Spatial Agency is the project of Nishat Awan, Tatjana Schneider and Jeremy Till. Having burrowed my nose into the Spatial Agency book a number of times this year, I am only just finding the time to somewhat more casually limber through the website which presents an almost wiki-pedia-esque amount of opportunities to be lost in a web of links.
Broadly, the project looks beyond the traditional architectural focus on the look and making of buildings, instead considering a wider field in which architects and - they say it - non-architects can operate. The website is easy to get around, with simple 'where?' 'how?' and 'why' sections. The 'why' section touches briefly on ethics, establishing a particular pertinence to the theoretical grounding of my thesis:
"We take an ethical stance in architecture in the sense of 'being-for the Other', to 'assume responsibility for the Other'-with the Other being a 'mix of builders, users, occupiers, observers of architecture'. Basically, everyone who is affected by the production, construction and inhabitation of architecture. To have an ethical stance as an architect does not therefore mean to adhere to the 'ethics of the profession', but to acknowledge and work with the desires and needs of these 'others'."
As a side note, Till had some interesting comments to make about the recent riba awards:
"If RIBA student medal winners are harbingers of the future, the only role left for architects is to draw spectacular images of dystopia."
"RIBA Student Awards: Designs rewarded for visions of dystopia, dissertations for articulations of the real. Right way round?"
It is always reassuring when your own uncertainties are echoed by those with more 'weight' than you.
