Patents in Architecture

From Historical Construction to Digital Design

Book cover: Patents in Architecture

Extent: 402 pages

Publisher: Wiley-VCH

Subjects: Architecture

Language: English

Hardback (Forthcoming)

(April 2027)

ISBN: 9783966800570

6.69 x 9.49 inches

Price: $72.00

PDF (Forthcoming)

(April 2027)

ISBN: 9783966809771

Price: $72.00

Patents in Architecture brings together two domains rarely examined in tandem, yet deeply entangled since the rise of industrial modernity. Far from being mere legal instruments, patents have shaped how architectural knowledge circulated—across materials, construction systems, infrastructures, and digital practices. This volume examines patents in architecture as technical, theoretical, and cultural agents operating at the intersection of law and technological innovation. Rather than treating patents simply as proof of invention, the contributions critically reassess their epistemic roles in architectural and construction history. They trace the industrial and corporate conditions of building production, explore how patented technologies have transformed space and environment, and question narratives of originality and authorship—from 19th-century tile production and reinforced concrete to aluminum façades and digital fabrication.
Emerging from an international conference at ETH Zurich held in 2025, the publication brings together perspectives from legal studies, architectural history, preservation, construction history and heritage, engineering and practice. Through case studies and theoretical reflections, Patents in Architecture positions patents as formative operators within architecture’s material cultures, inviting renewed attention to the legal-technical frameworks that continue to shape innovation in the built environment.

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