Architecture And Action

Projects and texts that address architecture's role in taking on complex global challenges including climate change, housing, migration, and social justice. What is the role of architecture and design in addressing complex global challenges? How does one define “action” in terms of architectural scholarship and practice? How is architecture at MIT uniquely positioned to lead? Architecture education at MIT, celebrating its 150th anniversary, today encompasses research and teaching projects that address large—and sometimes highly charged—topics, including urban resilience in the face of climate change, energy use and futures, refugees fleeing conflict or disaster, water management, infrastructure, the teaching of global architectural history, and explorations into the self-assembly of materials. Architecture and Action focuses on the agency of architects and architecture within the overlapping spheres of the institution, the discipline, and the profession. Through a presentation of projects and texts, the book reveals how students and faculty—whether architects, artists, historians, technologists, or scientists—define action, considering its possible forms, procedures, and scales, as well as its potency and limits. The selected work exemplifies the wide range of approaches and zones of intervention, bringing together projects that find space for action while questioning assumptions about where architectural value is located. Whether advocating for utopian idealism, systemic overhaul, instrumental tools, or pragmatic arguments, all of the work collected here presents a powerful case for architecture's embrace of agency and action. Contributors Azra Aksamija, Brandon Clifford, Rania Ghosn, Mark Jarzombek, Caroline Jones, Sheila Kennedy, Miho Mazereeuw, Ana Miljacki, Nasser Rabbat, Christoph Reinhart, Rafi Segal, Skylar Tibbits The Agendas in Architecture series features student and faculty design, research, and scholarship from the MIT Department of Architecture.

Actions of Architecture begins with a critique of strategies that define the user as passive and predictable, such as contemplation and functionalism. Subsequently it considers how an awareness of user creativity informs architecture, architects

This book presents a systematic model-based approach for software architecture according to three complementary viewpoints: structure, behavior, and execution. It covers a unified modeling approach and consolidates theory and practice with well-established learning outcomes. The authors cover the fundamentals of software architecture description and presents SysADL, a specialization of the OMG Standard Systems Modeling Language (SysML) with the aim of bringing together the expressive power of an Architecture Description Language (ADL) with a standard notation, widely accepted by industry and compliant with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010 Standard on Architecture Description in Systems and Software Engineering. The book is clearly structured in four parts: The first part focuses on the fundamentals of software architecture, exploring the concepts and constructs for modeling software architecture from differing viewpoints. Each chapter covers a specific viewpoint illustrated with examples of a real system. The second part focuses on how to design software architecture for achieving quality attributes. Each chapter covers a specific quality attribute and presents well-defined approaches to achieve it. Each architectural case study is illustrated with different examples drawn from a real-life system. The third part shows readers how to apply software architecture style to design architectures that meet the quality attributes. Each chapter covers a specific architectural style and gives insights on how to describe substyles. Each style is illustrated by variants and examples of a real-life system. The fourth part presents how to textually represent software architecture models to complement visual notation, including different examples. Software Architecture in Action is designed for teaching the required modeling techniques to both undergraduate and graduate students, giving them the practical techniques and tools needed to design the architecture of software-intensive systems. Similarly, this book will appeal to software development architects, designers, programmers and project managers too.

Modern-day projects require software and systems engineers to work together in realizing architectures of large and complex software-intensive systems. To date, the two have used their own tools and methods to deal with similar issues when it comes to the requirements, design, testing, maintenance, and evolution of these architectures. Software and Systems Architecture in Action explores practices that can be helpful in the development of architectures of large-scale systems in which software is a major component. Examining the synergies that exist between the disciplines of software and systems engineering, it presents concepts, techniques, and methods for creating and documenting architectures. The book describes an approach to architecture design that is driven from systemic quality attributes determined from both the business and technical goals of the system, rather than just its functional requirements. This architecture-centric design approach utilizes analytically derived patterns and tactics for quality attributes that inform the architect’s design choices and help shape the architecture of a given system. The book includes coverage of techniques used to assess the impact of architecture-centric design on the structural complexity of a system. After reading the book, you will understand how to create architectures of systems and assess their ability to meet the business goals of your organization. Ideal for anyone involved with large and complex software-intensive systems, the book details powerful methods for engaging the software and systems engineers on your team. The book is also suitable for use in undergraduate and graduate-level courses on software and systems architecture as it exposes students to the concepts and techniques used to create and manage architectures of software-intensive systems.

This book examines the mutual influence of architecture and human action during a key period of history: the Hellenistic age. During this era, the profound transformations in the Mediterranean's archaeological and historical record are detectable, pointing to a conscious intertwining of the physical (landscape, architecture, bodies) and social (practice) components of built space. Compiling the outcomes of a conference held in Kiel in 2018, the volume assembles contributions focusing on Hellenistic architecture as an action context, perceived in movement through built space. Sanctuaries, as a particularly coherent kind of built space featuring well-defined sets of architecture combined with ritual action, were chosen as the general frame for the analyses. The reciprocity between this sacred architecture and (religious) human action is traced through several layers starting from three specific case studies (Messene, Samothrace, Pella), extending to architectural modules, and finally encompassing overarching principles of design and use. As two additional case studies on caves and agorai show, the far-reaching entanglement of architecture and human action was neither restricted to highly architecturalised nor sacred spaces, but is characteristic of Hellenistic built space in general.

The Social (Re)Production of Architecture brings the debates of the ‘right to the city’ into today’s context of ecological, economic and social crises. Building on the 1970s’ discussions about the ‘production of space’, which French sociologist Henri Lefebvre considered a civic right, the authors question who has the right to make space, and explore the kinds of relations that are produced in the process. In the emerging post-capitalist era, this book addresses urgent social and ecological imperatives for change and opens up questions around architecture’s engagement with new forms of organization and practice. The book asks what (new) kinds of ‘social’ can architecture (re)produce, and what kinds of politics, values and actions are needed. The book features 24 interdisciplinary essays written by leading theorists and practitioners including social thinkers, economic theorists, architects, educators, urban curators, feminists, artists and activists from different generations and global contexts. The essays discuss the diverse, global locations with work taking different and specific forms in these different contexts. A cutting-edge, critical text which rethinks both practice and theory in the light of recent crises, making it key reading for students, academics and practitioners.

Want to keep up with emerging design thinking and issues worldwide? Design Studio is a new thematic series that distils the most topical work and ideas from schools and practices globally. The first volume launches with a statement: Everything Needs to Change. Exploring architecture and the climate emergency, editors Sofie Pelsmakers (author of Environmental Design Sourcebook) and Nick Newman (climate activist and Director at Studio Bark), are channelling the message of Greta Thunberg to inspire, enthuse and inform the next generation of architects. Featuring articles, building profiles and case studies from a range of leading voices, it explores solutions to climatic, environmental and social challenges. It urges readers to radically rethink what it means to be an architect in an era of climate crisis, and what the role of the architect is or can be. Discover how using local materials, working with nature, radical design processes, transformative learning and activism can help us find hope in the burning world. Together, we can force change for a more sustainable and equitable tomorrow. This first volume is produced in four unique fluorescent colours – green, red, yellow and purple – to be your own poster for change.