The Agency of Form – Discourse Series 2015

Formula, formulaic, formation, formidable, formalism, formalist, formalise, formant, formative, formatting, former, formless, formwork, deformed, transform, chloroform, malformed,  misinformed, perform, conform, cuniform, reform, uniform……

The discipline of architecture has wedded the agency of form to an excessive number of form-fi tting and ill-formed concerns. Through aesthetic detours, mythical narratives and technological illusions encompassing everything from the cadastral to the monumental, our contemporary capacity to situate form as an intellectual pursuit is conceived within a design studio environment marked by degeneracy, fatigue and celebration.

Consequently the argument that form has agency must be considered concurrently as an appeal to something else entirely and as that which is captured without ambiguity in the substantial of form alone.

The Agency of FORM is left to ask: Is there architecture without form?

Convenors: Michael Spooner & Leanne Zilka

Moderator: Michael Spooner

Panel: Pia Ednie-Brown, Leanne Zilka, Carey Lyon, Gwyllim Jahn