Un-making architecture: an introduction to a critical framework

This special issue of The Journal of Architecture surveys the concept of ‘unmaking’ as an overarching facet of architectural thinking and production that has yet to be considered at a synoptic scale. When we refer to ‘un-making’, we mean the actions that result in the dismantling of architectural forms, modes of thought, and means of production. A historical study of these operations, we hope, might generate necessary theoretical frameworks to conceptualise transformations in architecture amid today’s unprecedented sociopolitical and environmental challenges. The aim of this special issue is twofold: first, it brings into dialogue topics from across different periods and geographies that explore varied yet related notions of un-making; second, it introduces a range of theoretical approaches to analyse architectural disassembly that might further conversations and actions to reimagine the discourses, institutions, and practices in the field today. How might past and ongoing instances of architectural destruction paradoxically help us develop more critical and comprehensive methods to undertake the study, reform, and design of the built environment? Through the lens of this issue’s collected historical studies, we argue that mechanisms of architectural un-making in design, environments and technologies, and politics are interdependent and must be considered in tandem to address the extraordinary architectural challenges of the twenty-first century. The forces that un-make architecture, and by which architecture un-makes, shape the physical and conceptual landscapes of the built environment as well as the world in which architecture operates. Instances of architectural unmaking can evidence human agency, such as the dismantling of the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City beginning in 1963 to make way for its now widely reviled replacement. In this case, destruction unfolded both physically, in the razing of the building by McKim, Mead and White, as well as metaphorically, in the suppression of monumental symbols of civic life in the urban field. Un-making in architecture can additionally arise from natural and environmental disasters. The destruction wrought by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Maria in 2017 in Puerto Rico, and the 2022 Pakistan floods highlights the urban and regional scales of natural catastrophes. Such natural and environmental forms of architectural un-making can be difficult to disentangle from human actions. For instance, the vulnerability of certain buildings, communities, and infrastructure in the Global South are linked to the lasting impacts of imperialism, including the design Jason E. Nguyen