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The Engineer’s Shadow: Le Corbusier and the Rise of Data as Abstract Representation in Architecture
In the early twentieth century, architecture’s relationship with knowledge and control shifted through the growing use of abstract data as a design method. Rather than relying on direct observation or historical precedent, architects began to work with systems of representation—proportions, metrics, typologies, and standards—that transformed the body, material, and even human behaviour into symbolic formats.…
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The Politics of Abstraction: How Early Architects Gained Authority
The Politics of Abstraction: How Early Architects Gained Authority When we think about architectural data today, we often jump straight to computational design, BIM models, and parametric workflows. Yet the relationship between the architect and abstract representation has far deeper historical roots that reveal something profound about our discipline’s evolution and political positioning. My doctoral…
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The Architecture of Data Surveillance
I am very interested in data and how it influences our material world. Data is my focus as it relates to how we interact with the world, and that interaction increasingly affects our sense of reality and behaviour. While architecture may not directly engage in data extraction processes, buildings react to society and culture shaped…
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Cartographies of Control: How Maps Construct (Not Just Represent) Reality
From Gaza to Ukraine and the South China Sea, cartography is again a frontline weapon. Maps circulate to assert control, redraw boundaries, and declare what counts as territory. These are not passive illustrations—they are active tools of persuasion. They construct, as much as they depict, spatial realities. As architects, we might feel far removed from…
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Whose Reality? Unpacking data in Architecture.
Data has rapidly evolved from a background technical tool into one of the most influential elements shaping contemporary architecture. Yet, despite its prevalence, architects rarely question what ‘data’ fundamentally represents or acknowledge how deeply it influences their work. This post addresses that gap by exploring data’s character and implications for architectural design—from initial observation and…
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Observing Architecture: How Data Captures and Constrains Reality
Observation is central to architectural practice, and always has been. Observation shapes how architects understand the world, make decisions, and imagine spaces and structures. When the eye observes, it collects data that the brain interprets into information and, historically, this eye/brain relationship set the foundation for how architects visualise, analyse, and interpret spatial environments. As…
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The future of architecture in Harari’s Dataism
I recently re-reading Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens and Homo Deus, and have been thinking about the leap he makes between the two books. From his first book where he likens all life as bio‑chemical algorithms, he speculates of a future of super‑intelligent digital programmes eclipsing us as data‑processors. While Harari admits that reducing life to…
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Architecture, Data and Super Users
In “Super-users: design technology specialists and the future of design” Randy Deutsch argues that the Architecture Engineering Construction (AEC) industry needs a new type of professional skillset called, yes you guessed it, a “super-user”. On first reading, it is clear that the adverb “super” describes the ability to achieve things outside of the normal, but…
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Architecture is a History of Data.
Data is often viewed as a contemporary architectural phenomenon, emerging with digital technology and the internet. However, data has always played a crucial role in architectural history. From the earliest civilisations to the present, architects have utilised data for design and construction coordination, decision justification, and creation of enduring structures. Ancient Data The earliest examples…
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The Problem Context of Australia’s AEC Industry, and Steps to Address it.
In just three weeks at the ARC Training Centre for Next-Gen Architectural Manufacturing (Arch Manu), I’ve already begun to grasp the importance of this research group. This five-year journey promises to be more than just academic training; it will be an opportunity to fundamentally reshape how we address sustainability within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction…