3rd Annual Conference of the Architectural Research in Europe Network Association (ARENA)

Conference rationale:

The conference’s aim is to critique and celebrate the latest advances within architectural history globally over the last few decades, by focusing upon the word ‘global’ in two senses:

  • Geographically, referring to the increasing inclusion of all parts of the world in more complex and multiple discourses of architectural history;
  • Intellectually, the ongoing expansion of architectural history into other academic subjects, plus the reception of ideas/themes from those subjects.

The conference will take place around the same time as the publication of Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture (Bloomsbury Press), although as a separate event. Recognition will be given to a more inclusive approach to architectural history that seeks to incorporate the histories of all countries/regions, and to the significant contributions now being made through interdisciplinary links with other subjects. As such, the conference will represent the forefront of the field internationally and also discuss where architectural history ought to head in future. Conference presenters will include those from the wide range of subject areas within the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment and leading figures in architectural history across the world. Papers will consist of a balance of those by invited speakers and those selected via an open call.

Eight thematic areas are to be presented over two days of the conference, with these themes thus also framing the call for papers:

  • Culture and Architectural History
  • Architectural History and Design Research
  • The Expanded Field
  • Colonialism, Post-Colonialism and Beyond
  • History, Environment and Technology
  • Architectural History as Pedagogy
  • Global Domesticity
  • Informalities, Identities and Subjectivities

The primary conference organiser is Murray Fraser, albeit in close association with Camillo Boano, Adrian Forty, Jonathan Hill, Barbara Penner, Rokia Raslan, Jane Rendell, Tania Sengupta and other colleagues from the Bartlett Faculty, with advice and help also from the International Academic Committee. Selected papers will be published either as essays in the ARENA Journal of Architectural Research (AJAR) or in a subsequent edited book. Fuller details about the conference and how to book a place will be publicized in due course.

International Academic Committee

  • Oya Atalay Frank: Zurich University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Winterthur, Switzerland (President, European Association for Architectural Education; ARENA member)
  • Sibel Bozdogan: Boston University, USA
  • Petra Brouwer: University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Editor-in-Chief, Architectural Histories)
  • Hugh Campbell: University College Dublin, Ireland (ARENA member)
  • Mari Hvattum: AHO School of Architecture, Oslo, Norway
  • David Leatherbarrow: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
  • Hannah Lewi: University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Lesley Lokko: University of Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Andong Lu: Nanjing University, China
  • Yongyi Lu: Tongji University, Shanghai, China
  • John Macarthur: University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
  • Fredrik Nilsson: Chalmers University, Gothenburg, Sweden (ARENA member)
  • Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen: Yale University, New Haven, USA
  • David Vanderburgh: University College of Louvain, Belgium (ARENA member)

Call for Papers:

Abstracts of a minimum of 300 words and maximum of 500 words are invited for this major architectural history conference being held at the Bartlett School of Architecture in early-November 2018. Up to three pages of images can also be supplied. However, all of the text/images in each case must be combined together into one single Acrobat PDF file for submission or else will not be accepted.

Applicants should indicate clearly in their abstracts which of the 8 conference themes they wish to be included in (see above for categories). The conference organisers however retain the right to reallocate accepted papers as they see fit.

To ensure equal treatment for all submissions, the organizers will not respond to any individual queries about the content of papers or about the thematic categories.

The selection panel will assess each of the proposed papers on an anonymous basis, and will be comprised of Bartlett Faculty colleagues and members of the International Academic Committee. The deadline for the call for papers is Wednesday 28th March 2018, with decisions being notified by 25th April 2018.

Applicants need to ensure that they have their own sources of funding available to take part in the conference.

Contact:

General enquiries and the PDF files for the proposed papers should be emailed to: Professor Murray Fraser, Vice-Dean of Research, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment