Buildings, Culture and Environment: Informing Local and Global Practices

Citation

(2005), "Buildings, Culture and Environment: Informing Local and Global Practices", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 6 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijshe.2005.24906aae.006

Buildings, Culture and Environment: Informing Local and Global Practices

Buildings, Culture and Environment: Informing Local and Global Practices

Edited by Raymond J. Cole and Richard LorchBlackwellOxford2003404 pp.ISBN: 1-4051-0004-4£65.00

A polarization exists between those who advocate globalisation as a solution based on the exchange of ideas, information, technologies and practices and those who avoid the wealth of global information to instead advocate local solutions. One significant aspect of globalisation is that designers, clients, funders and researchers of the built environment are bombarded with a huge availability of international information, products, codes and standards. These promise technological solutions to urgent problems.

However, the promise often goes unfulfilled because universal solutions fail to account for the social or cultural context. Many design strategies and technologies currently fail to be successfully implemented because of the inability of their designers to understand the needs and expectations of those who are intended to use it. Although largely based on examples of information transfer between OECD countries, there are significant lessons for all who are involved with the creation and maintenance of the built environment in both the developed and developing worlds. Capabilities need to be developed to adapt global information for local purposes and circumstances. This book suggests a positive path forward to form a framework and critically engage with local culture and social expectations into solutions for the built environment. It should be read by everyone interested in the built environment, technology and information transfer.