Exploring needs, possibilities and capacities for action Promoting social and political change

摘要

This edition of arq assembles a selection of papers presented at the Conference 'Agency' organised by the research group called 'The Agency' initiated in 2007 in the School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield. We offered to host the 5th ahra International Conference, giving it the theme of 'Agency' and hoping that the submissions would energise the relationships between the humanities, the architectural profession, and society.rnWe wanted to explore ways of understanding current architectural needs, possibilities, and capacities for action. As humanities research has a tendency to be too inward looking, 'Agency's' ambition was to redirect such work towards greater engagement. We hoped to shift the focus away from the objects and processes of architectural production towards an investigation of their wider context and possibilities. We wanted to learn from the papers offered what is meant by 'action' in the different contexts of research and practice. We wanted to know what kinds of activities and conditions are relevant, what prevents the effective exercise of agency, and what the necessary tactics for action might be. We hoped also to address the big social and political questions in this period of rapid global environmental change.