Five Ways to Make Architecture Political: An Introduction to the Politics of Design Practice

by Albena Yaneva

Five Ways to Make Architecture Political presents an innovative pragmatist agenda that will inspire new thinking about the politics of design and architectural practice. Moving beyond conventional conversations about design and politics, the book shows how recent developments in political philosophy can transform our understanding of the role of the architect. It how, when, and under what circumstances can design practice generate political relations? How can architectural design become more 'political'?

Five central chapters, which can be read alone or in sequence, explore the answers to these questions. Powerfully pragmatic in approach, each presents one of the 'five ways to make architecture political', and each is illustrated by case studies from a range of contemporary situations around the world. We see how politics happens in architectural practice, learn how different design technologies have political effects, and follow how architects reach different publics, trigger reactions and affect different communities worldwide.

Combining an accessible introduction to contemporary political concepts with a practical approach for a more political kind of practice, this book will stimulate debate among students and theorists alike, and inspire action in established and start-up practices.

Genres: Architecture

200 pages, Paperback

Published January 24, 2019

About the author

Albena Yaneva is an anthropologist of architecture with a PhD from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des mines de Paris (2001). Her work spans the disciplinary boundaries of architectural theory, science and technology studies, cognitive anthropology and political philosophy. It has been translated in German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

Reviews

[Olha Kotielnikova · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book must be better for the architect students. As a Political Science student, I found it pretty basic.