Everyday Possibilities

Abstract

I have attempted to describe what happens in an architectural practice as faithfully as possible. Focusing on the transformations that take place from an idea, to a design, to a set of plans, and then to a building, my aim has been to show the complexity, difficulty, and interest of this endeavor. I hope these descriptions suggest parallels and differences: with other people, other places, other processes. I do not offer any ultimate answer to the question of how designs, ideas, inspiration, buildings, or for that matter architects are produced. There is no proposal for how architecture might be done better or differently. I want instead to highlight that even as these architects’ themselves acknowledge the problems inherent in the professional contexts they face, there are also possibilities. Focusing on these everyday practical entanglements makes this evident in ways that are less obvious in generalized accounts of the profession and discipline....