The recurring question of whether architecture is an art does not allow for a simple answer. The question itself, however, exposes the ways in which the concept of architecture has changed and is changing. The status of architecture has shifted alongside the concepts of art, culture and the creative economy.

Trading between Architecture and Art does not attempt to answer the question of whether architecture is an art, but considers the question itself: how it affects architecture, and art, as a practice and a discipline. This volume aims to identify the overlaps and misalignments between concepts and categories implied in the question, and to trace the impact of these on the ways that art and architecture are valued. By unpacking the historical and current interests at stake in defining architecture as art, Trading between Architecture and Art reconsiders the place of architecture in contemporary culture.

Project members

Editors: Wouter Davidts, Susan Holden and Ashley Paine

Dr Susan Holden

Senior Lecturer in Architecture
School of Architecture, Design and Planning

Dr Ashley Paine

Senior Lecturer in Architecture
School of Architecture, Design and Planning
Director of ATCH
Centre of Architecture Theory Culture History