Tools of the Trade

Architecture's Critical Instruments

Architects have always created or borrowed practical, conceptual, and discursive means to imagine, communicate, and achieve their work. Such means are neither neutral, nor are they mere technicalities. From the draftsman's pencil and the ephemeral logic of formwork to the complex algorithms of artificial intelligence, the history of instruments is not simply one of technological progress, but of narratives intertwined with architectural theory, and of conceptual and procedural tools structuring design thinking.

Critical instruments refer to those means that exert a meaningful influence on architectural thinking, designing, and building. These instruments have prompted shifts in the profession's values, ambitions, and social role, actively shaping how architects think, design, and engage with the world. Ultimately these are the transformations that have defined over time what architecture is. They encompass modes of representation (plans, sections, axonometric, exploded views), media of discourse (books, magazines, exhibitions, films, websites), and processes of negotiation (competitions, reviews, participatory platforms).

Historically, perspective and axonometric projections did not just offer new ways of seeing, but constructed new and specific understandings of space. Less visibly, the normative authority of building codes, the economic force of budgets, and the legal framework of contracts act as determinants of form and social outcome. Treatises, books, and exhibitions have served as instruments for codifying knowledge, disseminating ideologies, and debating architecture's purpose. Instruments are never only technical: they carry cultural assumptions, institutional inertia, and political agenda, defining what is represented and built.

This issue of Studies in History and Theory of Architecture (sITA)invites critical, historical, and theoretical reflections on these instruments of architecture and their impact, past and present, with attention to their roles in shaping architectural thought, practice, and identity. We welcome papers that deal with:

Critical histories of instruments and how they've transformed ways of thinking and making architecture;
Epistemologies of representation and translation between representational tools and their cultural implications;
Politics of instruments — access, exclusion, and gatekeeping through tool availability, including colonial, military, or industrial origins of architectural instruments and the role of norms, standards, and patents in shaping practice;
Activist and subversive uses of tools and media;
Instruments of discourse — treatises, manifestoes and books, professional and popular architectural magazines, exhibitions, events and installations as platforms of mediation; film, digital platforms, and open-source repositories;
Cross-cultural and comparative perspectives: indigenous, vernacular, or locally developed tools; translations and adaptations of tools between cultures and climates;;
Critical studies of contemporary technologies and their effects on authorship, labour, and skill.

December 8, 2025	preliminary abstract of 250 words to be submitted online https://sita.uauim.ro/call-for-papers
January 12, 2026	preliminary selection of contributors notification by e-mail
April 13, 2026	submission of article for peer-review
June 1, 2026	submission of reviews of current events (conferences, recent publications, exhibitions etc.)

All correspondence will be addressed to sita@uauim.ro, to the attention of Daniela Calciu & Radu Tudor Ponta (managing editors of the current issue).

Articles

Manuscripts are to be submitted in US English and should range between 5,000-8,000 words, including references, tables, and bibliography. The submission should include the contributor’s name, affiliation and e-mail address, 5-7 keywords, an abstract of 200-250 words, and an extended summary ranging between 700 and 1,000 words (to be translated by our staff and published in Romanian). A reference list will be included at the end of the paper. Illustrations (.tiff or .jpg format, min. 300 dpi at printed size) must be provided separately, and their location must be indicated clearly throughout the paper. A full list of figure captions is to be provided at the end of the article (including figure number, description, and source). Authors are responsible for securing the rights to reproduce and publish all graphic material.

Reviews

Proposals should range between 1,000-2,000 words.

Citation guide

For notes (as footnotes) and reference list, please use The Chicago Manual of Style, “Notes and bibliography” style (for details and examples, see https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html).

File format

All contributors are kindly asked to send a Microsoft Word compatible document, with minimal formatting.