In the 1930s and 1940s, American architects confronted new political and economic conditions that necessitated a reconceptualisation of their professional purview. One such expansion was the introduction of housing research — the analysis of existing buildings and the development of construction techniques — into architectural practice. This response allowed the profession to demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility and to lay a claim to technical expertise, both beneficial attributes in the context of depression and war. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which had to house thousands of workers over two decades, was an ideal institution in which to develop research practices, and in 1942 it recognised these efforts by creating the architectural research division (ARD). Work within the TVA also expanded the rhetorical role of ‘research’ beyond the professional need and situated it in a wider discourse about planning and democracy. The ideas espoused and the practices developed by the ARD — the topic of this paper — are thus an example of both the rhetorical and practical foundations of architectural research.

中文翻译：

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研究与民主：田纳西河谷管理局建筑研究部

在 1930 年代和 1940 年代，美国建筑师面临着新的政治和经济条件，需要重新定义他们的专业范围。其中一项扩展是将住房研究——现有建筑的分析和建筑技术的发展——引入建筑实践。这种回应使该行业能够表现出对社会责任的承诺，并声称拥有技术专长，这在萧条和战争的背景下都是有益的属性。田纳西河谷管理局 (TVA) 不得不在 20 年内容纳数千名工人，是开展研究实践的理想机构，并于 1942 年通过创建建筑研究部门 (ARD) 认可了这些努力。TVA 内的工作也将“研究”的修辞作用扩展到了专业需求之外，并将其置于关于规划和民主的更广泛的讨论中。因此，ARD 所支持的想法和开发的实践——本文的主题——是建筑研究的修辞和实践基础的一个例子。