Assembling the Architect: The History and Theory of Professional Practice

Assembling the Architect explores the origins and history of architectural practice. It unravels the competing interests that historically have structured the field and cultivates a deeper understanding of the contemporary profession. Focusing on the period 1870 to 1920 when the foundations were being laid for the U.S. architectural profession that we recognize today, this study traces the formation and standardization of the fundamental relationships among architects, owners, and builders, as codified in the American Institute of Architects' very first Handbook of Architectural Practice. It reveals how these archetypal roles have always been fluid, each successfully redefining their own agency with respect to the others in the constantly-shifting political economy of building. Far from being a purely historical study, the book also sheds light on today's digitally-enabled profession. Contemporary architectural tools and disciplinary ideals continue to be shaped by the same fundamental tensions, and emergent modes of practice such as BIM (Building Information Modelling) and IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) represent the realization of programs and agendas that have been over a century in play. Essential reading for professional practice courses as a contextual and historical companion to the Handbook, Assembling the Architect provides a critical perspective of the profession that is fundamental to understanding current architectural practice.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Preface Introduction 1. Seeing Double: Histories of Architectural of Practice 1. Owners and Builders, Their Umpires and Agents a. Fifty Years Ago b. The Uniform Contract 2. Mr. Day's Handbook 3. The Wisdom of Tom Thumtack 4. Another Kind of Architects' Handbook 2. The Architect's Office 1. Pictures at an Exhibition 2. Rockwell Kent 3. Squires & Wynkoop 4. Ewing & Chappell 5. The Architects' Building 3. Architect and Owner 1. A Collection of Practices 2. Various Forms of Architectural Service 3. The Selection of an Architect a. By Direct Selection b. By Competition 4. Fees, Contracts, and Consultants a. “Fees – A Reductio Ad Absurdum” b. Agreement Between Owner and Architect c. Employment of Engineers and Other Consulting Specialists 5. The Architect-Owner Relationship a. The Architect's Status b. The Owner's Duties 4. Architects and Builders 1. Card Games and Boxing Matches 2. General Contractors 3. Architect as Owner's Agent 4. Builders Organize a. William Sayward b. A “Critical Analysis” c. Arbitration versus Arbitrariness 5. A New Standard of Care 5. Tools, Technology, Practice a. Drawings and Specs b. Supervision and Superintendence c. Shop Drawings d. Change Orders e. The Quantity System 2. New Tools of Practice a. BIM and IPD b. Architectural Practice, Artificial Intelligence 3. A Conversion Bibliography Index

About the Author :
George Barnett Johnston is Professor of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology and principal of Johnston+Dumais [architects].

Review :
Johnston's study of architectural practice stands apart from other histories of the profession because it emphasizes the business of architecture as a determinant of the profession ... The strength of Johnston's study is in how it frames architectural practice as a series of relationships that support and challenge one another. Through a scholarly yet imaginative weaving of architectural practice's history inn the United States at a critical junction in time, Assembling the Architect sets original grounds for a broader theory of the profession, where socio-technical reflection becomes a true compass for informed action. For all those who wish the profession of architecture was highly valued by and broadly accessible to a wide range of publics, Johnston reminds us that these goals are not new and have been poorly served by the well-meaning attempts to protect the integrity of the profession in the past. By tracing the evolution of the instruments of services, model law and ethical debates of the past, we see how architects have protected increasingly limited zones of influence. Seeking more equitable, integrated and data-enabled future practices, we would do well to heed the lessons of the past. Johnston's detailed and colourful vignettes are a rigorous work of reconstruction ... The ease with which the text glides from one protagonist to another provides a rewarding reading experience ... His book provides a portal into the world of American architects a century ago.