Products of Practice
As architectural instrumentation (i.e., instruments of service and other essential outputs of architecture practice) changes due to transformations in technology and society, how is the architects’ role in society also shifting? How do such changes challenge the disciplinary, professional, and practical frameworks that define architecture as a cultural pursuit?
This line of research, which grew from a research seminar and web archive by the same name, is rooted in the history and theory of architectural practice. The work traces the dynamic dance between the shape of practice and the society it serves through the lens of our practical instrumentation: our “products of practice.” Within the cacophony of contemporary media, under the pressures of finance and environmental ethics, and with an expectation of artificial general intelligence, the research looks to the past to explore the product of the architect as an artifact of cultural will, technological change, and circumstance, framing and projecting practice potentials now and into the future. Critically tracking the evolution of architectural instrumentation through a collective research framework, the Products of Practice seminar closely examines the things we actually make—from drawings to specifications to the profession itself—as the cultural and temporal constructs that limit or expand the role and agency of the architect in society. In addition to the web-based research archive, the work has generated several notable public conversations and Issue 52 of the Harvard Design Magazine: Instruments of Service.
Instructor and Principal Investigator
- Elizabeth Bowie Christoforetti
Researchers
- Maya Adachi
- Connor Gravelle
- Jennifer Li
- Adam Maserow
- Sam Naylor
- Leah Welch
Output
Harvard GSD Research Seminar, Products of Practice: From Code to Plan to Code. Spring 2020 – 2025
Website of student research (https://products-of-practice.webflow.io/) and digital humanities project documentation (https://products-of-practice.webflow.io/data-visualization).
Christoforetti, Elizabeth. Artificial Intelligence in Architecture (AI+A) Salon Series: Invited talk and discussion on Value/Values. New York, NY. Spring 2025.
Architecture as Labor: A Conversation on Unionization. Harvard GSD Practice Forum Event and Dialogue. March 29, 2023.
Christoforetti, Elizabeth Bowie. “Model Intelligence and Architectural Practice: From modello and maquette to machine learning.” American Institute of Architects Building Connections Congress. 2021.
Christoforetti, Elizabeth Bowie. “What does IP have to do with design practice?” BSA Practice-Based Research Conference. 2021.
Christoforetti, Elizabeth Bowie. “Model Intelligence and Architectural Practice: From modello and maquette to machine learning.” American Institute of Architects Building Connections Congress. 2021.
Christoforetti, Elizabeth Bowie. “What does IP have to do with design practice?” BSA Practice-Based Research Conference. 2021.
