Construction Cultures

Through in-depth conversations with seven architecture practices – Edward Ogosta Architecture, Karamuk Kuo, Thiermann Cruz, AMUNT, Sauter von Moos, PRODUCTORA and Amunátegui Valdés – this book offers a survey of perspectives on construction across the United States, Europe and Latin America. The conversations trace how projects move from initial concept to completion, examining how architects navigate local building traditions, regulatory frameworks, liability structures and economic conditions, and how these differences shape collaboration with engineers, clients and contractors. American construction serves as a recurring point of reference for a broader inquiry into how construction is culturally conditioned. Each practice brings particular attention to structure and materials as a primary site of architectural thinking, rather than as merely technical imperatives. What emerges is not a unified position but a set of distinct negotiations between conceptual ambition and real-world constraint, and between local building culture and a broader architectural conversation. These conversations present construction as central to architectural thinking – not as a universal given, but as something shaped by culture, context and building practices. A full list of projects – with details on programme, construction and collaborators – can be found at the end of each conversation, along with a short biography of each practice. An annotated appendix lists the architects, buildings, materials and references that come up across all seven conversations.