Beyond Discourse: Notes on Spatial Agency


Authors

  • Tatjana Schneider
  • Jeremy Till

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7480/footprint.3.1.702

Abstract

This article investigates the word ‘agency’ in relation to the role, responsibility and power of the architect. Using Anthony Giddens’s formulation of agency, we discuss the transformative potential of architecture where the lack of a predetermined future is seen as an opportunity and not a threat. Four episodes describe related instances of architectural practice as spatial agency: muf, OSA, Santiago Cirugeda and The New Architecture Movement. The paper concludes with an urgent call for architects to face up to their political and environmental responsibilities.

Author Biographies

Tatjana Schneider

Tatjana Schneider is a lecturer at the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, where she teaches design studio, history and theory.

Jeremy Till

Jeremy Till is an architect and educator. He is Dean of Architecture and the Built Environment at the University of Westminster, London.

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Published

2009-01-01

Issue

Issue # 4 | Spring 2009 | Agency in Architecture: Reframing Criticality in Theory and Practice

Section

Article

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