RESEARCH ARTICLE

Material Engagement Theory and urban formation: Notes towards a theoretical synthesis

  • Frederik Weissenborn
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  • Gaskin House, London, UK

Received date: 07 Dec 2021

Revised date: 06 Mar 2022

Accepted date: 26 Mar 2022

Published date: 15 Aug 2022

Copyright

2022 2022 Higher Education Press Limited Company. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Abstract

Material Engagement Theory (MET) theorizes artefacts as the emergent outcomes of non-linear processes of formation in which both human and non-human forms of agency are involved. It has proved a useful framework for exploring the architectural design process – which typically involves the mobilisation of multiple tools and materialities – but has not yet been applied to urban design. This paper argues that MET can be applied to the analysis of urban form, helping explain the distributed processes of urban formation. In sketching out an outline theory of urban material engagement, the paper facilitates a dialogue between MET and two theories of urban morphogenesis – SIRN and Space Syntax theory – which explain formal emergence in the urban surface and the urban grid, respectively. Exploring these theories’ analyses of urban formation – and the relationship between urban form and urban social behaviour – the paper outlines a theoretical synthesis which centres on the artefactual nature of urban form.

Cite this article

Frederik Weissenborn . Material Engagement Theory and urban formation: Notes towards a theoretical synthesis[J]. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022 , 11(4) : 630 -641 . DOI: 10.1016/j.foar.2022.03.008

Outlines

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