on democratized architecture

This current series of lectures reminds me of the strange development of housing on Prickly Mountain in the Mad River Valley in Vermont. In the mid 60s, a group of newly-graduated young architects, led by Dave Sellers - who, much like de Carlo, recognized the widening margin between architects and society - moved to the area to explore the reconnection to past practices of architecture. While de Carlo delved into bringing to light the sociological and political disparities within the field, Sellers and his crew were interested in reviving the lost practices of the master builder. Their hands-on approach was meant to familiarize architects with building processes, connect with materials and users, and explore experimentation in unorthodox building form. 

Ultimately, in the years that followed, Sellers served an instrumental role, partnered with founder John Connell,  in the development of Yestermorrow Design/Build School in the valley. Students at Yestermorrow have regularly built homes and structures with Sellers on prickly mountain, such as: the Archie Bunker (seen below) and the Temple of Dindor (also shown below). These projects begin with very simple and incomplete plans - the built form is an amalgam of the students' and Sellers' ideas and handiwork.

The Archie Bunker. Photo taken from my visit in 2018.

The Temple of Dindor. Sellers' workshop. 

Another pivotal figure in this movement is Jim Sanford, friend and collaborator of Sellers. One of his most iconic works is the Dimetrodon - described as a hippie commune of sorts. This article (Link) in Collective Quarterly provides an apt description and quote from Sanford:

Named after a dinosaur with a large ridge rising from its back that may have helped with thermoregulation, the structure began with no planning other than a cardboard model that still sits in a shared courtyard, albeit a little weathered. Each family built and took responsibility for its own “apartment,” with everyone constantly working together to fix things, and making group decisions. “There was no forethought whatsoever,” Sanford says. “The people who lived there had to subscribe to a common idea, or it wouldn’t have worked.”

The Dimetrodon. Photo from article.

The homes on Prickly Mountain - and particularly the future public interest projects completed by Yestermorrow students in the years to come - undoubtedly exhibit the notion of collaboration between designer, builder, and user. The results are wonky and eclectic, and might not be the most comfortable to inhabit; but when you examine these buildings, and observe all the the minute eccentricities and unexpected traces of uniquely individual craftsman scattered throughout - the existence of democracy in architecture is clearly evident.