Architectures of Ingenuity

The skills of magicians have a marginal place, if any, in the history and contemporary practice of architecture. Entertainers, cheaters, deceivers… magicians have been named many things, never architects. And yet, when looking closely at their field of operation and at the popular media surrounding their knowledge, one encounters spatial and material awareness, phenomena, contextual engagement, wit, mechanics, the invisible… The rich production of ideas and practices exercised by magicians is seldom discussed within the discipline. Of the many tropes explored and developed within this non-professional practice, is that of connecting with other worlds. Spirits, the unknown, the non-human, magicians have long acknowledged the presence and agency of a multiplicity of beings and imaginaries. From social events, to tricks to walks in the forest, the contexts and instruments of magic are diverse and their resonance with our discipline can constitute an important new chapter in the history of architecture. As philosopher Isabelle Stengers points out when referring to the work of contemporary witches: “They are pragmatic, radically pragmatic, experimenting with effects and consequences of a craft that, they know, is never innocent and, as such, involves care, protections, and attention.” While for many of us westerners it may be difficult to relate to these practices, we can, nonetheless, study and examine them as cases of purposeful engagements that decenter the role of humans as the only inhabitants and makers of the world. This paper unfolds three micro-histories of western magical instances—the spirit cabinet, the magic mirror, and the animist walk—to discuss architectures of ingenuity as interconnected with domestic transformations, technological occurrences and environmental care.