The Jaap Bakema Study Centre conference explores ethnography's influence on architecture. Since the 19th century, architects have used ethnography - a form of research in which immersion in a community allows observers to closely study behaviors and interactions - to develop the discipline and reshape the architect's social role. However, being firmly rooted in colonialism, capitalism and Eurocentrism, ethnography is not an innocent discipline. Nevertheless, it offers new insights and inspiration that can help improve people's daily lives.