‘Fragmentation’ is a word often used to characterize the construction industry. Fragmentation can adversely impact project outcomes, hinder the adoption of innovative technologies, and obstruct the transition toward sustainable practices. It has also been viewed as a cause of significant changes in the architect’s profession. Yet no research has studied fragmentation from a profession-perspective, specifically a profession with early participation in building projects. With interpretative methods and drawing from sociological concepts, we aim to understand how architects perceive their professional role, and analyze this alongside fragmentation to answer the question: how are architects coping with the effects of fragmentation? The study consists of 23 focus group sessions, where architects constituted the core and other actors participated occasionally, and five deep interviews with architects. Our first contribution shows how architects are coping with fragmentation through a dynamic social process, making small adjustments in role adaptation to maintain their professional identity, and how this way of coping with fragmentation can actually contribute to continuous fragmentation. Secondly, our study challenges earlier suggested solutions for handling fragmentation by showing how they simply cause fragmentation earlier in the design phase. The implications of ‘design fragmentation’ for the professional architect and the outcome of a building project are discussed.

In this thesis I discuss how change in the construction sector affects and is affected by individuals’ perceptions and actions. Previous research has shown that behavioral change at the individual level is needed to achieve change at the macro level. This thesis therefore highlights continuous change from a professional perspective. Specifically, it focuses on the change phenomena of fragmentation, digitalization, and sustainabilization,and is thus connected to ongoing debates in research on how to ‘manage fragmentation’ or ‘achieve digitalization and sustainability’. Some previous studies in these areas rely on assumptions that are problematized and presented in a new light in this thesis. By focusing on professionalization, the thesis unveils the complex and reciprocal relationship between these change phenomena. Previous research has rarely analyzed fragmentation, digitalization, and sustainabilization together, especially from a professionalization perspective. The thesis therefore fills a research gap while simultaneously addressing highly relevant issues that are discussed daily at individual, organizational, and sectoral levels.The thesis focuses particularly on the architectural profession. This is partly because increasing fragmentation has significantly altered the role of architects in construction projects, not least because they are seen as central actors in driving digitalization and sustainability efforts. However, the focus on architects is also motivated by their under-representation in existing research. The theoretical points of departure are institutional theory (with a focus on agency) as well as sociological concepts related to professional identity and professional roles.Methodologically, the thesis builds on interpretive qualitative studies at the individual level, where focus groups, interviews, and shadowing have been used. In total, 41 architects participated in these studies, sharing their perceptions of themselves and their everyday practices in construction projects.By focusing on the professionalization underpinning larger structural changes—fragmentation, digitalization, and the sustainability transition—the thesis explores new perspectives. It discusses: the nature of fragmentation (from static to dynamic); the impact of fragmentation on digital and sustainability change (from barrier to enabler); how fragmentation can be managed (from the architect’s perspective); professional roles (from fixed to flexible); the profession (from uniformity to diversity); agency (from “cultural dopes” via entrepreneurs to implicit agents); professional identity (from partly unexplored to a central source of institutional change); as well as how digitalization and the sustainability transition can be understood as institutional movements.The thesis contributes empirically to theoretical fields such as research on professions and institutional theory (especially concerning agency and institutional work). It also offers new perspectives on long-standing challenges within construction research. For example, the results show the significance of professional identity for achieving institutional change in the construction sector, as well as how professionals cope with, navigate, and adapt to continuous change—insights that are central for understanding and practically managing fragmentation.Finally, with this thesis I hope to contribute to a renewed discussion about the development and future of the architectural profession, as well as the need to consider individual experiences to understand larger structural phenomena.

While technological advancements in BIM and material reuse have been widely studied, less attention has been given to the behavioral and cultural shifts necessary for their successful implementation. Architectural professionals are expected to acquire new skills and redefine their roles to align with these trends. Yet, little is known about how architects perceive and navigate these institutional changes. Using a multi-levelled institutional lens, the research presented in this paper addresses this gap by exploring how architects perceive and navigate their institutional context, including the movements (digitalization and sustainabilization), and legitimize their purposive actions in adapting their professional roles toward BIM and reuse. Through reflections from 15 architects (with seven narratives in particular focus), the study unpacks perceptions of legitimacy and how these influence professional behavior and decision-making. An intertextual narrative analysis reveals how the motivation to adopt BIM and reuse is closely linked to maintaining the stability of the professional institution. The findings show how changes related to BIM and reuse may conflict with professionals’ values and self-perceptions, affecting the potential for expected advancements in digitalization and sustainability. This study enhances the understanding of micro-level processes driving institutional change in the construction industry by uncovering underlying motives and intentions behind architects’ actions.

Densification by vertical extension (VE) of buildings has become more common in Swedish cities and architectural discourse, partially due to a Swedish law implemented in 2002 concerning three-dimensional property division. By restoring and recreating functions, VE allows for the preservation of the morphological and architectural identity of existing buildings. However, design and construction above an existing building is complex, partially because of the uncertainties in the existing building. This makes it interesting to view VE from a risk perspective and this paper is a first attempt to do that. It summarises a qualitative, exploratory study aimed to increase the understanding of VE from an architectural design perspective. The empirical material was collected in open and in-depth interviews with eight architects from different companies, all with experience of Swedish VE projects. In this research, the perspective of a two-sided uncertainty is applied as threats and opportunities. With that perspective opportunities and threats concerning architectural design of VE are interpreted and translated into design risks. One finding is the construct that VE can be understood by viewing it as a system of components: the existing building (host), the interface between the new and existing building (interface) and the extension per se (extension). The unique nature of the interface controls many of the solutions applied and is therefore a crucial piece in the overall system puzzle. In addition, it was identified that architects managed a lot of uncertainties in their role, uncertainties mainly related to there being a host building to be extended. The main contribution of this paper is that the understanding of VE can be improved by mapping opportunities and threats by source; host, interface and extension.