architects but working at a different scale.While some architects can master plan, urban design practice requires different skill-sets and, more important, a different mindset. Specialist skill-sets of urban designers: Working • Within political frameworks • Negotiating to add value • Based on evidence • Bridging theory and practice • Joining disciplines and communities Understanding • Society and human behaviour • Policy and ownership • Design and form • Economy and value • Natural environments Thinking about • Human needs first • Systems and processes • Spaces between buildings • Long-term changes • Context and culture A context sketch of St Monans, Fife, by Willie Watt, architect and master planner of Nicoll Russell Studios, Dundee. Sketching by hand uses a part of the human brain that helps develop a unique understanding of space, spatial hierarchies and character that can not be acquired by photographing or computerising imagery.