This conference will investigate intellectual and cultural exchanges between British and Italian architects, urbanists and architecture historians in the postwar period. From 1945 to 1975 Italy and the United Kingdom experienced intense economic development and a radical re-organisation of urban space. In Italy, architects were involved in the transition from Fascism and Monarchy to the Republic. In Britain, the reconstruction period led to the government implementing a new social contract: the Welfare State. The ambitious social projects undertaken within this period stimulated growth and created opportunities for young British and Italian architects who were pioneering a critical stance against the modernist paradigm to achieve worldwide recognition. Countries such as Austria, France and Germany led the first battles for modern architecture in the early twentieth century, and yet it was in Italy and the UK that some of the most talented architects, bold engineers and refined critics emerged during the thirty years following the Second World War.

This conference seeks to explore the effective connections, mutual influences and exchanges between British and Italian architects, urbanists and historians between 1945 and 1975, notwithstanding the two countries’ contrasting geographic and climatic conditions, levels of economic and industrial development and different social structures.

Please send a title and abstract (300 words), keywords (5), a brief bio with institutional affiliation (100 words) in a single Word document to [email protected] by 15 February 2019.

The selection of the papers will take place through a double-blind peer-review process.

Possible themes in relation to Italy and the United Kingdom: Exchanges and Transcultural Influences in Postwar Architecture might include, but are not limited to:

  • Building typologies
  • Educational reforms in the Welfare State era
  • Exchange and mobility between Italy and UK
  • Heritage and conservation approaches
  • Politics and the Welfare State
  • Postwar influences on architectural philosophies and practices
  • Planning strategies
  • Shared histories and revivals
  • Social economics
  • Team X and the legacy of CIAM
  • Urban studies
  • Infrastructures
  • Urban utopias and dystopias
  • Media and media practices

Deadlines

  • 15 February 2019: Submission of abstracts and bios 
  • 15 March 2019: Notification of accepted papers
  • 1 November 2019: Submission of full papers

Additional Information

  • Venues and Dates: the conference will take place over two half-days, with the first session at the British School at Rome on Wednesday 27 November and the second session at the Università degli Studi di Firenze in Florence on Thursday 28 November.
  • Accepted Language: English 
  • Fee: there is no registration fee, however we are not able to cover travel and accommodation expenses.
  • Publication: we are exploring the possibility of publishing the conference proceedings.

Steering Committee

  • Bob Allies (Allies and Morrison)
  • Marco Biraghi (Politecnico di Milano)
  • Maristella Casciato (Getty Research Institute)
  • Claudia Conforti (Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”) Giovanni Leoni (Università degli Studi di Bologna)
  • Saverio Mecca (Università degli Studi di Firenze)
  • Clare Melhuish (University College London, Urban Laboratory) Paolo Scrivano (Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University)
  • Claire Zimmerman (University of Michigan)
  • Francesco Zuddas (Anglia Ruskin University)