Beech, N (2012) Constructing everyday life: an architectural history of the South Bank in production, 1948-1951. PhD thesis, University College London, UK.
Abstract
This thesis provides a new interpretation of Henri Lefebvre's Critique of Everyday Life (1933–1981), in order to develop a new method of research that locates the critique of the historical objects and practices of construction as 'architecture in production'. To achieve this, the thesis presents a close examination of key concepts in Lefebvre’s Critique - 'alienation', 'production', and 'critique' itself - and uses these concepts in the investigation of a particular construction process - the production of building sites for London’s South Bank, between 1948 and 1951. The thesis is composed in three parts. Part One argues that a general concept of production is recoverable from Lefebvre’s Critique, through the Marxist concept of 'alienation'. This concept is developed by Lefebvre in a series of different spheres - 'praxis', 'everyday life', 'space' and 'the state form'. In each case, Lefebvre asks how it is possible to gain critical knowledge of production through its 'alienated expression'. Lefebvre’s response to the epistemological and methodological problems raised, are shown to operate in dialogue with select works of Karl Marx and Bertolt Brecht. Part Two argues that the epistemological and methodological problematics of Lefebvre’s Critique remain incomplete until mobilised through an investigation of the particular. Through a critical literature review, the South Bank is shown to provide a unique site for such a mobilisation - an architectural production process expressed in a range of technical literatures and archival sources. A critique and history of the early phases of construction at the South Bank (1948–1951) is developed. Practices of demolishing, stripping out, excavating, and ground exploration, are explored through a careful selection of primary sources and archives - including news items, articles and memoirs, drawings, photographs, contracts and works reports. Part Three considers these sources as 'alienated expressions', presenting a history of 'architecture in production' through their critique.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building site; London; architectural history |
| Index terms: | London, production process, building site, drawing, investigation, literature review, everyday life, exploration, praxis, history, construction process, critique |
| Subjects: | sociology, environmental resource management, manufacturing engineering, reflexivity, building construction, data analysis and analytics, site and location studies, Geography, evaluation and assessment methods, technical documentation, data collection methods, architectural and construction history |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Design Practice, Engineering Principles, Site Management, Urban Studies, Sustainability, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here