BUILDING FAST AND SLOW: The Role of Labor Rights & the Human Body in the Design and Construction of Housing

Building Fast and Slow looks at the trade workers involved in the construction of architecture and attempts to draw a connection between design and the labor it produces. The investigation analyzes body movements of construction workers building the structural frame of various housing projects. The project breaks down stress experienced in the body based on mechanical output during the framing work. The goal is to find a representation of body stress experienced during the production of the architectural work, making this representation an essential part of the design while also minimizing stresses experienced by the workers of the project. In addition, the project investigates new modes of ownership, which incorporate body mechanic measurements as well as invested labor into the housing ownership models. Applying this approach, Building Fast and Slow creates a showcase for these newly developed labor practices by integrating and preserving the former Cemex concrete plant in Hollywood – a vanishing symbol for the city’s construction sector – into a labor-affirming and labor supporting compound that offers affordable workforce housing, spaces for workforce training and education, public spaces as well as community-oriented programs.