Podcast
in collaboration with
Part of
10 Dogmas

Challenging Standardisation in Architecture: Elspeth Lee & Donn Holohan on the '10 Dogmas' Podcast

Discover how standardisation impacts architecture. Challenge conventional norms with Superposition's insights on flexibility and creativity in building design.

September 18, 2024

The battle for the future of the building sector is often framed as a conflict over standards: between those who defend existing standards and those who demand new, green, and sustainable ones. But what if we challenged this premise? What if the logic of standardisation is actually at the root of the problem? This is the starting point for the second episode of our new podcast series.

Tune in to hear Elspeth Lee and Donn Holohan from the studio Superposition delve into the challenges of standardisation and explore potential solutions beyond conventional standards. This podcast episode covers:

  • The value of pre-standardised architecture
  • The myth of the connection between democratisation and standardisation
  • The barriers to flexibility, spontaneity, and creativity imposed by standardisation

This is the second episode of "10 Dogmas," a 10-part podcast series designed to push the boundaries of architectural thinking. In this series, we invite ten leading architectural studios to critically examine and challenge ten core dogmas that currently dominate architectural practice and consensus.

Post Notes

Learn More:

Superposition is an experimental architecture studio founded by Donn Holohan and Elspeth Lee which integrates teaching, research and practice. Working between Hong Kong and Ireland, the studio merges vernacular means and methods with digital tools with a view toward making architecture which is specific rather than generic, pragmatic but not utilitarian, and with a strongly community-centred view of evolving tradition and place.

Join CAFx Community
Your membership directly supports a diverse community of architects, artists, activists, and researchers working to democratize urban planning and architecture.
Only DKK 200 per year
DKK 16.67 / month billed annually
Subscribe
Podcasts
View all
Podcasts
Inclusion Talks (Ep. 3): What's AI got to do with it?
In this final episode of Inclusion Talks, we take a closer look at how the growing use of AI in architecture and design processes risks reinforcing historical assumptions about what is deemed ‘normal’, with the consequence that difference is filtered out, concealed, and ultimately erased.
Inclusion Talks (Ep. 3): What's AI got to do with it?
Podcasts
Copenhagen Architecture Biennial 2026: Celestial Architecture with CENTRALA
Listen as CENTRALA delves into their work on celestial architecture in this podcast made as part of the 2025 Copenhagen Architecture Biennial.
Copenhagen Architecture Biennial 2026: Celestial Architecture with CENTRALA
Podcasts
Inclusion Talks (Ep. 2):The Museum as a Space For Inclusion Through Universal Design
In the second episode of Inclusion Talks: A Universal Design Perspective we zoom in on the role museums and cultural institutions play. Museums have a key role in shaping cultural narratives, yet many still exclude visitors who don't fit the traditional visitor model.
Inclusion Talks (Ep. 2):The Museum as a Space For Inclusion Through Universal Design
Journal Collections
Journal Collection

CAFx ArchDaily

View more
View more
Journal Collection

Kære overborgmester

View more
View more
Journal Collection

Kunst og Arkitektur - CAFx og Art Hub Copenhagen

View more
View more
Journal Collection

Living With Other Species

View more
View more