Architecture Against Architecture
Architecture Against Architecture
18 March 2026
Time
18:45–20:00
Location
AA Lecture Hall, 36 Bedford Square
A fourteen-point manifesto to bring architecture into the twenty-first century.
Architecture, as we know it, is in crisis. The authority of architects is crumbling, their methods no longer tenable. In a highly critical introspection, architect and writer Reinier de Graaf explores the tough choices ahead and the course of action that must follow.
Architecture Against Architecture demands we rethink both how and why we build. With wit and insight, De Graaf lays out the future of the profession, challenging readers to question the underlying assumptions of the discipline. How do we end the feudal veneration of starchitects? When will architects finally recognise that it is in their own best interest to unionise? Why aren’t more practices collectively owned? Why do so many architects over sixty-seven refuse to retire? How do we stop buildings from being copyrighted? What will remain of architecture after AI? What can prevent iconic structures from being embroiled in money laundering? And the vital question: What projects architects should refuse on moral grounds?
Biographies
Reinier de Graaf is a Dutch architect and writer. He is a partner in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and co-founder of its think-tank, AMO. He is the author of Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession and architect, verb.: The New Language of Building as well as the novel The Masterplan. He lives in Amsterdam.
Owen Hatherley is a writer and editor living in south-east London. As a freelance writer, he most often writes for Architectural Review , Jacobin, the London Review of Books, Sidecar and Tribune. He has authored seventeen books on aesthetics and politics, including Militant Modernism (Zer0, 2009), A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain (Verso, 2010), Landscapes of Communism (Penguin, 2015) , Red Metropolis (Repeater, 2020) and Modern Buildings in Britain – a Gazetteer (Penguin, 2022).
Maria Lisogorskaya is an architect, artist, and co-founding partner of Assemble, a London-based collective working across architecture, art and design. She has led a wide range of projects and held international visiting professorships.
Rowan Moore is Architecture Critic of The Observer. He was formerly Director of the Architecture Foundation, Architecture Critic of the Evening Standard and Editor of Blueprint magazine. His most recent book is Property, the Myth that Built the World, published by Faber in 2023. Previous books include Slow Burn City (Picador 2016), which explores the transformations of London in the 21st century, and Why We Build (Picador 2012).
Accessibility
Ramp access to the AA Lecture Hall is available on request using the intercom at the entrance to 36 Bedford Square, and we have an accessible toilet on site. Please get in touch to let us know of any access requirements that you might have and how we can best accommodate these. If you are unable to attend physically but would like to participate in the event remotely please email publicprogramme@aaschool.ac.uk