What is Stewardship?

Stewardship South is dedicated to cultivating a sense of stewardship, particularly in regards to the environment and culture of the American South. The term stewardship has its roots in Medieval England where peasant servants were stewards to their wealthy and/or titled masters. That is to say, the servants were responsible for the care and well-being of others. This power relationship is an unsatisfactory model when ascribed to human beings in a class-based society. However, it is a useful paradigm for design professionals who should consider themselves to be stewards, or care-takers, for the natural and built environment as well as the occupants of their constructed design. The ethical dimension of stewardship extends to communities.

The ability to design and construct built works is a privilege and a trust given to us by the communities that we work within. We bring skills and knowledge to every situation and we have an ethical responsibility to exercise good judgment and care in each of our decisions. Often there is no clear right or wrong answer or even clearly defined problems but in each situation the best response will be one which is well-intentioned and mindful of the impact on the complex issues that comprise each site.

Some of the questions for stewards might be: Whom or what are you serving and caring for? Is it the current or past inhabitants of the community where one is designing and building? Is it the current environmental condition or a future vision? Is it the architectural community and the knowledge held by the discipline? Is it your peer group? It is incumbent upon a good steward to think deeply about these questions and respond, in words and actions, to this challenge with conviction and rigor.

This studio, Stewardship South, should result in built projects that respond graciously and with care to the communities, environments, culture, and discipline within which they are constructed. The projects should demonstrate stewardship through design, craft, completion, and fiscal responsibility.

Each intervention can change the world, even if only for one person…think about it.