This book advocates for a fundamental shift in how we design and build architecture, placing construction knowledge at the core of the design process. It explores how a deeper understanding of materials, labor, and the environment can yield architecture better attuned to its environmental, social, and cultural impacts.
Through an examination of thirty case studies spanning eighteen countries, the book illustrates the integration of these crucial considerations into contemporary design practices. Each case study provides an in-depth look behind the scenes, revealing the design logic, manufacturing processes, and on-site construction strategies through documentation, drawings, and photographs.
By promoting an approach that focuses on a holistic understanding of the entire design process—from conception to execution—this book offers valuable insights into key concepts such as embodied versus operational energy, lifecycle, durability, longevity, constructability, precision, and tolerance. For architects and students alike, it offers a framework for rethinking the relationship between design and making by addressing the urgent demands of our time.
Table of Contents:
Introduction. 1. Materials. 2. Labor. 3. Environment. 4. Visual Essay.
About the Author :
David Costanza is an Assistant Professor of Architecture and the director of the Building Construction Lab (BCL) at Cornell University, as well as the principal of David Costanza Studio (DCS), a design-build practice based in Ithaca, New York. His work foregrounds Construction Methods, Material Culture, and Labor Practices through the lens of Decarbonization. Across practice, research, and teaching, Costanza investigates the nonlinearity of design processes, opening new terrains for architectural intervention while cultivating an expanded dialogue among representation, computational design, digital fabrication, building science, materials, construction, labor, and the environment.
