Buell Dissertation Colloquium

The Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture’s biennial Dissertation Colloquium brings together a select group of doctoral students from diverse institutional and disciplinary backgrounds working on dissertation topics related to the history, theory, and criticism of architecture and the built environment in the Americas. The Colloquium has been held for over a quarter-century, and its purpose is to provide a forum for discussing significant new work by emerging scholars. This year’s colloquium will feature a Friday evening opening keynote by Joanna Merwood-Salisbury, Professor of Architecture at the Wellington School of Architecture.

Saturday, April 29, 2023

10:00 Introduction Lucia Allais, Buell Center

Panel 1

10:10 “Small Farmers, Big Computers, and the Architecture of Rural Governance,” Michael Moynihan, Cornell University, History of Architecture and Urban Development

10:30 “Proving Grounds: American Architects, Arab Political Projects, and the Formation of Computer Aided Design, 1967-1983,“ Aaron Tobey, Yale University, History and Theory of Architecture

10:50 "A Critique of Society and Space: The Toronto Wages for Housework Committee, 1975-1985,” Sinéad Petrasek, University of Toronto, Human Geography

11:10 "On Display: Art, Architecture, and the Unrealized Expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art by Michael Graves,” Lauren A. McQuistion, University of Virginia, Constructed Environment

11:30 Response David Theodore, McGill University

11:50 Discussion

Panel 2

1:00 “A World Made Known: The Mexica Calmecac and its Pedagogic Landscapes,” Anthony Meyer, University of California, Los Angeles, Art History

1:20 “Californian architecture and socioeconomic and aesthetic transformations in Argentina through periodicals (1933-1955),” Florencia Amado Silvero, Universidad de Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA), Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño, y Urbanismo

1:40 “The Niagara Escarpment: An Architectural History,” Elliott Sturtevant, Columbia University, Architecture

2:00 Response Mabel Wilson, Columbia University

2:20 Discussion

Panel 3

3:00 “Matter-ing Empire – Displays of Earth Knowledge by the Geological Survey of Canada,“ Émélie Desrochers-Turgeon, Carleton, Architecture

3:20 “Confidence: Credit and Credibility in the Gilded Age Building Industry,” Chelsea Spencer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, History, Theory, Criticism

3:40 “Nature’s Refrigerator: Excavation, Industry, and the Deep Past across the Bering Strait, 1920–1960,” Phoebe Springstubb, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, History, Theory, Criticism

4:00 Response Zeynep Çelik Alexander, Columbia University

4:20 Discussion

5:00 Concluding Remarks

Image: View of the intersection of State and Madison Streets, including the entrance to the Carson Pirie Scott and Company building, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1905. Chicago History Museum, ICHi-019112; Barnes-Crosby Company, photographer

Organized by the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture. This event is open to the Columbia University community. The general public must register in advance and confirm COVID-19 vaccination status in compliance with current Columbia University health requirements using this online form.

GSAPP is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. Please contact events@arch.columbia.edu to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.