Tag Archives: spatial agency

Role of architects in informality

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In the final section of the book Spatial Agency, the author discusses how spatial agents operate the concept inherent in these operations of the groups and practices.

It leads to the rethinking about the role of architects, especially in practices related to informal condition. Architecture can no longer be a beautified and technologized object and solve all problems alone. Especially when the book introduces spatial “appropriation”, architects need to face the fact of squatting and illegal self-building practices, in which new activities are created and embedded with long-term opportunities. The production and knowledge of clients and other forces is relatively more important compared to that in formal projects and should be included in the process of construction. The mark of architecture project’s completion has to be extended in order to consider the use of clients (informal recreate). However, the book also points out that today too often over-determined projects lead to inefficiency of space, as over-determined space is hard to transfer for other usage. While, some “slack” space, considered as wasteful and uneconomical, provides delight indeterminacy for everyday ordinary needs of transformation of space. Architects’ job is to set up the framework of a project with their professional knowledge and leave space for the inhabitation. In Teddy Cruz’s description about his practices in San Diego and Tijuana’s borderline, he invents a frame that cooperates with recycled materials and other human resource to “help dwellers optimize the threading of certain popular elements, such as pallet racks and recycled joists” as well as “acts as a formwork, allowing the user to experiment with different materials and finishes.” (Cruz, 35) Plus, the stair system benefited from this frame intervention accelerates the receiving of recycled houses from San Diego. The scale of architect’s part in this practice is relatively small, which is just simple transformable frame. However, the scale of this project is expanded incredibly big through the process of using these frames by residence with collective force. The indeterminacy is the basis for more future possibilities of the projects.

Use of Frame

Based on the understanding of limitation of architecture and architects’ skill, we should agree with Marcuse’s view of using our skills in coalition with other groups to solve issues of capitalism in complex urban informality. In the book, author believes that “spatial agency is driven by the managing and administration of means such as labor, time and space.” Architects, as one important role with professional knowledge in the spatial agency, should take the initiation to collaborate with all other forces and spend time negotiating in order to make up the limitation in our knowledge and ability when facing such complex systems. When talking about “sharing knowledge”, the book says “architecture was not about supposedly neutral form, but about the collaboration with others in an attempt to make architecture and architectural tools more relevant to a broader section of society.” (Spatial agency, 78) In Teddy Cruz’s project in Tijuana, distribution of goods, ad-hoc services and the whole material recycling system connecting Tijuana and San Diego are all important aspects that architects need to negotiate and take into consideration in addition to the design.

1. Spatial Agency
2.Teddy Cruz, Tijuana Case Study

The Brief and Business

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In the “Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture” reading, many points and questions are raised regarding how architecture is practiced and how it can be thought of in a more “outside-the-box” way. One particularly direct inquiry raised in the text is on the topic of the brief. The brief is an integral part of architectural practice, and is described in the text as means of communication that “set out in varying degrees of detail the kind of accommodation required, the planning requirements, and often the overall cost” of a project that the client writing the brief wishes to pay the architect to accomplish.

Having worked in a very small firm, the experience from firm to firm is unquestionably different as to how these briefs are obtained, negotiated, and carried out. For a small firm however, much of the livelihood of the employer and employees is dependent upon the ability of the team to obtain a numerous and steady stream of projects, usually on the smaller scale, and complete them as efficiently as possible.

This leads to the issues that this text seems to overlook when discussing how architects can “have a greater impact” or “design the beyond.” While there are many aspects to architectural business and politics I do not grasp, the experience of the small firm, with perhaps one or two licensed architects and a few staff members, is largely dependent on the state of the economy and business from repeat clients. Without the backing of a political entity, high-profile donors, or a significant fundraising campaign, I question how these smaller firms can tackle the broader tasks the text is calling for. These are honest questions however, and I would be interested in expanding my knowledge in the aspect of the profession.