Sixteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

This poster presents my ongoing research on how a particular type of architectural design can help labour restructuring in the Sri Lankan building industry. Specifically, the study explores the potential of using real building projects as opportunities for labour upskilling and knowledge dissemination. Sri Lanka has faced challenges for many years in implementing effective capacity-building programmes, leading to an increase in substandard buildings and a failure to deliver socio-economic progress for construction workers. Unfortunately, architecture seldom develops pragmatic strategies that treat labour training as a design prerogative. In this context, my research aims to identify an alternative organisational strategy for labour that redefines the role of architectural design as a facilitator of on-site upskilling. To that end, ‘Design Tolerance’ provides the foundational theoretical framework underpinning this theory-led, mixed-method research. The development of this Design Tolerance Framework was accomplished through a literature review complemented by a building project review that examines ‘tolerance’ as a design strategy to accommodate—and train—less-skilled labour gangs on real construction sites. As a theoretical construct, ‘Design Tolerance’ sits at the crux of the dual aim of ‘compromising precision’ and ‘allowing error,’ organised into three categories: (i) tolerance by the system, (ii) tolerance by detail, and (iii) tolerance by procurement. The effective dissemination of on-site labour training as a formalised strategy through such a framework depends on professional interest, discursive acceptance, and institutional support.