Opinion The architect and the construction worker

Hadid was not legally wrong about this. Issues of site safety and construction worker welfare are not covered under an architect’s contract (or training). She was not wrong to say that worker safety and welfare is outside her scope of work. But she was dishonest to imply that she has no power to do anything about it.

While architects have less agency in the ecosystem of construction than large construction firms, developers, and the government, they have far more agency and influence than the socio-economically handicapped workers and citizen activists. Architects and their clients are the two most powerful non-governmental entities in the construction industry and as influential actors, for architects to pass the buck on worker safety is a matter of shame and calls for introspection.

There has been some discourse around the role of ethics in the practice of architecture. In his essays and lectures, Bangalore-based architect Prem Chandavarkar has argued for changes in the teaching of architecture to include exploration of ethics and morality in practice. Bombay-based architect Brinda Somaya ensures that building on-site temporary creches and schools for the kids of construction workers is included in her projects. But such practices are a tiny minority.

The hegemonic thought in the practice of architecture is that professionalism is cold and rational, and that professional practice is dissociated from social concerns such as workers’ rights. “Don’t confuse the two”, as the professor says to Radha.

This is not true. A profession creates its own values which follow the larger moral zeitgeist of society. Architects are not the only professionals who have come under ethical scrutiny. Fashion designers have been questioned about their engagement with the exploitative garment sweatshops. While most luxury brands have maintained the status quo, for many designers, sourcing their products through ethical channels is a matter of market value. We have seen a similar discourse in the food retail industry and similar scrutiny in the practice of medicine.

The values of professionalism can be gradually created through discourse in the arenas of practice and education. Somaya’s practice proves that influential architects are indeed capable of making changes in realms that might legally be outside their scope of work — the welfare of construction workers’ children, in her case. Senior architects and large firms do hold sway over builders and the construction industry. They must lead the change and set standards for others to follow.

Secondly, a discussion around these values must be generated in academic spaces. Students’ work in design schools is (rightly) very exploratory — bordering on fantasy, sometimes. Construction workers’ rights are still closer to the reality of architectural practice than growing mangroves on building terraces or designing a colony on Mars, and educators in design schools must encourage students to explore questions of social ethics. While one does come across the occasional “deployable housing for construction workers” project, the exercise is still more rooted in design than in practice.

Students rarely explore questions such as pushing the agenda of workers’ rights in the industry through their clients and contractors. The scope of work is still seen through the limiting lens of contractual responsibilities, and while architects can design an efficient structure that gives housing to workers, the more important thing is not the design of such housing but critiquing the fundamental structure of the ecosystem. Conferences and seminars, which also allow for exploration and are relatively sealed off from the economic pressures of the construction industry, are also spaces that need to investigate the role of architects in the issue of construction workers’ rights.

Some governments in India have also taken steps to make life a bit easier for construction workers. In August, the Delhi government launched mobile day-care centres and “Doctor on Wheels” to provide creche facilities, regular health check-ups and first aid to construction workers. It has also taken significant steps in revamping the deteriorating Delhi Construction Board. Some construction companies in Karnataka and Maharashtra have also collaborated with NGOs such as Mobile Creches. Why should architects be bystanders?

In denying her responsibility for construction workers’ welfare, Hadid followed Bilimoria’s advice to Radha in In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones. She kept her sympathy towards the construction workers separate from her role as a designer. Her firm has successfully completed the project, while in the film, Radha was threatened with failure by the jury. It boils down to what we take as virtues and vices. All virtues are created over time. If a certain virtue does not exist in the practice at the moment, architects can create it. There is no reason to maintain the status quo.

The writer is an independent scholar and researcher of Architecture and City Studies