SSU #2. Crafting the city: revisiting ‘the culture of building’

Lecture #2 | Howard DAVIS | crafting the city: revisiting ‘the culture of building’

in EN

This lecture is based on the book The Culture of Building, which describes how buildings are designed and built within a complex social/economic system—a building culture—that includes a wide range of players. These include builders, contractors, craftspeople, materials suppliers, bankers and financial institutions, clients, insurance underwriters, building code officials and inspectors, zoning administrators, insurance underwriters, and many others—as well as architects. The book was originally published in 1999, and this lecture represents a reassessment of the book after two decades, elaborating on its discussions of craftsmanship and the human relationships in the processes of building. The Culture of Building is a work of history and theory as well as of advocacy, calling for ways of building that are rooted in place and community, and in which human relationships remain important even amongst contexts that are dominated by the institutions of large capital. In this way, responsible building practice may be seen as analogous to present efforts toward a sustainable economy.

Can’t make it to the lecture in person? No worries! Tune in to our livestream or catch the replay.