Memo 001

(multiple)- disciplinary(s)

Nicholas Chung, 18 May 2023


Though it’s true that architecture design operates in multiple milieus, there’s a tendency in our discourse to thoughtlessly throw around the words “interdisciplinary”, “cross-disciplinary”, and “trans-disciplinary”, often interchangeably and without really understanding what they mean. It has joined the pantheon of overused - sometimes problematic - buzzwords like “sustainability” or “context”. In contemplating how we position our collaborative practice, it became prudent that we distinguish what each term means and how that implicates collective production.

Trans-disciplinary: the easiest to dissect etymologically. Transferring, transitioning, transcending against the boundaries of an established knowledge system; To bring the worldviews of a former primary field into a new one. To apply your established perspectives into a new milieu. Digressive

Cross-disciplinary: crossover, cross-pollinate, crosscurrent. All suggest a clear distinction between self and other, or more explicitly the interaction with others without changing the self. To look at someone else’s field through your worldview. Conjunctive nihilistic

Inter-disciplinary: integration, intersect, interlock. To deconstruct different knowledge systems into components that are reassembled into a new and concise methodology. An organic invention of new analytic-execution frameworks. Discursive

Sidenotes:






this memo was prompted by a discussion between M.Des Domain Heads Erika Naginski, Chris Reed, Allen Sayegh, Toni Griffin, and Dean Sarah Whiting at the GSD Open House of 2023.