Integrative Design: Rethinking the Way We Build

Published paper in the Association for Integrative Studies - Pathways Newsletter, Nov '12

Interdisciplinarity involves a continual oscillation between theory and practice, between the mindset of the interdisciplinarian and application to complex, real world conditions. Beyond engaging in multiple disciplinary perspectives, interdisciplinary practitioners often must incorporate the interests of diverse stakeholders in planning, designing and executing projects. This installment of the Emerging Scholars Column offers examples of integrative techniques can play a part in the field of architecture. The process described here illustrates the kind of power the interdisciplinary approach can have in solving critical problems in the built world, a process that could be productively generalized to projects in other fields.