PLAT 11: Soft seeks to go in search of softness in architecture, to look at the boundaries that define our discipline and see where they might be softened, to question mass, mark, and permanence. “Soft” as a quality can evoke many things: materials, light, atmospheres, touch and craft, gentleness, and reciprocity in relationships. PLAT 11: Soft asks:
How often have our efforts to describe the limits of architecture, limited the capacity architects have to enter into relationships with others? What might it mean for architects to speak softly? What does it look like to redefine the boundaries of buildings, or push back against claims of permanence? Could we shift our focus from producing the built environment to caring for and attending to it?
The issue includes pieces by Irénée Scalbert, Sarah Wigglesworth, Jane Mah Hutton, Sarah Nichols, Figure, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Robin V. Hueppe, Gustav Düsing, Hélène Frichot, Rafael Beneytez-Durán, Oscar Tuazon, Ellen Lesperance, Dept, Soft Agency, Nathaniel Leazer, Jordan H. Carver, Ann Hamilton, Hilary Sample, Leyuan Li, Lydia Kallipoliti, Galo Canizares, Frani O’Toole, Departamento Del Distrito, Jos Boys, Practice Landscape, Janine Antoni, Joey Orr, Davidson Rafailidis, Elizabeth Bynum Sorrell, Lanza Atelier, Harish Krishnamoorthy, and Yejin S. Lee.
The co-editors are Paul DeFazio and Jane van Velden, and the larger editing team includes Rae Atkinson, Jimmy Bullis, Max Chong, Joseph Hsu, Nathaniel Leazer, Maggie Martin, and Nicole Yip.