The Act-Shifts Between Humans and Nonhumans in Architecture: A Reading of Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory

Abstract

Given that the era we live in today is quite chaotic in terms of the multi-layered and fragmented environment, it is necessary to develop a new way of ‘reading’. The dynamic nature of contemporary cities, as marked by their social and physical transformations, requires that we adjust our approach for a comprehensive understanding. In the field of architecture, Latour’s discourse points to the dynamic context of architectural production, going beyond a simplistic understanding of a building as an object or as a practice-based project. Designing a building is a collective action, and the building itself creates a ‘new context’ by virtue of the process governing its development and by its material existence. The relationship between an architect and a design is always dynamic, complex and cannot be simply reduced to human mastery over built form. Using an example of a hotel and its design process, this paper aims to discuss the act-shifts between humans and nonhumans. The discussion is presented not to merely give an example of how Latour’s actor-network theory (ANT) might be applied as a methodology, but rather, to highlight the significance of the viewpoint ANT presents. The hotel is a nonhuman actor and shares responsibility for its acts along with the other actors, for the things it causes as well as for the opportunities it provides. While humans stand as decision-makers when designing buildings, the overall picture becomes different when the effects of nonhumans, once counted as passive and secondary actors, are taken into consideration. A building needs to be addressed in terms of its dynamic role as a mediator, where other acts are involved in the transformation of the circumstances governing the building environment. The design process of a building involves both visible and invisible actors, and a building prompts an ongoing change by its presence, or by affecting the behaviours of other actors (humans and nonhumans). However, the architectural design process still lacks an overall understanding, one where nonhumans are counted not as passive actors affecting the process but as active participants taking on an operative role. The environmental and geographical conditions that are analysed before the design process and the conceptual decisions defining the project need to be flexible, optional and always ready to be taken ‘under construction’.