Developing a framework for describing, planning and evaluating empowerment in architectural making projects

The aim of this practice based thesis is to develop a framework to describe and evaluate the empowerment that takes place in the course of participatory ‘making’ in an architectural context. ‘Making’ research in architectural contexts is widespread, but it is predominately concerned with making as a techo-focussed activity, where digitally driven practices can offer opportunities for novel artefacts or opportunities for increased control for architect/makers. There is limited research in making in co-design contexts when empowerment for makers via the act of making is a concern. As a result, my research and this thesis also explore what strategies need to be put in place to allow effective integration of cross-disciplinary codesigners, or even those that may not be aware that they are carrying out design, and describes the social transformations that occur in addition to the material ones. The aim of the study was both to test my thesis proposition that such projects can be described in terms of materials, prompts and subsequent empowerment. A deep case study of an architectural making project, Solar Mirrors led by Kate Darby and Gianni Botsford at Studio in the Woods, was used to generate an in-depth, understanding of complex issues in their real-life context as a test bed for this thesis. This was an important step along the journey to developing a framework for the description and evaluation of architectural making projects. My findings showed that ‘materials & prompts’ are an effective way of demonstrating and defining the route to empowerment in an architectural making project. I illustrated when the materials and prompts can be deployed, and building on this knowledge I set out a framework for describing and setting out what happens/could happen in an architectural making project when empowerment is a desired outcome with a new Plan of Empowered Architectural Making (EAM), a version/plug-in for the commonly used RIBA Plan of Work