design philosophy papers

I published my first peer-reviewed article this week in design philosophy papers. The article is called "democratic social architecture or experimentation on the poor? ethnographic snapshots." The article presents "social architecture," the Bruce Nussbaum debate, ethnographic snapshots from the Rural Studio, Architecture for Humanity, and the Alley Flat Initiative, and my suggestion that architects forge deeper alliances with social movements such as the Right to the City Alliance (or now, perhaps, the Occupy Wall Street movement). The article can be found by clicking here and the introduction is below...

democratic social architecture or experimentation on the poor? ethnographic snapshots

Architects are reemphasizing their social mission and creating new forms of ‘social architecture,’ which has elsewhere been categorized as ‘activist,’ ‘humanitarian,’ ‘progressive,’ and ‘public interest.’ This present form of social architecture has roots in 1960s experimentation and has been a reaction to professionalization of the discipline and to stylistic postmodernism. It has paralleled environmental consciousness, and has become more relevant with rising inequality due to the global recession and continuing economic instability. The magnitude of social architecture’s development is impressive. A ‘social architectural’ program has been voted by the Deans of Architecture schools as the best education model in the US[1] and the work of socially engaged architects has been exhibited at MoMA in New York.[2] ‘Social architects receive national awards, teach studios in the Ivy League, and organize conferences to spread influence beyond their disciplinary boundaries. 

As new practices develop, controversies have surfaced regarding the architect’s ambiguous relationship to yielding disciplinary power. This paper will present (1) critical perspectives on social architecture, (2) ethnographic snapshots from the field, (3) a geopolitical perspective, and (4) a projectile where the ‘social’ is more radically localized alongside social movements like the Right to the City. ...

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