Frank Gehry On the Ethics of Architecture As A Business

Summary

In this transcript, the speaker discusses the ethical challenges of running a business in the architecture field. They emphasize a commitment to financial responsibility, ensuring fair compensation for employees, and rejecting exploitative practices like underpaid labor, especially in Europe. The speaker highlights the importance of human rights considerations, particularly in projects in the Middle East, where they engaged a human rights lawyer to prevent the use of slave labor. Their approach aims for fairness, transparency, and a solid ethical foundation in business practices.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker emphasizes the importance of financial responsibility in business, committing to not borrow money and ensuring employees are paid fairly.
• 😀 Ethical challenges in business include balancing project competition and fair compensation for employees, especially in Europe where low wages are common.
• 😀 The speaker ensures that employees receive annual salary adjustments and bonuses based on cost-of-living indices, creating a solid foundation for the business.
• 😀 Starting a business requires significant personal sacrifice, as the speaker worked long hours and even all-nighters in the early years to make it work.
• 😀 Human rights considerations are a key priority, and the speaker hired a human rights lawyer to ensure ethical standards in projects, particularly in the Middle East.
• 😀 The business was involved in multiple projects in the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi, with a strong focus on preventing the use of slave labor.
• 😀 Although the business did not progress to the construction phase in Abu Dhabi, they communicated the human rights concerns to clients, ensuring awareness of the issue.
• 😀 The speaker worked closely with senior people in Abu Dhabi to ensure agreement on ethical practices regarding labor in their projects.
• 😀 The decision to keep salaries competitive and not exploit young employees was a conscious effort to avoid unethical labor practices prevalent in the industry.
• 😀 The speaker highlights the challenge of working in regions with differing cultural and ethical norms but remains committed to ensuring human rights are prioritized in all projects.

Q & A

What is one of the biggest ethical challenges the speaker faces in running the business?

One of the biggest ethical challenges is managing financial responsibility while ensuring fair wages for employees, especially given that many in the industry, particularly in Europe, work for very low salaries due to competition-based project models.

What commitment did the speaker make when starting the business?

The speaker committed to being financially responsible and not borrowing money, ensuring that employees would always be paid fairly, which was crucial for maintaining the integrity and stability of the business.

How does the speaker address employee compensation?

The speaker ensures that employees are paid according to competitive salary ranges and provides cost-of-living index upgrades and bonuses each year.

What ethical dilemma exists with regard to wages in the architecture industry, particularly in Europe?

In Europe, the government promotes competitions for architecture projects, which often leads to low wages for workers. As a result, firms tend to hire young people at very low pay to afford participation in these competitions.

What measures did the speaker take to ensure ethical practices in their projects?

The speaker hired a human rights lawyer to oversee the ethical aspects of their projects, particularly in the Middle East, ensuring that issues like slave labor would not be involved in any projects they worked on.

How did the human rights lawyer contribute to the company's ethical practices?

The human rights lawyer worked on various projects, ensuring that any potential human rights violations were addressed, particularly regarding labor practices. This included ensuring that slave labor was not involved in projects in Abu Dhabi.

How did the speaker address potential concerns about labor practices in Abu Dhabi?

The speaker raised concerns about labor practices, particularly the use of slave labor, with senior officials in Abu Dhabi. They ensured that the Emiratis were aware of these ethical concerns, though no actual construction took place in that project.

What did the speaker do when starting a complicated project in Israel?

For the speaker's first complicated project in Israel, they hired a human rights lawyer to ensure ethical practices were followed and to address any potential human rights concerns that might arise in the region.

Why is the speaker's approach to compensating employees seen as a major ethical decision?

The speaker's decision to ensure fair compensation for employees, avoiding the low wages commonly seen in the industry, demonstrates a strong ethical stance that values worker rights and long-term stability over short-term financial gains.

What impact did the speaker's commitment to paying employees fairly have on the business?

The commitment to fair pay helped the business remain solid and sustainable. It also fostered a sense of loyalty among employees, contributing to the company’s growth and stability over the years.