A Systems and Contingency Analysis Applied to Construction Projects of Exceptional Architectural Design

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Objectives / Method / Assumptions / Concept of Exceptional Architectural Design Defined / Structure of the Dissertation / Return to Index Page

This dissertation attempts to analyze the nature of construction projects of exceptional architectural design using contingency theory as a tool of analysis. The writer believes that the design and management functions of a construction project will be influenced by the quality of the architectural design that is aspired to by the client and/or owner and produced by the design team.

This chapter will explain the objectives of the dissertation, the method of study, and the underlying assumptions. The concept of exceptional architectural design will be defined, and the overall structure of the dissertation will be presented

The advisor for this dissertation was Mr. Peter Lansley, a member of the faculty in the Department of Construction Management at the University of Reading, England. I am grateful for Mr. Lansley's cogent analysis and comments made during the preparation of this dissertation.

Objectives

The objective of this dissertation is to begin to study projects that involve exceptional architectural design in order to gain a better understanding of them so that the most appropriate and effective project management systems can be implemented to better achieve the overall project goals. Within the limited scope of this dissertation, only the underlying nature of the type of project will be explored, with only a limited analysis given to the strategic maneuvers that can be effected to better manipulate the project towards the desired goals. This area of strategic management could be the basis for further research. In addition, as the subject under study in this dissertation is fairly novel, there is not much direct literature directly related to this.

Method

This dissertation will propose a series of relationships and influences. For each proposition, the argument will be defended either on the basis of applied organizational theory, or on the basis of events in specific past projects. These past projects are researched through available literature, or through a synopsis presented in the form of a case study.

With regards available literature, it will be observed that a number of architects and buildings are mentioned fairly regularly. This is not to infer that these architects or buildings are the only ones suitable for research in this dissertation, but rather that literature is available for these buildings and architects, which is generally not the case for a majority of projects.

An important point to note in this method of the dissertation is that series of empirical relationships are cast as causal statements. Generally, the influences over the relations are viewed as probabilistic and not deterministic. In consequence, there are many variables acting upon a relationship, more variables than could be experimentally controlled. For this reason, additional research would need to be performed in order to determine if an undetermined variable, say for example an individual's relative position in society, is actually of more importance to the relationship than the suggested primary influence. Further research would need to include more precise statistical measures, say regression and discriminate function analyses which include the principles of probabilistic influences and causal effects that would be independent of other conditions [101].

It will be noted in reading the dissertation that a bias is taken towards the design process, and that effects on the project's sub-systems are viewed in terms of design elements. This is due in part to the writer's interest in the design process, in part due to the limited allowable length of the dissertation, and in part to the larger volume of literature that studies the construction and physical implementation aspects of construction projects.

Assumptions

A number of conscious assumptions are made in pursuing this dissertation. Inevitably, there are most likely a series of unconscious assumptions that are made, all of which can affect the method of study, and the interpretation of results.

First and foremost, an assumption is made that the process of exceptional architectural design can be treated as an independent variable in order to evaluate its influence on other variables.

A late 20th century North American social structure is assumed. While a North American social structure has perhaps many parallels to current West European social structures, a difference of values and attitudes will exist. These differences become more pronounced between other cultures, say Asian or Indian, and further research would need to be done in these cultures. In addition, the time in history is important as well. Stinchcombe [102] argues that a correlation exists between the types of society and the structure of organizations. He gives an example of the railroads, which he terms a large scale enterprise, which he maintains could not have been developed until the appropriate social forms had been invented. In a similar vein Burns and Stalker [103] argue that technical progress and organizational development are one and the same trend in human affairs. Therefore, I believe that many of the relationships studied in this dissertation are in a steady state (albeit in many cases gradual) of change, and the relationships are specific to a distinct time and culture.

This dissertation views the project as a process operating between individuals and groups within the context of organizations. Heirs & Pehrson [104] argue that the essential characteristics of the present age follows from the fact that it is the age of organizations. Were this view correct, it could explain a bias in the approach of this dissertation that relies on organizational theory as a means of analysis and interpretation of projects of exceptional design.

For the purpose of this dissertation, distinction will not be made between the client of a project, and the owner. There are instances where the client is not the owner, and the interactions and influences arising from this situation could be the subject of a separate research.

Concept of Exceptional Architectural Design Defined

It would be useful to discuss the concept of exceptional architectural design. For the purposes of this dissertation, exceptional architectural design will refer to those works that can be considered as works of art. Norberg-Schultz [105] notes that:

As a work of art, architecture concretizes higher objects or "values". It gives visual expression to ideas which mean something to man because they "order" reality. Only through such an order, only by recognizing their mutual dependence, do things become meaningful. Such ideas may be social, ideological, scientific, philosophical or religious.

This concept of a work of art is also noted by the German philosopher Hegel [106] where "a work of art, is, however, not merely a sensuous thing, but Spirit manifested through a sensuous medium."

That the ideas that underlie exceptional architecture can be social, ideological, scientific, philosophical, or religious are important in the context of this dissertation in that those ideas, from a systems point of view, will affect many of the project's subsystems. A systems approach will be used to study the effects of these underlying ideas. This systems approach is used in this dissertation because of the belief, shared by Cleland and King [107] that modern society is interdependent. Therefore, the impact of the social, ideological, etc. ideas will be evaluated in terms of their effects on the subsystems of the project.

Structure of the Dissertation

The dissertation is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter introduces the dissertation, and discusses the approach and goals. Chapters 2 through 7 look at individual subsystems, which, borrowing from Kast and Rosenweig [108] are: Goal and Values System, Technological System, Organizational Goals, Individual and Group Dynamics, Organizational Structure, and External Environment. In these chapters an analysis is made on the interrelationship of the subsystems, and how the modifications of one subsystem will affect the other project subsystems. The final chapter (Chapter 8) analyses, by way of conclusion, some of the project management strategies that can be used on construction projects of exceptional architectural design, on the basis of the research in the preceding chapters.

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