Architecture without Categories: On Divine Economy and Sympathetic Magic

Abstract

This article interrogates the historical and contemporary intersections of architecture, political economy, and theology through the concept of "Divine Economy." The authors trace the monopolization of divine communication and governance from ancient imperial systems, like Egyptian priestly bureaucracies, to the colonial and capitalist dynamics of the present. By analyzing architectural projects like Chaco Canyon's ceremonial complexes and the Meta Data Center in Los Lunas, the article critiques how architecture mediates and abstracts human and non-human relationality, turning life into an extractive process. Drawing on critical theory and anthropology, the authors contrast imperial forms of architecture with Indigenous practices, such as Tewa "doings" and sympathetic magic, which emphasize situated, participatory, and relational ways of world-making. Ultimately, the article proposes a rethinking of architecture's role in constructing presence and relationality, challenging the reductionist paradigms of contemporary capitalism and advocating for autonomous, situated approaches to life and design.