Funded by the Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands Architecture Fund.

The 15 essays in ‘Architecture as a Craft’ present a vision of the architectural discipline in which the essence is sought in the craft itself. The book is based on the symposium of the same name that the Delft University of Technology organised in 2009. The authors include the architects Michiel Riedijk, Sou Fujimoto and Gregg Pasquarelli.

Society imposes stringent demands on the designs of architects, for example in the field of sustainability. Programmes of requirements are drawn up for this purpose that exert a strong influence on the design. The contributors to ‘Architecture as a Craft’, however, consider that it is necessary to grasp the structure of a design without these external influences playing a role.

The craft of the architect is approached in this book from three perspectives: the Position adopted by the architect in the design and construction process, the Composition of the design, and the choice of Materials of the design. Design drawings, scale models and texts play an important role in this process. They are the products with which architects explain their position, the composition and the choice of materials of the design to others.

Contributors
Michael Maltzan, Enrique Walker, Joan Ockman, Giorgio Grassi, Kersten Geers, Ungers, Emre Alturk, Gregg Pasquarelli, Sou Fujimoto, Mark Linder, Jan De Vylder, Alper Alkan, Stefano Milani, Michiel Riedijk, Christoph Gantenbein

‘Architecture as a Craft’ is a follow-up to ‘Architectural Positions’ and ‘Colour in Contemporary Architecture’.