Collective Action!: The Power of Collaboration and Co-Design in Architecture

by Rob Fiehn, Kyle Buchanan, Mellis Haward

Buildings cannot be built without people working together. Architects collaborate with other disciplines, other architects and even with the public. These take place every day, across multiple planning and design stages. Small or emerging practices often suffer from a lack of resources, but what if we pooled our collective resources, sharing knowledge and experiences? Collaborative architecture begins in the design studio, and the relationship between academia and practice can create a symbiosis that is fundamental to the careers of young and more established architects. It provides a space to develop and test approaches outside of routine commercial pressures, using research to yield new approaches that further the impact of the architecture sector more widely. By cooperating, we can facilitate a good design process can lay the foundation for a better form of architecture that provides greater diversity and a plurality of voices. This volume showcases how practices have the potential to adapt, remain resilient and harness collective power to become greater than the sum of their parts. The future is bright for architects if they can unite. Take Collective Action! Sarah Ahmed, Marc Cairns, Alasdair Ben Dixon, Amy Francis-Smith, Lanre Gbolade, Stephen Hill, Khuzema Hussain, Lacol, Matthew Morris, Chris Nasah, David Ogunmuyiwa, POoR Collective, Retrouvius, Dhruv Adam Sookhoo, Samuel Stair, Tomas Tvarijonas, Dr Joe Jack Williams, WIP Collaborative and Siri Zanelli.

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2023