We invite researchers and practitioners from all aspects of the history of construction to submit presentation and paper abstracts on subjects relating to the Americas for the 7th Biennial Meeting on Construction History, to be held in Bloomington, IN at Indiana University. The meeting will be hosted by the Construction History Society of America and Indiana University on May 29-30, 2020and follows successful meetings of the CHSA held in College Park, MD (2018), Seattle, WA (10thAnniversary Members’ Meeting 2017), Austin, TX (2016), Minneapolis MN (2014), Cambridge MA (2012), Philadelphia PA (2010), and Atlanta GA (2008).

Some of the finest limestone in the United States can be found in the hills around Bloomington, Indiana, and stonecutters sourcedthe stone from massive quarries and build facades of prominent buildings such as the Washington National Cathedral, the Empire State Building, and the Pentagon.  CHSA is pleased to announce a tour to explore a working mill and a historic quarry as part of the conference schedule.

Abstracts for Presentation 

Abstracts for presentationimply that the author(s) intent is to present the subject within a 20-minute slideshow.  

CHSA encourages authors to also submit full papers to ConstructionHistory according to their publication schedules. The acceptance of an abstract for the CHSA Meeting does not exempt papers from the Journal’s review process. 

Each abstract must include:                        

  • authors’ names, contact information, institutional affiliations
  • an abstract of 4000 characters (maximum)
  • key words (selected, if possible, from the list of topics and subjects),
  • a one-page curriculum vitae indicating contact information, status, laboratory affiliation if relevant, and publications or other relevant work for each author.
  • All presentations must be in English and related to Construction in North and South America. 

Abstract topics may include:

  • Stereotomy and Stone Construction
  • History and construction of specific projects
  • History of the building trades or specific builders
  • Organization of construction work
  • Wages and the economics of construction
  • The development of building codes and regulations
  • Trade unions and guilds
  • Military or Army Corps of Engineers
  • Structural analysis and the development of structural forms
  • Development of construction tools, cranes, scaffolding, etc
  • Building techniques in response to their environments
  • Building materials, their history, production and use
  • History of services (heating, lighting etc.) in buildings
  • The changing role of the professions in construction
  • Building archaeology
  • Computer simulation, experimentation and reconstruction
  • Use of construction history for dating of historic fabric
  • Recording, preservation and conservation
  • Construction in architectural writing
  • The role of construction history in education
  • The bibliography of construction history
  • The theory and practice of construction history