Bruno Latour is one of the leading figures in Social Sciences today, but his contributions are also widely recognised in the arts. His theories ‘flourished’ in the 1980s in the aftermath of the structuralism wave and generated new concepts and methodologies for the understanding of the social. In the past decade, Latour and his Actor-Network Theory (ANT) have gained popularity among researchers in the field of architecture.
Latour for Architects is the first introduction to the key concepts and ideas of Bruno Latour that are relevant to architects. First, the book discusses critically how specific methods and insights from his philosophy can inspire new thinking in architecture and design pedagogy. Second, it explores examples from architectural practice and urban design, and reviews recent attempts to extend the methods of ANT into the fields of architectural and urban studies. Third, the book advocates an ANT-inspired approach to architecture, and examines how its methodological insights can trace new research avenues in the field, reflecting meticulously on its epistemological offerings.
Drawing on many lively examples from the world of architectural practice, the book makes a compelling argument about the agency of architectural design and the role architects can play in re-ordering the world we live in. Following Latour’s philosophy offers a new way to handle all the objects of human and nonhuman collective life, to re-examine the role of matter in design practice, and to redefine the forms of social, political and ethical associations that bind us together in cities.
Series Editor’s Preface
Illustration Credits
Acknowledgements
- Introduction: ‘In this World’
- Rethinking the Modern Constitution
- Science in the Making
- How Technology Shapes Everyday Life
- Actor-Network Theory
- Space and Spacing
- Invisible Cities
- The Parliament of Things
- A Gaia Who Cares
Are We Modern?
The Promises of Symmetrical Anthropology
Non-modern Architects
Matters of Facts as End Product
Hot and Cold Science
Discoveries: The Diffusion and the Translation Models
Speaking Scientifically, Speaking Legally
Mapping Controversies
A Socio-Technical Approach to Mundane Artefacts
Projects and Failure
Society or the Making of the Social
An ANT Approach to Architecture
Process and the Construction of Space
Spacing
Paris for Millions
Traversing
Proportioning
Distributing
Allowing
How to Study Invisible Cities?
Object-Oriented Politics
Cosmos and Cosmopolitics
Cosmopolitical Design
The Intrusion of Gaia
Architectural Contributions to Gaia-graphy
Further Reading
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Albena Yaneva is Professor of Architectural Theory at the University of Manchester, UK. She is the author of several books, including Crafting History: Archiving and the Quest for Architectural Legacy (2020) and The New Architecture of Science: Learning from Graphene (2020), co-authored with Sir Kostya S. Novoselov. Her work has been translated into nine languages. Yaneva is the recipient of the RIBA President’s award for outstanding research.
"Don’t get fooled by the title of Albena Yaneva’s book "Latour for Architects". It is a quick, lively and precise introduction of my work for lots of other professional bodies and academics. This is the best presentation of my entire work that I am aware of."
Bruno Latour, Emeritus Professor at Science Po, Paris, France
"At a moment when more and more designers conceive of form as interplay rather than shape and outline, Latour for Architects further extends research and practice beyond the limits of the profession and into new disciplinary coalitions that are increasingly giving authority to spatial variables."
Keller Easterling, Enid Storm Dwyer Professor of Architecture, Yale University, School of Architecture, USA
"Albena Yaneva does an outstanding job in presenting Latour’s most important ideas and deserves praise for organizing them in such an accessible manner. Regarding the task of explanation, the book is impressive."
Robert A. Beauregard, Emeritus Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, USA
Podcasts
‘Sunday Coffee: Arts Design Architecture Latour for Architects by Albena Yaneva’ (with Tricia Keffer)
https://sundaycoffee.buzzsprout.com/1848499/10635123-latour-for-architects-by-albena-yaneva
‘Albena Yaneva: Bruno Latour, ANT and Architects. A is for Architecture’ (with Ambrose Gillick)
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/w5kvr9e6
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/vn4b5bfk
Google: https://tinyurl.com/yc7tsu69
