Recently Parke MacDowell delivered the 2021 Earl R. Flansburgh Young Designers Award Lecture: Architecture, Making, and the Power of Shared Agency.
Moderated by Regan Shields and Elizabeth Stife of the BSA Honors & Awards Committee, the lecture mapped connections across a selection of Parke’s architecture and fabrication projects, positioning making as a way to elevate design and engage community.
A great presentation—both content and presentation. I particularly appreciate the way Parke is looking at how architects can engage more physically in our increasingly digital profession.
Elizabeth Stifel, BPDA
Parke, also the recipient of the 2022 AIA Young Architects Award, advocates that design resides in the cultivation of relationships: whether it is the intricacies of a connection detail, civic-scale social choreography, arranging shapes, or composing a project team. This approach is particularly evident in Parke’s pro-bono work, such as the award-winning projects with Beyond Walls in Lynn.
As an architect, I think our charge is to provide design that is inspirational, without being prescriptive. And to approach the design process with openness that invites many voices to contribute.
Parke MacDowell, PAYETTE
The engaged virtual audience provided an insightful discussion following Parke’s presentation. The conversation covered a wide range of topics including contract structures, architectural education, and new modes of practices, with a particular emphasis on potential value of embedding a fabrication mindset within architectural design.
Learn more about Parke and his design approach: Spotlight Architect | Release 01: Parke MacDowell
Read more about the Earl R. Flansburgh Award and the application process for the 2022 award here.
Sandrine Héroux, Sophie McKenzie, and Emily Chowdhury are each members of our in-house Fabrication team. Their day-to-day work centers on a simple question: what changes when design becomes something people can physically test?
These women challenge the notion of fabrication as a support service, framing it instead as an essential component of architectural authorship, a way to test ideas, share agency, and widen the boundaries of what architectural practice can include.
In our most recent blog, they discuss their individual paths in architecture and reflect on their experience using fabrication as a tool for fostering shared agency, community engagement and broadening the role of the architect. Link in bio!
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