Abstract
In research published in 1982, Mackinder & Marvin put forward their ‘continuum between written information and experience’ model for decision making in architectural practice. As part of a new research project, ethnographic methods were used to collect data on the detailed design processes adopted by early career architects in two medium sized UK architectural practices. This new data reveals that ‘The Continuum’ model still has relevance four decades later but, to reflect the specifics of detailed design, a wider range of actors need to be acknowledged. This network is established on a project-by-project basis with collaborators enrolled in an ad hoc way, some for the duration of the project and others for short periods before they are dropped. Based on these observations, a new ‘Network Model of Detailed Design Collaborators’ is proposed that situates early career architects within a collection of human and nonhuman collaborators.
Keywords
Architectural Practice, Ethnography, Detailed Design, Actor Network Theory
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1799
Citation
Sloan, J. (2026) Human and nonhuman collaborators: Written information and people in the process of detailed design for early career architects., in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1799
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Human and nonhuman collaborators: Written information and people in the process of detailed design for early career architects.
In research published in 1982, Mackinder & Marvin put forward their ‘continuum between written information and experience’ model for decision making in architectural practice. As part of a new research project, ethnographic methods were used to collect data on the detailed design processes adopted by early career architects in two medium sized UK architectural practices. This new data reveals that ‘The Continuum’ model still has relevance four decades later but, to reflect the specifics of detailed design, a wider range of actors need to be acknowledged. This network is established on a project-by-project basis with collaborators enrolled in an ad hoc way, some for the duration of the project and others for short periods before they are dropped. Based on these observations, a new ‘Network Model of Detailed Design Collaborators’ is proposed that situates early career architects within a collection of human and nonhuman collaborators.