Tommy Lindgren
Vibrant Figures
Visual tools as mediators within the actor networks of the development of the built environment
100543
Architectural drawings are used everywhere in building projects: in competitions, permit processes, on construction sites and in public presentations. Yet they are often treated as neutral carriers of information — as if they simply show transparently the wishes of architects, clients or authorities. Vibrant figures: Visual tools as mediators within the actor networks of the development of the built environment, challenges this view.
The thesis studies architectural drawings and other visual tools as active participants in the processes through which the built environment is planned, negotiated and built. Using actor-network theory, the research examines how drawings influence projects by shaping what can be discussed, compared, approved, and constructed. Drawings do not merely represent projects: they help make projects happen in particular ways. They coordinate actors, translate goals, set limits, enable action and sometimes redirect intentions. In other words, the choice of our tools can support a project’s aims, but they can also interfere with them. The thesis shows that projects can be understood as sequences of changing settings, where both human and non-human actors, including plans, diagrams, permit documents and construction drawings, exercise agency. It also provides concepts and methods that can be applied in practice. The findings can help architects, planners, clients, authorities and researchers evaluate whether the visual tools used in competitions, regulation and construction actually serve the goals set for a project.