Who is the client - the one who pays, the one who lives, or the one who gets affected? Should an architect build for a person or a group who is exploitative, discriminatory and promotes segregation? Is an architect a handmaiden of the economy? Should an architect be concerned or bring about spatial justice?


There are no courses on ethics for architects in any architectural school around the country. Professional logistics and market forces usually govern practices. This course was initiated at SEA to articulate an ethical position based on political economy and spatial justice. The course is based on two premises: first, that the works of architects have an explicit impact on environment and culture beyond their ‘projects’ and therefore, they need to assume custodianship of environment and culture; and second, that education is about creating a human being with values and not a market product, and therefore needs a humanistic orientation.