Decoding the Conversation

Our fourth issue, Decoding the Conversation, asks what works and what doesn’t when architects talk amongst themselves, and considers the nature of information conveyed to the public by architectural media. How can diverse practitioners operating from within a codified discourse expand the domain and efficacy of architectural communication?

The issue addresses the accessibility of architectural representation and design tools, the enduring power of architecture to hold meaning and stories well after its intended use has changed, and the communicative potential of architecture (or lack thereof) to speak to others beyond its own disciplinary confines. It includes Seeing Things, an essay by Shantel Blakely; Accessing Design / Designing Access, a conversation between Paul DeFazio and Hannah Wong; More is More, a website review by Francis Aguillard; and Eavesdropping on Architecture, an essay by John McMorrough.

Our previous thread addressed issues of land and authorship, the role of media and narrative-making, and the complex and nuanced function of personal networks in the elevation of works to the architectural canon. Contributors included Yen Ha, Eva Hagberg, Mark Jarzombek, Ajay Manthripragada, Alex Oetzel, Vikramaditya Prakash, and Letícia Wouk Almino.

Pouya Khadem, Sebastián López Cardozo, Mai Okimoto, and Lauren Phillips