Why You Don’t See Blueprints Anymore

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_DESCRIPTION_
We call them “blueprints.” But they’re not really blue anymore—and they haven’t been for decades. Still, the technology that once turned architectural drawings into blue-and-white copies quietly transformed architecture, construction, and even the way cities look. In this video, I explore how a simple reproduction process rewired architecture’s relationship to art, labor, and industry—flattening design into diagrams, standardizing buildings, and setting the stage for mass production.

From hand-drawn linen originals to Sears kit homes to the rise of corporate architecture, blueprints didn’t just document buildings—they changed what we build, how we build, and who gets to build.

_SPECIAL THANKS_
Evan Montgomery — co-producer
SOM — blueprint lender and filming location (www.som.com)

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_About the Channel_
Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.

_About Me_
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.

_Contact_
FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco
Design With Company:   designwith.co  
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture:   arch.uic.edu  

_Attributions_
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images, Storyblocks, and Shutterstock.
Music provided by Epidemic Sound and includes music from Chromatic by Tom Fox
   / @tomfoxcatalog  "

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