'Design as Activism': The Rise of the Citizen Architect

"In the past decade, a new breed of architect has emerged. There is no grand theory behind their work, or even a major star. They're not master-planning new 'cities of the future,' creating utopian housing prototypes, or designing 'revolutionary' building forms. Instead, these architects have set out to improve conditions in their own communities and elsewhere in the world through a series of independent, small-scale efforts.

We asked a handful of leading activists featured in the newly released Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism (edited by Bryan Bell and Katie Wakeford for Metropolis Books) to help us put together a manual for what Thomas Fisher calls 'public-interest architecture.' All offered a five-step how-to based on their own experience working with schools, communities, or available tech­nologies to build better homes and neighborhoods. Consider this a sort of field guide for extending the practice of design into the broader world."