The Labor of Architecture

The Labor of Architecture examines the social and historical narratives that led to the illusory division between the "working class" and the "creative class." In popular imagination, as author C.G. Beck observes, the architect is a singular genius, obsessively working alone in the studio. Surrounded by beautiful drawings and intricate models, the architect wrestles only with themselves and the purity of their design. This is certainly no longer the case--and perhaps never was.

Today, a new generation of designers encounters a different reality: exploitative work places, a financial crisis that ravaged the housing sector, sexist and racist hiring practices, and a quickly worsening climate catastrophe in which designers have played no small. Providing insight through his direct experiences organizing and negotiating from within the world of architecture, Beck explains how a design-based union movement can create a new reality for the labor of architects and designers, arguing that they have more in common with other unionized industries than generally assumed. Ultimately, The Labor of Architecture is a call for designers to prioritize collective action over their own individualistic pursuits--not just for the betterment of their profession, but for the sake of the society they help to build each day.

C. G. Beck is an architect and organizer based in Brooklyn, NY. He served on the organizing and bargaining committees for BAU, the first private-sector architecture union in the U.S. He continues to organize workers with AWU, a campaign out of the IAM, and also teaches at The New School.