Analysing talk-in-interaction between architects and users

The activity of design is a common work activity for an architect, yet to date has received less attention in architectural studies of practice. This thesis in part attends to this knowledge gap by studying the activity of design in the everyday setting of the conversations between architects and users during early project stages. The research adopts a particular theoretical and associated methodological position from the social sciences: symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology and applied conversation analysis. However, the thesis may be of more general interest to those studying the activity of design, collaborative design and spoken interaction in design meetings at early construction project stages. I empirically ground the activity of designing in the talk between architects and users and observe a range of actions of designing that are produced within the patterns of ordinary conversation. I consider the social construction of aspects of an architect's identity in interaction with users and observe some conversational practices that are used to 'work at' engaging users in the activity of designing. Comparatively aspects of an architect's expertise are examined in the talk at the outset of user consultation events. I examine the production of an 'institutional' setting for the interactions between architects and users and consider the structural production of turn-taking systems in talk. Characteristics of 'ordinary' talk were observed as well as interaction indicative of asymmetrical social relations. I highlight the interactions between architects and users as a yet to be named, less acknowledged aspect of architectural practice. Although user consultation exercises are increasingly part of construction projects, the implications of these interactions are yet to be appreciated as an integral part of a broader design process.