The Collaborators: Interactions in the Architectural Design Process: (Ashgate Studies in Architecture)

Illustrated by critical analyses of significant buildings, including examples by such eminent architects as Adler and Sullivan, Erich Mendelsohn, and Louis Kahn, this book examines collaboration in the architectural design process over a period ranging from the mid-19th century to the late 1960s. The examples chosen, located in England, the United States, Israel and South Africa, are of international scope. They have intrinsic interest as works of architecture, and illustrate all facets of collaboration, involving architects, engineers and clients. Prior to dealing with the case studies the theoretical framework is set in three introductory essays which discuss in general terms the organizational implications of partnerships, associations and teams; the nature of interactions between architect and engineer; and cooperation and confrontation in the relationship between architect and client. From this original standpoint, the interactive role of the designers, it examines and reinterprets such well-known buildings as the Chicago Auditorium and the Kimbell Art Museum. The re-evaluation of St Pancras Station and its hotel questions common presumptions about the separation of professional roles played by its engineer and architect. The account of the troubled history of Mendelsohn’s project for the first Haifa Power House highlights the difficulties that arise when a determined and eminent architect confronts a powerful and demanding client. In a later era, the examination of the John Moffat Building, which is less well known but deserving of wider recognition, reveals how the fruitful collaboration of multiple architects can result in a successful unified design. These case studies comprise a wide range of programmes, challenges, personalities and interactions. Ultimately, in five different ways, in five different epochs, and in five different circumstantial and cultural contexts, this book shows how the dialogue between the players in the design process resonates upon the works of architecture that their collaboration engenders.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword; Introduction: players in the design process - three essays; St Pancras reconsidered: a case study in the interface of architecture and engineering, Gilbert Herbert; Speculations on a black hole: Adler & Sullivan and the planning of the Chicago Auditorium building, Gilbert Herbert and Mark Donchin; The clash of the Titans: Rutenberg, Mendelsohn and the problem of client-architect relationships, Gilbert Herbert; Working as a team: from the Transvaal Group to the John Moffat Building, Gilbert Herbert; Kahn, Komendant and the Kimbell Art Museum: cooperation, competition and conflict, Mark Donchin; Index.

About the Author :
Gilbert Herbert, Emeritus Professor of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, and Mark Donchin, Architect and City Planner, Los Angeles, USA

Review :
'It is generally understood that the diversity of players in programming, designing and constructing buildings can be, well, huge. In confluence all directly contribute to the final product. Yet their roles and interactions, especially during the critical design process, are universally ignored in historical post mortems: that must change. Professor Herbert's and Architect Donchin's thoughtfully prepared and carefully crafted and documented study of The Collaborators will without doubt effect positively the nature, the very structure of future architecture histories. The book is highly recommended.' Donald Leslie Johnson, University of South Australia, Australia 'Collaboration is the crucial element in the design process from antiquity to the present. This study explores its role in a global market by examining five different projects in five different parts of the world. Today, the complexity of structural systems depends on the interaction among architects, engineers and program directors, backed by an enormous cadre of related workers. This book constitutes an important reminder to professionals and amateurs of the necessity for continuous dialogue and cooperation in the building arts.' Naomi Miller, Boston University, USA '"Do I have some good stories for you!" While reading The Collaborators I found myself mentally swapping war tales with Gil Herbert (my first studio critic) and Mark Donchin. This joy of recognition will be shared by all architects who find their own experience dissected on its pages, and by many clients. Yet our accounts cannot be as insightful or enlightening as the careful analyses and theoretical formulations of the authors. Clients and architects could see this book as a flagship for "Project Psychology and Management," a course that each feels the other should take. And both would be right.' Denise Scott Brown, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates