Architecture and Participation by Peter Blundell Jones (9780415317467)

Description - Architecture and Participation by Peter Blundell Jones

A participative approach to architecture challenges many of the normative values of traditional architecture and, in particular, issues of authorship, control, aesthetics and the role of the user. The book explores how a participative approach may lead to new spatial conditions, as well as to new types of architectural practices and investigates the way that the user has been included in the design process. Where many architectural books concentrate on formal or aesthetic issues, this book explicitly opens up the social and political aspects of our built environment, and the way that the eventual users may shape it. As government policies throughout the world call for more involvement by people in the making of their environment, the issue of participation has become of central concern to architects, clients, funders, users and government officers. However, participation often remains as a token gesture; this book promises to make a major contribution to the field by arguing for a more considered approach to architectural participation.
Architecture and Participation brings together leading international practitioners and theorists in the field, ranging from the 1960s pioneers of participation to some of the major contemporary figures in the field. It is divided into three sections, looking at the politics, histories and practices of participation. Through the inclusion of both theory and practice, the book gives both a broad theoretical background and more direct examples of participation in practice. The first section, the politics pf participation, explores the broader context within which participation is set, outlining themes that should be taken into account in any participatory process. The second section, histories of participation, includes work from some of the seminal European figures. The third section, practices of participation, shows examples of how leading practitioners have put their ideas into action. The book is illustrated throughout. The underlying theme of the book is that participation is not merely a pragmatic or expedient activity, but one that must be informed by theory and precedent.
The book explores how a participative approach may lead to new spatial conditions, as well as to new types of architectural practices, and investigates the way that the user has been included in the design process. Where many architectural books concentrate on formal or aesthetic issues, this book explicitly opens up the social and political aspects of our built environment, and the way that the eventual users may shape it.The book will be useful to both students, practitioners as well as policy makers in the field. Introduction. Peter Blundell Jones, Doina Petrescu, Jeremy Till SECTION 1: POLITICS OF PARTICIPATION 1. Architecture's Public Giancarlo De Carlo 2. The Negotiation of Hope Jeremy T

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