Thomas Fisher – författare

Recent catastrophic events, such as the I-35W bridge collapse, New Orleans flooding, the BP oil spill, Port au Prince's destruction by earthquake, Fukushima nuclear plant's devastation by tsunami, the Wall Street investment bank failures, and the housing foreclosure epidemic and the collapse of housing prices, all stem from what author Thomas Fisher calls fracture-critical design. This is design in which structures and systems have so little redundancy and so much interconnectedness and misguided efficiency that they fail completely if any one part does not perform as intended. If we, as architects, planners, engineers, and citizens are to predict and prepare for the next disaster, we need to recognize this error in our thinking and to understand how design thinking provides us with a way to anticipate unintended failures and increase the resiliency of the world in which we live. In Designing to Avoid Disaster, the author discusses the context and cultural assumptions that have led to a number of disasters worldwide, describing the nature of fracture-critical design and why it has become so prevalent. He traces the impact of fracture-critical thinking on everything from our economy and politics to our educational and infrastructure systems to the communities, buildings, and products we inhabit and use everyday. And he shows how the natural environment and human population itself have both begun to move on a path toward a fracture-critical collapse that we need to do everything possible to avoid. We designed our way to such disasters and we can design our way out of them, with a number of possible solutions that Fisher provides.

Recent catastrophic events, such as the I-35W bridge collapse, New Orleans flooding, the BP oil spill, Port au Prince's destruction by earthquake, Fukushima nuclear plant's devastation by tsunami, the Wall Street investment bank failures, and the housing foreclosure epidemic and the collapse of housing prices, all stem from what author Thomas Fisher calls fracture-critical design. This is design in which structures and systems have so little redundancy and so much interconnectedness and misguided efficiency that they fail completely if any one part does not perform as intended. If we, as architects, planners, engineers, and citizens are to predict and prepare for the next disaster, we need to recognize this error in our thinking and to understand how design thinking provides us with a way to anticipate unintended failures and increase the resiliency of the world in which we live. In Designing to Avoid Disaster, the author discusses the context and cultural assumptions that have led to a number of disasters worldwide, describing the nature of fracture-critical design and why it has become so prevalent. He traces the impact of fracture-critical thinking on everything from our economy and politics to our educational and infrastructure systems to the communities, buildings, and products we inhabit and use everyday. And he shows how the natural environment and human population itself have both begun to move on a path toward a fracture-critical collapse that we need to do everything possible to avoid. We designed our way to such disasters and we can design our way out of them, with a number of possible solutions that Fisher provides.

Architectural Design and Ethics offers both professional architects and architecture students a theoretical base and numerous suggestions as to how we might rethink our responsibilities to the natural world and design a more sustainable future for ourselves.As we find ourselves on the steep slope of several exponential growth curves – in global population, in heat-trapping atmospheric gases, in the gap between the rich and poor, and in the demand for finite resources, Fisher lays down a theory of architecture based on ethics and explores how buildings can and do provide both social and moral dimensions. The book also has practical goals, demonstrating how architects can make better and more beautiful buildings whilst nurturing more responsible, sustainable development.Architectural Design and Ethics will prove an invaluable text not only to those in the architecture field, but to anyone simply interested in the ethical issues surrounding our built environment.

Envisioning what we need, when it doesn’t yet exist: this, Thomas Fisher tells us, is what design does. And if what we need now is a better world-functioning schools, working infrastructure, thriving cities-why not design one? Fisher shows how the principles of design apply to services and systems that seem to evolve naturally, systems whose failures sometimes seem as arbitrary and inevitable as the weather. But the “invisible” systems we depend on for our daily lives (in education, politics, economics, and public health) are designed every bit as much as the products we buy and the environments we inhabit-and are just as susceptible to creative reimagining.Designing Our Way to a Better World challenges the assumptions that have led to so much poor performance in the public and private realms: that our schools cannot teach creativity, that our governments cannot predict the disasters that befall us, that our health system will protect us from pandemics, that our politics will remain polarized, that our economy cannot avoid inequality, and that our industry cannot help but pollute the environment. Targeting these assumptions, Fisher's approach reveals the power of design to synthesize our knowledge about the world into greater wholes. In doing so, this book opens up possible futures-and better futures-than the unsustainable and inequitable one we now face.

Envisioning what we need, when it doesn’t yet exist: this, Thomas Fisher tells us, is what design does. And if what we need now is a better world-functioning schools, working infrastructure, thriving cities-why not design one? Fisher shows how the principles of design apply to services and systems that seem to evolve naturally, systems whose failures sometimes seem as arbitrary and inevitable as the weather. But the “invisible” systems we depend on for our daily lives (in education, politics, economics, and public health) are designed every bit as much as the products we buy and the environments we inhabit-and are just as susceptible to creative reimagining.Designing Our Way to a Better World challenges the assumptions that have led to so much poor performance in the public and private realms: that our schools cannot teach creativity, that our governments cannot predict the disasters that befall us, that our health system will protect us from pandemics, that our politics will remain polarized, that our economy cannot avoid inequality, and that our industry cannot help but pollute the environment. Targeting these assumptions, Fisher's approach reveals the power of design to synthesize our knowledge about the world into greater wholes. In doing so, this book opens up possible futures-and better futures-than the unsustainable and inequitable one we now face.

Pandemics have long-term effects on how we live and work, and the COVID-19 pandemic was no exception, accelerating us into a digital economy, in which people increasingly work, shop, and learn online, transforming how we use space in-person and remotely. Space, Structures, and Design in a Post-Pandemic World explores the rebalancing of our physical and digital interactions and what it means for the built environment going forward.This book examines the effect of the pandemic on our use of land, interior space, energy, and transportation, as well as on our approach to design, wealth, work, and practice. Author Thomas Fisher also discusses the plagues of institutional racism and climate change that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and how these were interrelated. At the same time as all of this, the automation of all or part of many jobs continued unabated, eliminating much of the work that people did before COVID-19 arrived. This text discusses how we might leverage the under-utilized human talent and material assets all around us to rebuild our communities and our economy in more creative ways for a more equitable, resilient future.Space, Structures, and Design in a Post-Pandemic World will influence anyone interested in how design thinking can transform how we see the world and those looking for new ways to understand what the COVID-19 pandemic means and what opportunities it creates for our environments.

Pandemics have long-term effects on how we live and work, and the COVID-19 pandemic was no exception, accelerating us into a digital economy, in which people increasingly work, shop, and learn online, transforming how we use space in-person and remotely. Space, Structures, and Design in a Post-Pandemic World explores the rebalancing of our physical and digital interactions and what it means for the built environment going forward.This book examines the effect of the pandemic on our use of land, interior space, energy, and transportation, as well as on our approach to design, wealth, work, and practice. Author Thomas Fisher also discusses the plagues of institutional racism and climate change that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and how these were interrelated. At the same time as all of this, the automation of all or part of many jobs continued unabated, eliminating much of the work that people did before COVID-19 arrived. This text discusses how we might leverage the under-utilized human talent and material assets all around us to rebuild our communities and our economy in more creative ways for a more equitable, resilient future.Space, Structures, and Design in a Post-Pandemic World will influence anyone interested in how design thinking can transform how we see the world and those looking for new ways to understand what the COVID-19 pandemic means and what opportunities it creates for our environments.

Understanding the conditions under which variability in performance may arise, and the processes related to its emergence, gives us insight into the development of techniques for improving the quality of performance.This book introduces a comprehensive framework for understanding human performance variability in terms of how human control of behavior is closely tied to design factors in the performance environment. Empirical evidence, as well as practical examples and application areas, introduced in support of this framework. The book provides suggestions on how individuals, groups, and organizations can significantly reduce variability in human performance that often leads to systems failures.

Architectural Design and Ethics offers both professional architects and architecture students a theoretical base and numerous suggestions as to how we might rethink our responsibilities to the natural world and design a more sustainable future for ourselves.As we find ourselves on the steep slope of several exponential growth curves – in global population, in heat-trapping atmospheric gases, in the gap between the rich and poor, and in the demand for finite resources, Fisher lays down a theory of architecture based on ethics and explores how buildings can and do provide both social and moral dimensions. The book also has practical goals, demonstrating how architects can make better and more beautiful buildings whilst nurturing more responsible, sustainable development.Architectural Design and Ethics will prove an invaluable text not only to those in the architecture field, but to anyone simply interested in the ethical issues surrounding our built environment.

Ethics is one of the most important and least understood aspects of design practice. In his latest book, Thomas Fisher shows how ethics are inherent to the making of architecture – and how architecture offers an unusual and useful way of looking at ethics.The Architecture of Ethics helps students in architecture and other design disciplines to understand the major approaches to ethics and to apply them to the daily challenges they face in their work. The book covers each of the four dominant approaches to ethics: virtue ethics, social contract ethics, duty ethics, and utilitarian ethics. Each chapter examines the dilemmas designers face from the perspective of one of these categories. Written in an accessible, jargon-free style, the text also features 100 illustrations to help integrate these concepts into the design process and to support visual understanding.Ethics is now a required part of accredited architecture programs, making this book essential reading for all students in architecture and design.

Ethics is one of the most important and least understood aspects of design practice. In his latest book, Thomas Fisher shows how ethics are inherent to the making of architecture – and how architecture offers an unusual and useful way of looking at ethics.The Architecture of Ethics helps students in architecture and other design disciplines to understand the major approaches to ethics and to apply them to the daily challenges they face in their work. The book covers each of the four dominant approaches to ethics: virtue ethics, social contract ethics, duty ethics, and utilitarian ethics. Each chapter examines the dilemmas designers face from the perspective of one of these categories. Written in an accessible, jargon-free style, the text also features 100 illustrations to help integrate these concepts into the design process and to support visual understanding.Ethics is now a required part of accredited architecture programs, making this book essential reading for all students in architecture and design.

First published in 2007, this book examines the designs of seventeen architecture and design schools and answers questions such as: How has architectural education evolved and what is its future? Are architectural schools discernible types of designs and what are their effects on those who experience them? What lessons can be learned from evaluations of recently completed school buildings and what guidance do they provide for the design of future ones? Included in the multiple approaches to evaluation are examinations of the history of architectural education and building form; typologies of school for architecture; and the systematic user evaluations of the aesthetics, function, and technology which reveal the strengths to encourage and weaknesses to avoid in future designs. While offering specific guidelines for schools of design, it also includes findings that extend beyond the walls of design schools and can be applied to everything from the interiors of educational and campus buildings to planning offices and gathering places to build communities. This book will make readers more aware of problems in architectural interiors and suggest ways to make interiors work better for the building occupants.

First published in 2007, this book examines the designs of seventeen architecture and design schools and answers questions such as: How has architectural education evolved and what is its future? Are architectural schools discernible types of designs and what are their effects on those who experience them? What lessons can be learned from evaluations of recently completed school buildings and what guidance do they provide for the design of future ones? Included in the multiple approaches to evaluation are examinations of the history of architectural education and building form; typologies of school for architecture; and the systematic user evaluations of the aesthetics, function, and technology which reveal the strengths to encourage and weaknesses to avoid in future designs. While offering specific guidelines for schools of design, it also includes findings that extend beyond the walls of design schools and can be applied to everything from the interiors of educational and campus buildings to planning offices and gathering places to build communities. This book will make readers more aware of problems in architectural interiors and suggest ways to make interiors work better for the building occupants.

Understanding the conditions under which variability in performance may arise, and the processes related to its emergence, gives us insight into the development of techniques for improving the quality of performance.This book introduces a comprehensive framework for understanding human performance variability in terms of how human control of behavior is closely tied to design factors in the performance environment. Empirical evidence, as well as practical examples and application areas, introduced in support of this framework. The book provides suggestions on how individuals, groups, and organizations can significantly reduce variability in human performance that often leads to systems failures.

Bring your campus together academically and operationally with The Spatial Edge: The Strategic Advantage of GIS Skills Across Higher Education.  Although GIS is now widely taught in higher education, it is typically associated with a handful of areas of study: geography, planning, natural resources, and landscape architecture. The Spatial Edge uses a series of case studies to show how integrating a geographic approach can unite campuses and address challenges by fostering spatial thinking across academic disciplines and university operations. It highlights the expanding role of GIS beyond traditional fields to enhance teaching, research, logistics and planning, and community engagement in higher education worldwide.This guide is easy to use and highly accessible, showing administrators and educators the many ways in which their colleagues, in virtually every field, are using GIS to: teach students,  conduct research,  connect with communities,  operate facilities, and  produce geospatially skilled graduates, ready for the workplace.  This guide will bridge the gap between disciplines, and show how: educators are using GIS in the classroom in creative ways,  researchers are using it in an array of scholarly projects,  facilities managers are using it to operate universities more effectively, and  community organizers are using it to engage community members.  Learn how you can use GIS to proactively solve challenges at your campus to benefit management, students, and staff.

Bring your campus together academically and operationally with The Spatial Edge: The Strategic Advantage of GIS Skills Across Higher Education.  Although GIS is now widely taught in higher education, it is typically associated with a handful of areas of study: geography, planning, natural resources, and landscape architecture. The Spatial Edge uses a series of case studies to show how integrating a geographic approach can unite campuses and address challenges by fostering spatial thinking across academic disciplines and university operations. It highlights the expanding role of GIS beyond traditional fields to enhance teaching, research, logistics and planning, and community engagement in higher education worldwide.This guide is easy to use and highly accessible, showing administrators and educators the many ways in which their colleagues, in virtually every field, are using GIS to: teach students,  conduct research,  connect with communities,  operate facilities, and  produce geospatially skilled graduates, ready for the workplace.  This guide will bridge the gap between disciplines, and show how: educators are using GIS in the classroom in creative ways,  researchers are using it in an array of scholarly projects,  facilities managers are using it to operate universities more effectively, and  community organizers are using it to engage community members.  Learn how you can use GIS to proactively solve challenges at your campus to benefit management, students, and staff.