The Author is Dead, Viva the Author! The Applicability of Distant Reading for Alternative Architectural Historiography

Abstract

Over the past decade, alternative historiographical approaches in architecture have emerged to challenge the traditional emphasis on authorship that has long dominated architectural history. Influenced by labor and production studies, these new perspectives have prompted scholars to critically reassess the conventional, often male-centric, narratives centered on individual authorship. This paradigm shift has illuminated numerous blind spots within established methodologies, which have historically expanded the canon by adding individual names rather than fostering an understanding of architecture as a collaborative endeavor. This article aims to critique and advance methodologies that more effectively reveal collective practices in architectural production. It positions itself as a theoretical contribution, exploring the potential of Distant Reading—a method originating in literary studies and computational analysis that has significantly shaped the digital humanities. This approach resonates with ongoing scholarly efforts to interrogate and demystify dominant architectural discourses by developing context-specific, collaborative, and transdisciplinary research methods. The process involves adapting and testing existing techniques within architectural studies, intending to conceptualize a methodological toolbox for broader application. While various alternative methodologies have recently been proposed, the approach outlined in this paper seeks not only to offer a new historiographical lens on architectural agency but also to reorient historiography around collaborative modes of architectural production. This is demonstrated through a case study focused on the Danish Academy in Rome, Italy.