excursus
noun [ C ] formal
US /ɪkˈskɝː.səs/ UK /ɪkˈskɜː.səs/
An excursus is a detailed discussion or explanation of a subject, which is separate from the main subject that is being written or talked about. In our case it is separate from what is being drawn. It is the discursive exploration behind our design work, our innovation and our otherwise presentational explorations. Writing about design and writing as an act of design constitute our version of architectural research. Excursus is where all the things we didn’t draw or build are explored. It’s where the things we did draw and build get analyzed, extended and expanded. It’s where the things that cannot yet be designed or built come to life for us. Making architecture for us is a form of conjectures and refutations and we haven’t limited our work and contributions to just what we design. The work collected here is a living body of speculations, observations and musings. Some of the writing here covers our technical innovations and the process behind them. Others deal with our commitment to expanding the surface area of architectural practice trough procedures and processes. And some circumscribe what it is we think we are doing differently in our work, where we think we innovated. Presented as articles, lectures, white papers and abstracts we actively collect and organize as well as prompt and challenge our ideas… Excursus.
There was an era in architectural education when “design research” was simply doing a building. The advent of design theory in the late sixties early seventies as a defined and standalone disciple within architecture in turn gave rise to the resurgence of design research inside the discipline of practice.
Inseparable are the pursuit of human potential, environmental sustainability, and design in the built environment. Powers Brown Architecture endeavors to inform our practice through material research, tool development, services, and programs. We are dedicated to excellence in the financial, human, and environmental success of our projects and our role as citizen architects.
At Powers Brown Architecture, we strive to be an industry leader in the practice of architecture, and we recognize that practice does not stop with award-winning design – that is just the beginning. The architecture industry has evolved over the past decades – where architects were once the singular agent of design execution, now architects also act as coordinators of a complex matrix of engineers, consultants, trade experts and builders.