Building (in) the Future:
Recasting Labor in Architecture
Phillip Bernstein , Peggy Deamer

There is no denying the transformational role of the computer in the evolution of contemporary architectural practice. But does this techno-determinist account tell the whole story? Are humans becoming irrelevant to the overall development of the built environment? Building (in) the Future confronts these important questions by examining the fundamental human relationships that characterize contemporary design and construction. Thirty-four contributors including designers, engineers, fabricators, contractors, construction managers, planners, and scholars examine how contemporary practices of production are reshaping the design/construction process.

Through observations, arguments, and detailed project explorations these diverse contributors describe new models of practice and reorganizations of labor for the 21st century. Chapters include a reconsideration of craft in light of digital fabrication; an exploration of new methods of collaboration; an analysis of changes in contracts and standards; and an assessment of the new market realities of mass production and customization.


Phillip Bernstein is Vice-President at Autodesk, Inc., where he leads the Building Solutions Division, and a lecturer on professional practice at the Yale School of Architecture.

Peggy Deamer is a principal in the firm, Deamer Studio, and a professor at the Yale School of Architecture.

Extended essays by Kenneth Frampton, Paolo Tombesi, Howard W. Ashcraft, Jr., Reinhold Martin, and Barry Bergdoll

Brief essays by Kevin Rotheroe, James Carpenter, Branko Kolarevic, Rodd Merchant, John Taylor, Chris Noble, Phil Bernstein, and Kent Larson

Case Studies on recent architectural projects by Sheila Kennedy, Mark Goulthorpe, William Zahner, Klaus Bollinger, Scott Marble, Marc Simmons, Coren Sharples, John Nastasi, Hilary Sample, Joshua Prince-Ramus, Christiano Ceccato, Robert Kelle, Ewa Magnusson, Charlie Lazor, and James Timberlake

And a preface by Robert A.M. Stern, introductory remarks by Andrew Ross, and a postscript by Moshen Mostafavi
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Editorial Reviews

Yale Architecture Magazine:
"In Building (in) the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture, editors and Yale professors Peggy Deamer and Philip G. Bernstein (83) take an important step in grounding the conversation on the use of technology across the building-design and construction processes. The book is a collection of essays by industry leaders, theorists, and academics organized into two main sections, Working and Making followed by Collaboration. Its main contribution, and what sets the book apart, is that it is not a traditional show-and-tell of successful technologys role as a catalyst for change concerning the larger issue of how the profession and all the players in it want and need to reposition themselves for the future. " — Federico Negro (Spring 2010)

Constructing New Work Roles for High-tech Times, e-Oculus:
"There are books aplenty about how digital design is spurring formal innovations in architecture, but one new book, Building (in) the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010), focuses on a different, equally important topic: the seismic shifts in labor roles that have accompanied technological advances." — Lisa Delgado (Marhc 9, 2010)

Constructs Yale Architecture:
"Examines the human relationships that characterize contemporary design and construction." (Spring 2010)

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