The Architect's Visual Practices as a Source of Power

Visual representations play an essential mediating and structuring role inthe negotiation of design decisions among practitioners engaged in themultidisciplinary context of commercial building design. Architects, bynature of their specific role and training, usually have the greatest commandover the production and interpretation of visual materials, whichplaces them in a position of power with regards to their use – and misuse.Drawing on a wide range of published sources, this paper examines howarchitects acquire and deploy power through their visual practices, focusingon the potential negative effects on team collaboration. A concludingdiscussion reframes this as an ethical challenge for all professions to bemore proactive at assessing and disclosing the sources of power that stemfrom their privileged knowledge and abilities.

Volume Editors
Martha Thorne & Xavier Costa

ISBN
978-0-935502-83-1