AA Agendas 11: Mediating Architecture

Given today’s multitude of demands on the built environment, the role of the architect has extended from being a mere designer and builder to acting as a mediator within a much larger network of expertise. This mediation takes place on multiple levels - within the building industry, between public, clients and designers, and between public, clients and designers, and between the actual design and its environment. To achieve this, the field of work, the tools of design and the representation of architects needs to develop. The architect has to design the design process itself. Mediating Architecture demonstrates the extended role of the architect through the applied work of AA’s Diploma Unit 14 within London’s Thames Gateway over three consecutive years. A series of essays reflect this methodology from the multi-disciplinary perspectives of architecture, urban design, landscape design and philosophy.