Mapping Controversies in Architecture

Cutting-edge digital technologies enable us to follow and map controversies in architecture. Drawing on a rich tradition of semiotics and literary theory, the mapping controversies method offers a new way of enquiry, which consists of following, documenting and visualizing ongoing controversies. In the field of architecture, it allows us to log, analyse and map the variety of elements a building is made of, and the vast range of factors that impinge on design, as well as all the actors involved in the design and building process - their various trajectories, changing positions, groupings, modalities of action, and the associations they trace. This book reveals how controversy mapping allows us to follow and better understand urban dynamics and design concepts rather than swiftly explaining them through social, political, cultural or economic factors. It demonstrates how the use of new digital technologies and the huge amounts of available web resources permit us to track both the urban and the social. Moreover, it highlights how the newest developments in architectural software can improve the analytical and visual potential of controversy mapping. By examining material from sources - press clippings, interviews, archives - which document and map design controversies, as well as drawing on semantic maps and recent applications of parametric modelling, the book encapsulates the dynamics of a controversy. In doing so, it argues that this approach could permit a more efficient educational philosophy and a more informed urban planning process.