Architecture Commons^™

The Role Of Architecture And Sociology In Organizational Development, Ronald Smith

Sociology Faculty Research

Architects and sociologists are increasingly realizing that the two professions have close and important linkages. Certainly the two directly contribute to organizational development. Architectural sociologists draw upon their organizational theories and their research to describe how the physical environment reflects managerial philosophies and also to analyze how the physical environment subsequently impacts the participants, processes, and outcomes of the organization (Becker and Steel, 1995). Sociologists could be of assistance to the architect on matters of building and landscape design, choice of furnishings, layout of work stations, locations of conference and break rooms, decision about who receives valued space, public perceptions …