Tag: Call for papers

SAHGB’s Annual Architectural History Symposium for PhD and Early Career Researchers – Call for Papers: “Re-Reading and Understanding the Narratives of the Other” | Deadline for submissions: May 10, 2024

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Deadline for submissions: 10th of May 2024

Response: c. 17th of May 2024

Symposium: Weds. 26 and Thurs. 27 June, 2024, in person at Birmingham City University, with an online registration option

Contact: symposium2024@sahgb.org.uk

Full Post at: https://www.sahgb.org.uk/call-for-papers/2024-sahgb-ecr-symposium  

There is increasing recognition that in order to foment real social progress, the acknowledgement of social struggles and the inclusion of voices, particularly of those from the ‘margins’, is required to alter entrenched social hegemonies. Such an imperative necessarily calls for the rewriting of architectural history.

This symposium is an invitation to do this rewriting, from the points of view of hitherto marginalised, silenced and gaslighted personhood. To challenge and subvert what is considered to be the “established” and the “canonical” a pre-requisite for social progress. We therefore encourage forgotten, peripheral, marginal and new “re- readings,” which can turn into vital lessons for actualising social progress.

*The call invites contributions from all regions, about all time periods, and from all disciplines and constituencies within Architectural History. Members and Non-Members are very welcome to send in proposals*

This call asks for:

  • What narratives are under-represented throughout the discipline of Architectural History and of Architecture as practice and industry?
  • What is the social effect of “re-reading” narratives of architectural history?
  • How much of our understanding of architectural history is curated by unexamined problematic power relations between, for example, Europe and part of the Global South; between male and other genders; between the human and the non-human?
  • What demands are required of the Heritage/Architectural History and research sectors as a result?
  • In what ways does the re-reading of Architectural History reframe the discourse around narratives of the “Other” to adequately encompass the “Other”? How can this be propagated in today’s practice to provide socially-just spaces?
  • How should we as historians relate to ‘problematic’ figures/subjects from within the history of architecture? Can a certain kind of treatment of such figures and subjects provide useful insights with a view towards achieving social progress, or should such figures and subjects simply be censored / cancelled?

We are interested in the less explored, the new and the non-traditional, in terms of approaches to research, case studies, events, figures, subjects, pedagogies and methods, and the relationship of these to dissemination, archiving and curation.

For further information on how to sign up to the event as a delegate, please watch for registration and programme information on the SAHGB ‘What’s On’ Diary or follow on social media and our members’ newsletter.

We are a charity with a small team, and passing on or sharing this call will us enormously.

w: sahgb.org.uk  

e: info@sahgb.org.uk  

X: @TheSAHGB

i: thesahgb_

Call for Papers: Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures: An intersection of History, Art, Design, Architecture and Film | Queen’s University Belfast, National University of Singapore, Cape Peninsula University of Technology | Deadline for abstracts, October 20, 2022

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Key dates

Dates: 01-03 December 2022

Abstracts: 20 October 2022 (Round 2)

Place: Virtual (UK, Singapore, South Africa)

For more details please go here.

Call:

One century ago the City Symphony was at the cutting edge of visual representation. It was the site of some of the most challenging concepts and ideas the art world had ever seen. Its ruptures in spatiotemporal representation were seen as natural extensions of the avant-garde: cubist painting in the mode of Braque, the architectural visions of Vladimir Tatlin, the spatio-sculptural works of Aleksandr Rodchenko, the photography of Moholy-Nagy and later Florence Henri, to name but a few.

The intervening 100 years have seen periodic reengagements with spatial reframing in these media. They have also witnessed the emergence of new modes of representation in the worlds of art, design, heritage, cultural studies and the social sciences more broadly. Today, artists, architects, painters, sculptors and designers can work seamlessly across a plethora of fields: video, digital photography, 3D printing, parametric architecture, algorithmic animation, projection mapping, photogrammetry, virtual reality, and more.

If we look specifically at spatial design, virtual reality is increasingly seen as ‘everyday’ for architects and urban designers. For artists, ‘the digital’ is now a typical mode of operation. If we consider film, algorithmic video editing, motion capture and image digitalization are now all ‘run of the mill’ technologies. In museology, the experiential interactive installation accompanies static exhibitions. Indeed, the moving image, both analogue and digital, is now a standard area of historical study in itself– the city symphony included.

Taking the City Symphony, and its historic moment in time as a starting point, this conference seeks to explore of the past, present and future of how we visualise people, places, cities and life. It welcomes insights into the history of painting from a spatiotemporal standpoint; the influence and evolution of photographic representation of place; the role of sculpture in exploring and integrating space.

The conference invites filmmakers exploring city representation, architects, urban planners and designers engaged in the visualisation of buildings and cities, historians investigating design and digital media and more.

Call for papers for ‘Voices in Architecture’, AHRA Research Student Symposium, April 20th and 21st, 2022 | CfP Deadline: Monday, February 14, 2022

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Co-convenors: Maja Jovic and Kate Jordan

The AHRA Research Student Symposium 2022 “Voices in Architecture” considers voices in architectural research, posing the critical questions: who speaks and for whom? How do we give voice without assuming authority? How do we listen without judgment? How do we adjust the volume of our own voices?

A key objective of the symposium will be to connect architectural research with wider political concerns around democracy, protest and populism and we are particularly attentive to processes of public engagement and empowerment, social stratification and elitism. The symposium also seeks to investigate diverse modes of production and their social worlds and is interested in submissions that explore vernacular traditions, informal settlements, transient and temporary architectures. The organisers invite contributions that consider human-centred research methodologies both within and beyond the discrete boundaries of architecture, welcoming submissions from disciplines including literary theory, cultural studies, art history, anthropology, geography and planning. In line with this, we welcome paper presentations, as well as non-standard proposals (film, performance, photography, etc.). The research methods explored will include (but not be limited to) oral histories and interviews; ethnography; participative and interactive practices; social media and digital technologies, use of archives and material culture. We will explore the practical and ethical boundaries of such research, giving consideration to questions of privacy and to the politics of identity. We are interested in modes of dialogue: can we find ways of speaking ‘with’ as suggested by Ariella Azoulay in her recent work? Research that offers a platform to voices of otherness is particularly encouraged – the symposium is committed to the objectives of decolonisation in architectural history, theory and praxis, foregrounding narratives of gender, sexuality, race and non-conformity.

The keynote lectures will be delivered by Professor Christine Wall (University of Westminster) and Alexandre Apsan Frediani (International Institute for Environment and Development). To further provide the early career researchers with an insight into ways of ‘using’ their research, besides paper presentations and discussions, the symposium will offer three sets of activities that participants can choose from. These activities will each include a visit to a site, followed by a workshop:

  • A visit to a rapidly gentrifying area with a workshop on design charettes, interrogating the need to invite different voices to decision making processes, questioning whose voice is being heard and how is this practice changing;
  • A visit to a heritage site with a workshop on public engagement, supporting creative thinking of the ways research can reach the public sphere and benefit from augmenting the voices – both those of the researchers as well as those the research is focusing on;
  • A visit to an archive focusing on minority voices, with a workshop on archival research.  

All activities will be offered in a blended form and include physical visits with digital counterparts. 

Please send your abstracts, if the contribution is in standard paper presentation form, or proposals for other forms of contribution and participation by Monday, February 14th 2022 to VoicesInArchitecture@westminster.ac.uk. Other forms of participation (film, performance, photography, graphic work, etc.) should be discussed in advance with the Organising Chairs.

Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, Notepad or PDF format with the following information:

  • author(s)
  • affiliation
  • e-mail address
  • title of proposal
  • type of proposal (ie. paper presentation, film, performance, etc.)
  • body of proposal (300 words)
  • up to 10 keywords
  • biography (200 words)

Call for Papers: “Research Culture in Architecture”, International Conference on Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration in Architecture_Deadline 1st June 2018

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Research Culture in Architecture – International Conference on Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration in Architecture

Where: Fachbereich Architektur der TU Kaiserslautern (fatuk), Germany

When: September 27 – 28, 2018

Deadline: Jun 1, 2018

During the Gothic period, Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa (1180-1240) established the foundations of theoretical geometry. Back then, the masters of building were architects, artists and engineers at the same time. Geometry strongly influenced their artistic work. Unfortunately, little is passed down about their knowledge, because the architects did not write.

The Gothic period stands figuratively for the complexity of architecture and its research culture. Architecture refers to many participating disciplines such as construction, materials sciences, building physics, sociology, fabrication technology, computer science, geometry, arts, architectural history and theory. It is significant, that these disciplines are interlinked in planning, design and realization processes of architecture. Compared to other sciences this is certainly one of the reasons why the development of a research culture in architecture is more difficult.

The international conference aims to discuss topics and methods in architectural research, focusing on their cross-disciplinary interrelations and their relevance to the design process itself. We are interested to see approaches to the development of a research culture in architecture. This conference will identify research topics and methods, encourages a research discourse and provides impulses especially for young researchers.

The cross-disciplinary interrelations will be debated through invited keynote lectures, as well as presentations of papers and posters, which have been accepted by our scientific committee. The invited experts from academia and practice will showcase pioneering projects and developments from various fields of architectural research. Additionally, the topics will be discussed at round tables.

Keynote speakers:

Sigrid Brell-Cokcan, RWTH Aachen, Germany / Margitta Buchert, LUH Hannover, Germany / Christian Derix, Woods Bagot SuperSpace, Sydney, Australia / Michael Hensel, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) Oslo, Norway / Caitlin Müller, MIT Cambridge, USA / Eike Roswag-Klinge, TU Berlin, Germany

Call for abstracts:

In addition to the keynote lectures, we invite students, doctoral students, academics, researchers, professors and practising architects to participate in this conference. In this call for papers we invite you to submit abstracts for papers, presentations and posters.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

Construction, material and practice:
Support structures, facade concepts, timber-constructions, timber-concrete-composite construction, concrete structures, sustainable building, space concepts, modular building, building components and connections, 3D modelling, architectural geometry, digital fabrication,…

Architectural theory and design methods:
Perception and design, spatial concepts, performance-oriented design, neuro-architecture, history and design, reflection of methods, representation as design method, representation and simulation, algorithmic and generative processes, parametric design concepts…

In the spirit of our conference theme, we suggest that you discuss your investigations within the wider context of architectural research.

Questions could be:

  • Are the interrelations between material and form in architecture changing?
  • How can sustainability bring disciplines together?
  • How is the role of geometry changing in the architectural design processes?
  • How is human perception considered in your research?
  • Which kind of representations can help to visualize the design methods in architecture?
  • How did historical research affect architecture at its time?
  • How can architectural history have an impact on architectural design today?
  • How does the filter bubble affect research & practice?
  • How does practice benefit from architectural research?
  • What can new theories of embodiment and neuroscience bring to architectural design?
  • Does your technological research consider society issues?
  • How does your research address human challenges such as migration, demographic changes and climate change?
  • Is the role of technology in architecture changing?
  • How do we evaluate the performance of architecture?
  • What is the impact of machine learning and artificial intelligence on architecture?

The scientific committee will evaluate submitted abstracts based on the originality of the topic, the clarity of the used research methods and the presentation, under consideration of the diverse research aspects.

Abstracts will be accepted either for presentation in the form of a 15-minute talk, or a poster on display for the duration of the conference. All accepted abstracts (talks and posters) will be distributed in a booklet during the conference. A limited number of the accepted abstracts will be invited to develop their work into full research papers for publication in a book after the conference.

What to submit?

Abstract:

  • extended abstract for blind reviews in English: between 600 and 1000 words
  • max. 2 images with captions, 3-5 references
  • the abstract should follow the structure: title, introduction, research, conclusion, references, keywords

The abstract should be supplied as pdf or word document.

Where to submit?

On https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=rca2018 or mail to: rca2018@architektur.uni-kl.de

Dates:

1st June: Deadline for submission of abstracts

18th June: Notification of acceptance abstracts

15th July: Submission of the revised abstracts

Until 22th July: Early registration with reduced fee

From 23th July – 01st Sept.: Registration with regular fee

27th – 28th Sept.: Conference 2019: Publication of selected papers

Fees:

Early registration Participants: 150 euro

Full time students: 75 euro

Registration Participants: 180 euro

Full time students: 90 euro

If you want to register as a student, it is required that you send a proof of enrolment to: rca2018@architektur.uni-kl.de

Conference chair and organisation:

Maria da Piedade Ferreira, Cornelie Leopold, Christopher Robeller, Peter Spitzley and Ulrike Weber

The conference is hosted by fatuk, Faculty of Architecture, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Scientific committee:

Dirk Bayer, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany / Jose Nuno Beirao, FAU Lisbon, Portugal / Jaume Blancafort, ETSAE, Cartagena, Spain / Stephanie Brandt, Stephanie Brandt Studio, Germany / Johannes Braumann, UFG Linz, Austria / Chris Dähne, TU Darmstadt, Germany / Elizabeth Darling, Oxford Brooks, UK / Benjamin Dillenburger, ETH Zürich, Switzerland / Eva Friedrich, Google San Francisco, USA / Jürgen Graf, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany / Uta Graff, TU München, Germany / Hans Hagen, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany / Catharina Hagg, TU Berlin, Germany / Susanne Hauser, UdK Berlin, Germany / Goncalo Castro Henriques, Unifederal, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil / Andreas Hild, TU München, Germany / Stefan Krötsch, Hochschule Konstanz, Germany / Christoph Langenhan, TU München, Germany / Katharina Lindenberg, Berner Fachhochschule, Switzerland / Alexandra Paio, ISCTE, Lisbon, Portugal / Itai Palti, Bartlett, UCL, UK / Norbert Palz, UdK Berlin, Germany / Marco Pogacnik, IUAV Venezia, Italy / Martin Ruskowski, TU Kaiserslautern / DFKI, Germany / Christoph Schindler, Hochschule Luzern, Switzerland / Gerhard Schubert, TU München, Germany / Tobias Schwinn, Uni Stuttgart, Germany / Maycon Sedrez, TU Braunschweig, Germany / José Pedro Sousa, FAUP Porto, Portugal / A. Benjamin Spaeth, Cardiff, UK / Milena Stavric, TU Graz, Austria / Defne Sunguroglu Hensel, TU München, Germany / Ioanna Symeonidou, AUTH, Greece / Angèle Tersluisen, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany / Georg Vrachliotis, KIT Karlsruhe, Germany / Xiaohong Wang, CAFA Bejing, China / Andreas Winkels, TH Bingen, Germany / Tadeja Zupancic, UL-FA, Slovenja

Reference / Quellennachweis:

CFP: Research Culture in Architecture (Kaiserslautern, 27-28 Sep 18). In: ArtHist.net, May 18, 2018. <https://arthist.net/archive/18136>.

Call for Papers: International Journal of Islamic Architecture, Special Issue: “Field as Archive / Archive as Field”, Deadline 30th July 2018

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This special issue of IJIA focuses on the experience of carrying out archival work or fieldwork in architectural research, including research-led practice. How might this experience, with all its contingencies and errancies, be made into the very stuff of the architectural histories, theories, criticisms and/or practices resulting from it?

This question is rendered all the timelier due to recent and ongoing developments across the globe, not least in the geographies relevant to IJIA’s remit. The fallout from the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ has escalated social, political, and economic crises and, in certain cases like Libya and Syria, has taken an overtly violent turn. Major countries with a predominantly Muslim population, such as Turkey, Egypt and Indonesia, have witnessed restrictions on civil liberties. Moreover, the word ‘Islam’ has become embroiled in various restrictive measures introduced in countries whose successive administrations have otherwise laid claim to being bastions of democracy and freedom, such as emergency rule in France and travel bans in the US.

Others with significant Muslim populations, such as India and Russia, have seen nationalist and/or populist surges, often with significant implications for their minorities. Such developments have engendered numerous issues of a markedly architectural and urban character, including migration, refuge, and warfare, protest and surveillance, as well as heightening the risk of contingencies and errancies affecting archival work and fieldwork.

Whereas this risk and its materializations are typically considered unfortunate predicaments and written out of research outputs, how might a focus on architecture at this juncture help write them back into history, theory, criticism, and practice? What might this mean for the ways in which architectural research is conceived and carried out under seemingly ‘ordinary’ circumstances – those that appear free from the risk of contingencies and errancies affecting archival work and field work?

Deadline for submissions: 30th July 2018

For more information: https://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=204/view,page=2/

Call for Papers: Architecture and Culture “The AHRA Review of Books”, Deadline: 30th June 2018

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When Architecture & Culture, the Journal of the Architectural Humanities Research Association, was first launched in November 2013, the intention was to include book reviews. We have a designated editor for book reviews, and we have sporadically published essays that review books, when those essays concern the theme of a particular journal issue. What we have not done is to dedicate a regular section of the journal to book reviews, or to solicit new books from publishers (who send them, regardless).

Here, we broach the issue of book reviews by foregrounding the suggestion that to review is more than to formulate a critique of something, it is “to look at or to examine again … to look back upon” (Collins English Dictionary). Our interest is to re-view the book review, to study its different roles and explore its possibilities for architecture’s various modes of production, dissemination and reflection.

Deadline for submissions: 30th June 2018

For more information: http://explore.tandfonline.com/cfp/pgas/rfac-cfp-book-reviews

Call for Papers: The Architecture Exhibition as Environment – Deadline 1st June 2018

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The Architecture Exhibition as Environment

A special issue of Architectural Theory Review, edited by Alexandra Brown & Léa-Catherine Szacka

Deadline: Jun 1, 2018

The rise and professionalization, around the 1960s, of the figure of the “curator” marked an important point in the configuration of an exhibition’s authorship and process, including artist-curator overlaps, restaging or reframing of exhibitions, and questioning processes of instruction versus creation. The exhibitions of Harald Szeemann, Lucy Lippard, Seth Siegelaub, Pontus Hultén and others gave form to these new problems, as did the disciplinary provocations of conceptual art. Together, these changes contributed to the transformation of the very idea of the exhibition, from a display of discrete and primarily representational objects to more immersive and experiential environments.

In architecture, however, shifts in curatorial processes and exhibition environments trailed behind experiments in the visual arts (painting, sculpture, conceptual art). And while the practice of discussing exhibitions in terms of curators and the architectural objects they curate may appear to carve out clearly defined roles for those involved, it can often conceal more complex negotiations and overlaps in the practice of exhibition-making and the display of architecturally informed work. In the case of architecture, exhibitions that seek to display process alongside products or outcomes through forms of commissioned content invariably ask the curator to assume multiple roles in the development of the exhibition: those of the curator, the client, the critic, the advisor, and the designer. Likewise, the more totalised experience of the exhibition as environment can recast visitors or audiences as users, clients and participants, as well as embedded spectators.

Such broader shifts in exhibition practices coincided with the emergence of a wide range of architecture exhibitions conceived as, or concerned with, environments. For example, at the 1976 Venice Art Biennale, architecture entered the renowned multidisciplinary institution through an exhibition entitled Ambiente Arte (Environment Art). And by directly addressing or challenging the architectural dimension of the notion of environment, the exhibition suggested new terms on which architecture and design could be practiced, prepared and presented in both institutional and extra-institutional settings. Reflecting growing uncertainty over architecture’s capacity to meaningfully engage with the expanding networks and systems responsible for re-ordering the urban environment in unprecedented (and often intangible) ways, architecture is no longer just the object of the exhibition. Instead, the exhibition itself has emerged as an important site for reframing and representing the discipline of architecture in response to these new challenges.

This issue of Architectural Theory Review seeks to discuss the often overlooked and yet productive negotiations and tensions embedded in the postmodern and contemporary architecture exhibition as form of production. Specifically reflecting on the conflation of the architecture exhibition with environments, to what extent can the productive and problematic aspects of display be considered either as distinct from, or as extensions of, those encountered within the art exhibition? In which ways does the architecture exhibition, considered thus, challenge more traditional and unidirectional curator-artist relationships and outcomes? How might the notion of environment (as media, physical settings or systems) in relation to architecture be used a lens through which to understand new forms of exhibition making?

We are particularly interested in papers reflecting on the conceptualisation and curation of architecture exhibitions, as well as other kinds of exhibitions in which architecture or architectural (or environmental) thinking may be at stake, from the middle of the twentieth century onwards. We also welcome papers addressing biennial and/or triennial exhibitions as forms of display that particularly challenge the temporality of the exhibition as a singular event.

Full papers may be submitted to the ATR Manuscript Central site by June 1, 2018.

This issue of ATR (23, no. 1) will be published in April 2019.

Informal inquiries may be made to alexandra.j.brown@sydney.edu.au or lea-catherine.szacka@manchester.ac.uk

Reference / Quellennachweis:
CFP: Architectural Theory Review (23, no. 1), Architecture Exhibition as Environment. In: ArtHist.net, Jan 27, 2018. <https://arthist.net/archive/17218>.

Call for Papers: CHORD workshop – ‘Retailing, Architecture and Material Culture: Historical Perspectives’, Deadline for Abstracts 2nd March

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Call for Papers

CHORD workshop: ‘Retailing, Architecture and Material Culture: Historical Perspectives’

Tuesday 22 May 2018

University of Wolverhampton, UK

The Centre for the History of Retailing and Distribution (CHORD) invites submissions for a workshop that explores the architecture, material environmement, objetcs and material culture of retailing and distribution.

Papers focusing on any historical period or geographical area are welcome, as are reflections on methodology and / or theory. We invite both experienced and new speakers, including speakers without an institutional affiliation. Potential speakers are welcome to discuss their ideas with the organiser before submission (please see details below). Some of the themes that might be considered include (but are not limited to):

  • The architecture of shops, markets and retail premises
  • Retailing and distribution ephemera
  • Retail exteriors, displays and interiors
  • The material culture of distribution
  • Fixtures, fittings and packaging
  • The restoration and recreation of historical shops
  • Retailing and town planning
  • Retail premises in the wider environment

Individual papers are usually 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for questions and discussion. We also welcome shorter, 10 minute ‘work in progress’ presentations, also followed by 10 minutes for discussion.

To submit a proposal, please send title and abstract of c.300 to 400 words, specifying whether you are proposing a 10 or a 20 minute presentation to Prof Laura Ugolini, at l.ugolini@wlv.ac.uk by 2 March 2018.

If you are unsure whether to submit a proposal or would like to discuss your ideas before submission, please e-mail Prof Laura Ugolini at l.ugolini@wlv.ac.uk.

The workshop will be held in the Mary Seacole (‘MH’) Building, Wolverhampton University City Campus Molineux, a short walk from Wolverhampton’s bus and train stations. Maps and directions are available here.

The call for papers is available here.

Find out more about this and other CHORD events at https://retailhistory.wordpress.com

For further information, please e-mail Prof Laura Ugolini at: l.ugolini@wlv.ac.uk

Featured image: Marks and Spencers Edgware Road, London store in 1912 © Marks and Spencers Company Archive

Call for Papers: The Journal of Public Space

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The Journal of Public Space is a joint research project developed by City Space Architecture, a non-profit organization based in Italy, and the Queensland University of Technology, based in Australia, in partnership with UN Habitat, the United Nations Programme for Cities and Human Settlements.

The Journal of Public Space is the first, international, interdisciplinary, academic, open access journal entirely dedicated to public space. It speaks different languages and is open to embrace diversity, inconvenient dialogues and untold stories, from multidisciplinary fields and all countries, especially from those that usually do not have voice, overcoming the Western-oriented approach that is leading the current discourse.

Call for papers | 2018 issues

The Journal of Public Space is welcoming full papers for 2018 issues, to be published in April, August and December.

Deadline for April issue: January 10, 2018

Deadline for August issue: May 10, 2018

Deadline for December issue: September 10, 2018

Find out more about the journal, as well as about the submission requirements here.

 

Featured image taken from the journal’s website: FESTA Festival of Transitional Architecture in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Credits: (top right) University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning, Orbis, CityUps, FESTA 2014. (bottom right) Unitec Architecture Dept, Influx, CityUps, FESTA 2014. Photo: Erica Austin. (top center left) University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning, Antigravity, (top center right) CityUps, FESTA 2014. Photo: Bridgit Anderson. Photo: Erica Austin. (top left) Lonnie Hutchinson, I Like Your Form lit by Gap Filler for FESTA 2014. Photo: Erica Austin. (bottom left) Unitec, Aurora, CityUps, FESTA 2014. Photo: Jonny Knopp.

Call for Papers: “From Building to Continent: How Architecture Makes Territories” – Deadline: 15th January 2018

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University of Kent, KSA Create Biennial Conference 2018

Cultural landscape refers to landscapes shaped by humans through habitation, cultivation, exploitation and stewardship, and has influenced thinking in other fields, such as architecture. Generally, architecture has been subsumed within cultural landscape itself as a comprehensive spatial continuum. Yet standard architectural histories often analyse buildings as isolated objects, sometimes within the immediate context, but typically with minimal acknowledgement of wider spatial ramifications. However, buildings may become spatial generators, not only in the immediate vicinity, but also at larger geographic scales. ‘Buildings’ in this case include architectural works in the traditional sense, as well as roads, bridges, dams, industrial works, military installations, etc. Such structures have been grouped collectively to represent territories at varying scales.

In the context of this conference, the term ‘territories’ is appealed to rather than ‘landscape’, for the latter is associated with a given area of the earth’s surface, often aestheticized as a type of giant artefact. Territories by contrast are more abstract, and may even overlap. Discussions in this conference may consider varying territorial scale relationships, beginning with the building, moving to the regional, and even to the global. For example, at the level of architectural detailing, buildings may represent large-scale territories, or obscure others, themselves acting as media conveying messages. How tectonic-geographic relationships are represented may also be considered. Various media, primarily maps but also film and digital technologies have created mental images of territories established by buildings, and are all relevant to these discussions. Geopolitical analysis may provide another means towards understanding how architecture makes territories. Governments are often the primary agents, but not always, for religious and special interest groups have played central roles. Mass tourism and heritage management at national and international levels have reinforced, or contradicted, official government messages. Organisations dedicated to international building heritage, such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) also are implicated in such processes.

Paper proposals may cover anytime period, continuing into the present. Relevant proposals from all disciplines are welcomed.

Where: Canterbury, Kent, UK

When: 28th and 29th June 2018

Paper abstract submission due date: 15th of January, 2018.

Paper selection announcement date: 31st of March, 2018.

Find out more: https://research.kent.ac.uk/frombuildingtocontinent/