ABSTRACT
To examine this problem of architecture's loss of labour discourse, this chapter is divided into two sections. If the first section describes how architecture, from the Industrial Revolution to today, has been led ideologically to displace a social concern for the producer as it follows capitalism's march toward consumption and pure profit. The second section then explores where, today, architecture's understanding of itself can further expand in a way that takes advantage of capitalism's disguised return via the knowledge economy to issues of production. This section focuses on how the introduction of new knowledge technologies allows architecture to reposition and empower itself. As immaterial labour is often linked to knowledge work, it is worth revisiting that relationship to see where they intersect and part. As this chapter has insisted, the dichotomy of designer versus worker, which immaterial labour is meant to overcome, is not only destructive, but also works in capitalism's favour.
