Products of Practice

An academic research seminar and web archive,

This research seminar, web archive, and line of research on architectural instrumentation rooted in the history and theory of architecture practice traces the dynamic dance between the shape of practice and the society it serves through the lens of our practical instrumentation: our “products of practice.” Within the cacophony of contemporary media, under the pressures of finance and environmental ethics, and with an expectation of artificial general intelligence, the course looks to the past to explore the product of the architect as an artifact of cultural will and circumstance, framing and projecting practice potentials now and into the future. Critically tracking the evolution of architectural instrumentation through a collective research framework, the seminar closely examines the things we actually make—from drawings to specifications to the profession itself—as the cultural and temporal constructs that limit or expand the role and agency of the architect in society.

As architectural instrumentation (i.e., instruments of service and other essential outputs of architecture practice) changes due to transformations in technology and society, how is the architects’ role in society also shifting? How do such changes challenge the disciplinary, professional, and practical frameworks that define architecture as a cultural pursuit?

Learn more about the course and research here. See the web archive here, including a digital humanities exploration involving data visualization of the ways in which architectural instrumentation and impact have changed over time. This ongoing work was the catalyst for Issue 52 of the Harvard Design Magazine.