Traversing Sustainable Architecture: Between Discourse and Practice

Concepts of ‘sustainability’ have increasing informed architectural discourse since
the environmental movement of the 1960s, yet practices of construction have
proved resistant to change. As Hunter Lovins describes, the construction industry
is “dynamically conservative – it works real hard to stay in the same place.” This
quote resonates with the premise of this research: ample information, knowledge
and technologies exist; so why is integration of sustainable architecture into practice
so slow? Existing literature indicates that despite the immense array of existing
information and knowledge, the discourse of sustainable architecture is still vast and
ambiguous. Additionally, the practice of sustainable architecture is fragmented and
often overrepresented by ‘shallow’ approaches adorned in technological add-ons.
The focus of this research is to investigate sustainable architecture discourse and
practice, identifying the key themes which bridge or act as barriers between these
two paradigms. These bridging or barrier themes are then analysed to develop
understanding as to how they interrelate, and are positioned within the field of
research.
The methodological approach for this research brings together bricolage and grounded
theory. This approach employs six interrelated qualitative and quantitative studies to
construct five key themes using information collected from a variety of primary and
secondary sources. Based on the ‘grounded-bricolage’ approach, methods include: (1)
diagramming and mapping of recent history, (2) a questionnaire and (3) series of semistructured
interviews with leading experts in sustainable architecture from industry
and academia, (4) architectural website content analysis, (5) qualitative periodical
content analysis and (6) visual content analysis. The six studies have been designed
responsively as new insights emerged and constructed in overlapping iterations
throughout the PhD process to contribute to a cohesive body of research.
The original contribution to knowledge of this dissertation is an articulated
understanding of the relationship between sustainable architecture discourse and
practice, specifically identifying the five key barriers:
• Definitions, terminology and language
• ‘Greenwashing’ and techno-centrism
• Information, knowledge and communication
• Approaches, perspectives and attitudes
• Visual language
Analysis of these themes explores their connections, content and potential to better
bridge the gap between discourse and practice. The findings offer insight into how
we discuss, practice, learn, communicate, approach, perceive and view sustainable
architecture and prompts a re-thinking of traditional understandings of discourse and
practice within the field.