Abstract

The development of globalisation, both economically and financially, has promoted the flow of both information and people. Globalisation is seen as an outcome of advancing communication technology and the development of the Internet, which subsequently encouraged international interdependence and the compression of time and space. This book is devoted to answering the question: In what way does the impact of globalisation affect the role of architecture, and how should it be interpreted ethically? This book argues that the ethical evaluation of the role of architecture should be linked to architecture’s natural ethical responsibility to form a relationship with a culture. Today, iconic architectural forms and celebrity architects lead the innovation/transformation process, while the “ordinary” practice of architecture leads the innovation/stabilization process using the differentiation/integration dynamic. Architectural theory advances the use of the interpretation/reinterpretation dynamic in architecture, which helps to destabilise meaning in architectural language. When this theory is transcribed to real world architecture, it can result in the alienation of the physical horizons of cities and thus in the alienation of its citizens.