Getting Over the Fence

This paper examines the relationship between the concept of the ‘social’ within an aspect of architectural practice. It explores how the detachment of a building site from an urban context through the use of fences and boards inhibits architectures ability to engage with social networks. Using de Certeau and in particular, Latour’s definition of the social as a critical benchmark, the author identifies the Arch-OS system as having a constructive methodology toward reconciling architectures use of digital systems in order to recover an integrated model of the social.

Architecture has been using computers for many years since IBM’s introduction of the first commercial computer aided design (CAD) system for General Motors in 1963. Since then, the advent of networked desktop PCs has allowed small businesses and academic centers to use computers to share work around the clock and around the globe, as well as being able to work simultaneously on single CAD documents across a network. In 1990 Mitchell used of the term ‘society of design’, derived from Marvin Minsky’s metaphor ‘society of mind’ to forecast how complex design problems may be solved through distributed actions.