Arguing that a gulf exists between conceptual thinking and the constructed building, Design for Construction explores projects and practices that span the gap by thinking through materials and processes in what Eric Höweler calls a tectonic imagination. This imagination is not unbounded, but instead conceptualizes architecture within the continuum of past practices and disciplinary knowledge, as well as material and technical possibilities of the present.
Organized into ten chapters, Design for Construction covers topics such as means and methods, part-to-whole relationships, material research, risk mitigation, construction sequencing, digital fabrication, ethical material sourcing, and circular construction practices. Höweler provides a careful analysis of over 200 buildings by practices including Amateur Architecture Studio, Barkow Leibinger, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Ensemble, Gluck +, Herzog & de Meuron, Johnston Marklee, MASS Design, NADAAA, Neri&Hu, OMA, and SANAA.
Höweler's insights offer a means for architects to re-engage directly with design and construction so they can better grapple with difficult questions of climate change, material scarcity, and social impact.
