Rethinking project boundaries in architectural practice: attempts at ‘giving back’ in recent work by LMN Architects

Abstract

ABSTRACT Project boundaries force architects to work with resources that are insufficient to meet all possible interests, raising questions of distributive justice. In settler colonial contexts, these mingle with questions of restorative justice, prompted by demands to repatriate Indigenous land and life. To foreground how questions of justice arise and are engaged with in contemporary architectural practice, I explore recent work by LMN Architects, an interdisciplinary studio active in complex scenarios with many different interests. LMN is based in Seattle, an area Native Americans inhabited long before the first European settlers. Focusing on two projects in the area – the Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal and the Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion – I analyse how LMN seeks ways to involve the Coast Salish tribal communities: from programming and design; over siting, spatial organisation, and integration of public art; to material selection, sourcing, and beyond. This analysis allows understanding the studio’s attempts at ‘giving back’ in relation to their ambition to leverage a project’s opportunities beyond the boundaries of its site. Throughout their work, LMN adopts expansive notions of who is affected – by extending whose interests to meet – and what resources to distribute – by reconsidering who is invited to contribute and how invitees may benefit from that contribution.