Book Talk: Design for Construction

Arguing that a gulf exists between conceptual thinking and the constructed building, Design for Construction (Routledge, 2026) explores projects and practices that span the gap by thinking through materials and processes in what Eric Höweler calls a tectonic imagination. This imagination is not unbounded, but instead conceptualizes architecture within the continuum of past practices and disciplinary knowledge, as well as material and technical possibilities of the present. 

Organized into ten chapters, Design for Construction covers topics such as means and methods, part-to-whole relationships, material research, risk mitigation, construction sequencing, digital fabrication, ethical material sourcing, and circular construction practices. Höweler provides a careful analysis of over 200 buildings by practices including Amateur Architecture Studio, Barkow Leibinger, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Ensemble, Gluck +, Herzog & de Meuron, Johnston Marklee, MASS Design, NADAAA, Neri&Hu, OMA, and SANAA.

Höweler's insights offer a means for architects to re-engage directly with design and construction so they can better grapple with difficult questions of climate change, material scarcity, and social impact. 

Speakers:
Eric Höweler, FAIA, LEED AP, Founding Principal, Höweler + Yoon Architecture; Professor,  M.Arch I Program Director, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Paul Lewis, FAIA, Principal, LTL Architects; Professor, Princeton University School of Architecture

About the Speakers:
Eric Höweler, FAIA, LEED AP, is an architect, designer, and educator. He is co-founding partner of Höweler + Yoon and Professor in Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he is the Program Director for the Masters of Architecture Program. Höweler’s design work and research focuses on building technology integration and material systems. His projects range from cultural buildings and mixed-use residential buildings, to public spaces and interactive environments. Recently completed projects include Living Village at the Yale Divinity School, the MIT Museum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia, and the Coolidge Corner Theatre expansion. Höweler's work has been exhibited widely, including at the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City, and the Venice Biennale. He is the co-author of Expanded Practice (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009), Verify In Field: Projects and Conversations Höweler + Yoon (Park Books, 2021), and author of Design for Construction: The Tectonic Imagination in Contemporary Architecture (Routledge, 2025).

Paul Lewis, FAIA, is a Principal at LTL Architects based in New York City and Professor at Princeton University School of Architecture. LTL has received a National Design Award, were the AIA New York State Firm of the Year, and were inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame. They are the authors of Manual of Biogenic House Sections (2022), Manual of Section (2016) as well as the monographs Intensities (2013), Opportunistic Architecture (2008) and Situation Normal....Pamphlet Architecture #21 (1998). Lewis received a BA from Wesleyan University and a M.Arch from Princeton University, and is a recent past president of the Architectural League of New York.