Forest in chains: a call for ethical approach when building with timber
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Architecture and planning beyond sustainability, MSc
Publicerad
2022
Författare
Larsen, Claudia
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Globalization facilitated many
advancements in society. Through technology
distances have been shortened, markets
connected, and cultures shared. However, it has
also magnified societal issues on a global scale.
Illegal trades permeate all major industries,
including the construction sector, and rely on
the most vulnerable to build highly lucrative
operations.
“Global laws forbid the use of slave
labour in the built environment, yet our
buildings, and the materials that go into our
buildings, are heavily reliant on slave labour.”
(Grace Farms Foundation, 2020, p.4).
In the forefront of sustainable materials,
timber has been progressively taking ground
for being both ecologically renewable and
economically viable. However, it is also among
the materials at the highest risk of embedded
slavery and is often linked to illegal logging,
jeopardizing the social aspect and holistic
approach of the sustainable development goals.
As architects, are we taking our share of
responsibility and playing our part to ensure
our specifications are not promoting such
practices? Does the holistic sustainable
perception of building with timber reflect
the reality? Also, does the lack of ethical
criteria within the construction process
compromise the sustainability status of building
with timber?
This thesis aims to raise awareness of
this pressing crisis, with an emphasis on the
timber supply chain. Having the extraction of
wood in the Amazon region of Brazil as a case
study, seeking an understanding of the social
impact of victims of forced labour, a major
type of modern slavery within the sector. By
understanding the main global actors, current
practices, and policies, it pursues through
design to gather the relevant information and
arm professionals with the right questions in
pursuit of breaking the cycle of vulnerability,
exploitation, and re-victimization of those in forced labour.
Continuous graphical reflections are
used to support the findings and build the
alternative perspectives on building with timber.
A continuous construct to the final written and
graphical manifestos: A call for ethical approach
in design. Followed by a designer roadmap
directing the reader to available tools to make this
happen. A practical invitation for change.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Forced labour within the built, environment, timber supply chain, illegal logging, social sustainability