The Ethics of Architecture | The Architecture of Ethics

The collective forces that cause one culture to be uniquely identifiable from all others have also historically influenced the design of their buildings to be so characteristically identified. What makes us think that this no longer matters? This talk will focus on the contextual factors that have historically informed vernacular architecture and the ethics upon which they were derived. It will then explore architectural trends that today apply these same ethical values in the face of historic and universal technological paradigm shifts which themselves challenge cultural history.

About the Speaker

For nearly 30 years Ronald Altoon’s architectural practice, Altoon Partners (www.altoonpartners.com) designed retail based mixed-use and institutional projects across the globe. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm provided professional services from offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Moscow. Sustainable design, the regeneration of urban centers, the balance between public places and private space, and the exploration of new technologies are among the principles guiding the work of his practice. 

Having divested his ownership in the firm to his younger partners, in 2015 he established Altoon Strategic, a consulting practice that advises investor, landowner, and development entities on defining a vision for their real estate investments, creating a strategy to implement the vision, selecting a design team to produce it, and monitoring the dialogue between them to bring greater effectiveness and efficiency to the results. 

Mr. Altoon has served as the president of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) from 1997 to 1998. He is a Fellow of the AIA and has been given honorary memberships and awards throughout the world including in Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, and Armenia.

On October 11, 2016, Mr. Altoon is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from the National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia.