‘Danger building site—keep out!?’: a critical agenda for geographical engagement with contemporary construction industries

Abstract

In this paper, I seek to develop a more direct, sustained and critical engagement between social and cultural geography and contemporary construction industries. In setting out this agenda, I focus on the UK construction industry and a body of work outside of geography describing how the UK construction industry evidences and maintains a problematic array of working practices that are socially consequential. However, despite such potent critiques, recent geographical work on architectural practices, including that focused on the UK, has remained rather detached from the people, places, politics, and indeed problems, of contemporary construction industries. Nevertheless, recent geographical studies of architectural practice possess a significant potential to directly inform critical analysis of construction industries. It is only through such direct engagement with the contemporary lives of building practitioners that I argue geographical studies of architecture, and especially architectural practices, can recognize and realize its political and ethical contribution.

Dans cet article je vise à développer un engagement plus direct, durable, et critique entre la géographie sociale et culturelle et le secteur de la construction contemporaine. En élaborant ce programme j'attire l'attention sur le secteur de la construction du RU ainsi qu'une littérature en dehors de la géographie qui expose comment ce secteur révèle et maintient une gamme problématique de pratiques de travail qui ont des conséquences sociales. Malgré ces critiques tellement puissantes, les œuvres géographiques récentes sur les pratiques architecturelles, y compris celles qui traitent le RU, restent plutôt détachées des gens, des lieux, de la politique, et, en fin de compte, des problèmes, du secteur de la construction contemporaine. Les études géographiques récentes sur la pratique architecturelle ont néanmoins du potentiel d'informer de manière directe une analyse critique du secteur de la construction. J'affirme que ce n'est pas qu'à travers un tel engagement direct avec les vies contemporaines des ouvriers du bâtiment que les études géographiques de l'architecture et en particulière les pratiques architecturelles puissent reconnaître sa contribution politique et éthique.

En este artículo busco establecer un compromiso crítico, más directo y sostenido entre la geografía social y cultural y las industrias de la construcción contemporánea. A partir de la definición de este plan de trabajo, presto particular atención a la industria de la construcción en el Reino Unido y a una serie de trabajos que, fuera de la geografía, describen cómo la industria de la construcción evidencia y mantiene ciertas prácticas de trabajo problemáticas con consecuencias sociales. A pesar de estas fuertes críticas, los trabajos recientes en geografía sobre prácticas arquitectónicas, incluidos aquellos centrados en Reino Unido, se han mantenido alejados de la gente, de los lugares, de las políticas, y más aún, de los problemas de las industrias de la construcción contemporánea. Sin embargo, los estudios geográficos recientes sobre la práctica arquitectónica conllevan un potencial nada despreciable para contribuir al análisis crítico de las industrias de la construcción. Sostengo que sólo mediante el compromiso con la vida actual de los profesionales de la construcción, los estudios geográficos sobre la arquitectura y, en especial sobre las prácticas arquitectónicas, tienen la posibilidad de reconocer e identificar su contribución política y ética.

Keywords:

• construction industry
• geographies of architecture
• engaged geography
• identity

Keywords:

• secteur de la construction
• géographies de l'architecture
• géographie engagée
• identité

Keywords:

• industria de la construcción
• geografías de la arquitectura
• geografía comprometida
• identidad

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Corrigendum

Acknowledgements

The ideas and empirical material presented in this paper, developed across research projects undertaken at the School of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University, are mostly funded by the EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Research Centre. My insights into construction practice would not have been possible without on-going discussions with Andrew Dainty, and the many industrial collaborators who contributed their valuable time to these projects. Many thanks also to the comments of the three anonymous reviewers and editor, who helped me strengthen the argument presented here.

Notes

1. Other theoretical influences on the development of post-semiotic geographies of architecture include actor-network theory, Performance Studies, Queer Theory, phenomenology, and post-structuralist philosophy. As Lees (2001: 80) acknowledges, many of these diverse theoretical currents were also themselves influential in the development of ‘Non-Representational Theory’ (see Thrift 2008).

2. Datta's (2008) study of domestic refurbishment projects in London is an exception, though her work does not set out to develop critical engagement with the contemporary construction industry.

3. As one anonymous referee of this paper noted, these studies were concerned with developing critiques of symbolic architectural geographies.

4. Studies of national construction cultures and labour mobility do offer some engagement with the various spaces of construction cultures (e.g. Langford and Agapiou 2007).

The author credit on this paper has been adjusted since original online publication. For more details, see Corrigendum, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2012.750153