Book Club review: Architectural Agents

Architectural Agents | Annabel Jane Wharton

University of Minnesota Press | $34.95 | 288pp

I once asked an architect how successfully he thought a building of his had been since its opening. Looking uncomfortable he reluctantly admitted that although he had driven past his project many times, he had never actually ventured inside since its inauguration. From his admission I sensed an underlying sense of fear. Fear that what he might find inside was very different from how he imagined it to be, fear that unconsciously his building could be subjecting its occupiers to irritation and difficulty not intended by its creator - fear of the building’s agency.

Is it rational to fear a building, especially when the majority would consider bricks and mortar to be inert passive structures? An argument for this fear being indeed rational can be found in Architectural Agents, Wharton’s provocatively titled book that argues the assumption that buildings are apathetic is misguided. Instead she argues that buildings are not benign but are in fact agents; living spatial objects. Fear is an understandable emotion when buildings have the potential to unconsciously inflict social, political and ethical effects on a user independent of the original intention of their designers or patrons.

沃顿雄辩的风格使她能够解释她关于代理人和代理角色的想法，然后展示建筑如何有能力导致死亡和谋杀，造成疾病和促进成瘾。每一个机构都通过引人入胜的传记来解释，从纽约修道院博物馆(Cloisters Museum)开始，这是书中大多数故事的一个特点。

The museum opens in 1938 devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. The heart of the Cloisters is not built of individual floor, walls and roofs: it’s made from an assemblage of entire structures that once formed part of everyday life in France and Spain. Transplanted to New York the violent separations that took them from their homes is disguised by their presentation as one whole tranquil museum space. Exhibits within the museum are described as being reduced to fragments of history taken from one context and placed in a new location with an estranged purpose. Both the building and the exhibits are used to demonstrate that even museums considered to bring enlightenment have the ability to reduce and degrade existing cultures.

其他讨论的例子包括巴勒斯坦考古博物馆因藏品被破坏而死亡，以及费迪南德和伊莎贝拉的医院(Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos)，这家医院对病人施行残忍，后来被佛朗哥政府修复，用作战争游客的目的地。最后，我们研究了拉斯维加斯的建筑发展，以及它在发展一种促进现实世界和网络成瘾的建筑环境形式中所扮演的角色。

Wharton concludes her fascinating book by focusing on the theoretical context that surrounds her arguments. This change in style can be difficult but for readers interested in theoretical criticism her analysis is insightful and original. In summary, for architectural theory to be useful to buildings or users the focus on theory should move away from abstract analysis of perceptions and engage with a building’s history and archaeology.

Architectural Agents argues for a new way of looking for the truth behind the behaviour of buildings and spaces. It takes complex theoretical ideas and matches them with intriguing stories of buildings acting unconsciously to perform antagonistic acts. My regret is that Wharton chooses to demonstrates agency through extreme actions with negative consequences. If a building’s biography contains honesty and hope then is it not possible we could find a building demonstrating an inspirational agency?