The Short Works of John Habraken: Ways of Seeing / Ways of Doing (Open Building)

This book offers, for the first time, access to the chronological arc of John Habraken’s writing in a single collection. Few architects or scholars have so consistently and patiently pursued such a humane and culturally vital set of radical questions related to the behaviour of the built environment as N. John Habraken. From the publication of his first book in 1960, he has quietly helped redraw the map of architectural research, education, practice, design methods and theory. His insights lead us to a better understanding of how the built field works, contributing to the development of methods enabling professionals to contribute to its coherence and resilience. Following an introductory essay by the editors, placing Habraken’s work in context, this collection is organized in two sections and further organized around a number of specific themes: The Built Field; Role of the Architect; Control; Sharing Forms; Examples of Ways of Doing; Open Building; Tools; and Cultivating the Built Environment. A series of interviews with the author enable him to reflect on his journey of inquiry, research, advocacy and teaching – and the relationship between ways of seeing and ways of doing. Offering theoretical perspectives and methodological ways forward, this book will be of interest to architects, planners and urban designers tackling the challenges of the contemporary built environment that Habraken identifies, as well as educators and students. Cover Half Title Series Endorsements Title Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Introduction Attitudes Towards the Built Field; My Credo, Offered to Students of Architecture Introduction to WAYS OF SEEING Part I Ways of Seeing Beginning 1965 Man and Matter 1968 Housing: the Act of Dwelling 2001 What Use Theory?: Questions of Purpose and Practice Intermezzo by the editors The Built Field 1964 The Tissue of the Town: Some Suggestions for Further Scrutiny 1971 You Can’t Design the Ordinary 1979 General Principles about the Way Built Environments Exist 1984 The General from the Local 1988 Lives of Systems 2003 Making Urban Fabric Fine Grained – A Research Agenda Control 1968 Supports, Responsibilities and Possibilities 1972 Playing Games 1972 Involving People in the Housing Process 1972 Control Hierarchies in Complex Artifacts 1987 Control Relations in the Built Environment 2004 Change and the Distribution of Design Sharing Forms 1997 Forms of Understanding: Thematic Knowledge and the Modernist Legacy 1998 The Power of the Conventional Intermezzo by the editors Role of the Architect 1975 The Limits of Professionalism 1980 Notes of a Traveler 1980 Around the Black Hole 1999 Notes on a Network Profession 2002 Memories of a Lost Future 2006 Questions that Will Not Go Away: Some Remarks on Long-Term Trends in Architecture and Their Impact on Architectural Education 2013 Methodology and Ideology in Architecture Part II Ways of Doing Introduction to WAYS OF DOING Examples of WAYS OF DOING 1963 “Grondslagen” – Basic Principles for the Building of Supports and the Production of Support Dwellings 1967 The leaves and the Flowers 1987 Shell-Infill House 1994 The Samarkand Competition Submission Intermezzo by the editors The Open Building Approach 1964 Quality and Quantity: The Industrialization of Housing 1992 An Efficient Response to Users’ Preferences 1994 NEXT21 in the Open Building Perspective 2003 Open Building as a Condition for Industrial Construction Intermezzo by the editors Tools 1965 SAR: Rules for Design: A Summary 1988 Type as a Social Agreement 1988 The Uses of Levels 1988 Concept Design Games 2003 Emergent Coherent Behavior of Complex Configurations Through Automated Maintenance of Dominance Relations 2008 Design for Flexibility: Towards a Research Agenda Intermezzo by the editors Cultivating Built Environment 1978 Build as Before 1987 Control of Complexity 1994 Cultivating the Field: About an Attitude When Making Architecture 2004 Change and the Distribution of Design 2007 To Tend a Garden: Thoughts on the Strengths and Limits of Studio Pedagogy 2012 Cultivating Built Environment Intermezzo by the editors Summing Up 2013 Methodology and Ideology in Architecture 2016 Cultivating Complexity: The Need for a Shift in Cognition 2017 Back to the Future 2018 The Lure of Bigness 2021 Open Building: a Professional Challenge 2022 Open Building and Government: Lessons Learned Short Works: Conclusions WAYS OF SEEING/WAYS OF DOING – A Timeline Complete List of Experience, Honors and Writings of John Habraken Editors’ Biographies Index "This book offers, for the first time, access to the chronological arc of John Habrakens' writing in a single collection. Few architects or scholars have so consistently and patiently pursued such a humane and culturally vital set of radical questions related to the behaviour of the built environment as N. John Habraken. From the publication of his first book in 1960 to his current writings, he has quietly helped redraw the map of architectural research, education, practice, design methods and theory. His insights lead us to a better understanding of how the built field works, contributing to the development of methods enabling professionals to contribute to its coherence and resilience. Following an introductory essay by the editors, placing Habraken's work in context, this collection is organized in two sections and further organized around a number of specific themes: The Built Field; Role of the Architect; Control; Sharing Forms; Examples of Ways of Doing; Open Building; Tools; and Cultivating the Built Environment. A series of interviews with the author enable him to reflect on his journey of inquiry, research, advocacy and teaching - and the relationship between ways of seeing and ways of doing. Offering theoretical perspectives and methodological ways forward, this book will be of interest to architects, planners and urban designers tackling the challenges of the contemporary built environment that Habraken identifies"