AUTHOR: VALERIA FEDERIGHI

This book gathers relevant positions in the international landscape of theory, in the attempt to define the role of innovation within architectural design practice.

The book features previously unpublished research and commentaries on the subject of innovation in the practice of architecture and the problem of its theorization, supported by an articulate and diverse image apparatus. The book is addressed at students and researchers who wish to have an overview of a contemporary geography of positions, and at practitioners who wish to develop tools to reflectivly analyse their practice.

“An overview of a contemporary geography of positions, and practitioners who wish to develop tools to reflectively analyze their practice.”

This book is the result of a tripartite academic trajectory dedicated to the issue of innovation in practice. It gathers material produced for and during an international Ph.D. course, an international Summer School for Master students, and an international Ph.D. seminar, all held at Politecnico di Torino with the participation of students and faculty from TU Berlin, University of Belgrade, Architectural Association School of Architecture, KTH Stockholm, Sciences Po, Centre Jean Pépin, CNRS Paris, Ecole National d’Architecture Paris Val de Seine. These three events also coincided, in temporal terms and in the general hypothesis being tested, with the fifth issue of the journal Ardeth - Architectural Design Theory - guest-curated by Andrés Jaque and dedicated to the theme of “Innovation as it happens.”

These academic experiences are part of a wider thrust towards the consolidation of a growing network of schools and research groups working on the issue of innovation in the project of architecture: what does it mean to innovate the practice of architecture? Can we understand the project of architecture as a socio-technical object that, as much as other socio-technical objects, is susceptible to processes of innovation? Which paradigms of innovation can we refer to as architects? What is the role of critical theory in the research for innovation in the project? And, on the other hand, what is the contribution that pragmatist approaches can make when looking at day-to-day practice?

© 2023 Applied Research And Design / ORO Editions. All Rights Reserved.