Architecture and the Public Good

This book explores why explaining the value of the architecture profession has been difficult and proposes a fresh perspective to demonstrate the public good that results from its protected practice. It dissects the internal weaknesses and external forces that have prevented architects from asserting their value to the public, investigates the shifting boundaries of the public and private realms, and proposes measures to assess and improve an architectural works' publicness.

Format: Hardback
Length: 180 pages
Publication date: 01 June 2021
Publisher: Anthem Press

Why has explaining the value of the architecture profession proven so difficult?

The architecture profession can be well-defended by demonstrating the public good which results from its protected practice. Although the book believes in this approach, this approach immediately raises the thorny questions of just who is the public, and what is its good? To answer these questions, to explain why the profession has done a poor job explaining itself, and to propose a fresh perspective are the challenges set out in this book.

The book dissects the internal weaknesses and external forces which have prevented architects from asserting their value to the public, explains how the concept of the public is itself widely misunderstood, investigates the shifting boundaries of the public and private realms, and proposes a series of measures by which we can assess and improve an architectural works publicness. Through a renewed focus on the public good that everyday architects are capable of as a profession, the book charts an ultimately optimistic program for the architecture professions renewal.

Weight: 422g
Dimension: 159 x 235 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781785277344