Towards a Participatory Architecture

Calvo, Mirian and Fabregat-Nodar, Carmen (2023) Towards a Participatory Architecture. In: Future Home : Trends, Innovations and Disruptors in Housing Design. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 127-140. ISBN 9781032414683

Abstract

For a long time, everyday architecture and home design were underpinned by the principles of co-production and caring. Yet current mainstream practices produce domestic designs shaped as market-driven products, proliferating urban metabolisms of waste production. In the face of climate collapse, a new radical rethink is required in architecture. A more direct participation of dwellers must be brought back through transdisciplinary approaches underpinned by the human right to housing and well-being. In this chapter, we explore how participatory architecture is influencing the co-construction of alternative visions of homes and the inherent changes in ways of living. We discuss participatory architecture roots and three housing models where participatory architecture is already embedded: social housing, cohousing and earthships. Through the analysis of these examples, we build a series of insights concerning participatory architecture and how it can contribute to shape the future of homes.