Agency and (Temporary) Architecture

What is Agency? Two very motivated grad students here at RISD developed, proposed, and then received permission to teach a grad studies class- aptly named `Design Agency’. Our first task? To define what agency is. As designers, we have abilities (learned and inherent), or a set of competencies that allows us to problem-solve in a way that others might not be able. We also have vision; original ideas and creativity that are channeled through our abilities. Finally, we have an impulse to act. As designers with abilities, vision, and a desire to use both, we can be a catalyst for change.

ABILITY + VISION + ACTION = AGENCY

The crux of agency, though, is that at the heart of each community… at the grass-roots level… agency is required for meaningful change. Agency within a community, that is. We, as designers, might find our best work as the catalyst for the agency of others.

Everyone Designs. These are the words of John Thackara, author of ‘In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World’. This basic human activity is common to us all, and according to Thackara, we need to develop an appreciation for what people can do that technology can’t.

Thackara talks a lot about efficiency, and how our obsession with it has lead to dehumanization. He charges us to consider these points:

• ·         Consider MATERIAL and ENERGY FLOWS in all design
• ·         Human AGENCY is a priority (humans are not a `factor’)
• ·         Deliver VALUE TO PEOPLE, not people to systems
• ·         Treat CONTENT as something we DO, not something we’re sold
• ·         PLACE, TIME, and CULTURAL DIFFERENCE are positive values, not obstacles
• ·         Focus on SERVICE, not things

The focus of this blog has been architecture, and its temporality. This is the forum and tool I have used to explore community engagement through architectural installation. After all, architecture is designed to be used—for the express purpose of the needs of humanity. Without needs, we would have no architecture. Need is a loaded word that encompasses all the subjects of past, present, and future blogs about temporary architecture: the need for shelter, the need for safety, the need for a free state, the need for beauty, and the need for agency.

Our architecture is a reflection of our agency.