A chapter for Concrete for the Other Half?
(Leipzig: Spector Books, 2021).
(Leipzig: Spector Books, 2021).
Many of us are familiar with the frustration that arises when we try to assemble an IKEA cupboard with thousands of details and a smiling, cartoonish man who seems to make fun of us trying to construct this object according to the impenetrably unclear instructions. Although architects are generally considered designers of built objects, what happens when instead they strive to design systems and tools with the hope of delegating creative agency to future architecture users?
The case of the Minimum Cost Housing Group and its aspiration to empower ordinary people to construct cheaper and more adaptable homes is an interesting case study of architects turning process designers. MCHG members experimented with a new building material—sulphur concrete, a more affordable and accessible alternative to conventional concrete. The new material of mortar-free interlocking blocks required changes in the construction process. These interventions were expected to shorten the time needed for house construction and create prototypes for more environmentally conscious homes. However, the specialised process of creating a new material block and building a house had to be communicated to the target audience, ordinary people in the developing context. Thus, it was deconstructed into sequences of actions and communicated effectively to potential users. To facilitate and explain the process didactically, MCHG architects produced a series of building manuals based on hand drawings and photographic images. This short inquiry looks closely at this instructive communication to discover the implicit assumptions and intended omissions in this knowledge transmission process. The essay scrutinises gaps, omissions, and repetitions between the position of the architects and those they design for, which are revealed through the building manuals.