15th International Conference on the History of Modern Architecture
“BUILDING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: CITIES AND TEMPLES OF KNOWLEDGE (1930-1990)”
There are many buildings for higher education teaching that have occupied a prominent place in the development of contemporary architecture. They have had great presence in society because, until a few decades ago, the university teaching enjoyed social prestige; moreover, the institutions that promoted them, public or private, did not hesitate to make significant investments in order to provide that teaching eximia the physical means necessary to develop the task with the maximum possible height, and even considered that these buildings should be the external expression of the excellence of what took place there.
In addition, in the post-World War II period, when contemporary states and cities were redefined and consolidated, and the higher Education was definitively opened to society as a whole, many new universities emerged as the intellectual engine of the changes that were needed. Some of these interventions, due to their relevance and diffusion, have been important in other areas of public architecture.
On the other hand, it is precisely in this university environment where the Education for architecture is carried out, which has also been an opportunity to create areas and spaces with a special propositional charge, sometimes related to protagonists of contemporary architecture, as in the case of the schools of Sao Paulo, with Vilanova Artigas, or the IIT in Chicago, with Mies, which have had an influence in the conception of public space.
Thus, in order to establish sections within the call for this congress we will point out these three categories:
1. Educational buildings.
2. Residential and institutional buildings.
3. Campus and urban or territorial conceptions.
The deadline for receipt of proposals is 19 May 2025.
The congress is scheduled for 16-17 April 2026.
You can find all the information on the conference website.