EXPANDING ARCHITECTURE. DESIGN AS ACTIVISM

Expanding Architecture presents a new generation of creative design carried out in the service of the greater public and greater good. Questioning how design can improve daily lives, editors Bryan Bell and Katie Wakeford map an emerging geography of architectural activism that is rich in its diversity of approaches. More than thirty essays by practicing architects and designers, urban and community planners, landscape architects, environmental designers, and members of other fields present recent work from around the world that suggests the countless ways that design can address issues of social justice, allow individuals and communities to plan and celebrate their own lives, and serve a much larger percentage of the population than it has in the past. Clearly demonstrating a trend that is moving from the margins into the mainstream, the work encompasses community activism; sustainability; new approaches to prefabrication, manufactured housing, and modular design; a merging of the roles of designer and developer; a deepening commitment to pro bono work; and much more.