Françoise Fromonot is an architect and critic based in Paris, currently Professor (design, history and theory) at the ENSA Paris-Belleville. She was in 2008 a founding member of criticat (www.criticat.fr), and an editor of selection of articles from the first ten issues, Yours critically (2016). She is also the author of numerous books and essays, including Glenn Murcutt-Buildings and Projects (1995/2nd ed. 2003), Jørn Utzon-The Sydney Opera House (1999), and other monographs on contemporary architecture and urbanism. La Campagne des Halles (2005) is a critical account of the latest renovation of central Paris; it was followed in 2019 by a second volume, La Comédie des Halles (2019). Her latest book, Transforming Landscapes, deals with the large-scale projects of Michel Desvigne (2020). She is currently working with Thomas Weaver on Gumshoe, a collection of essays on famous or overseen buildings written as detective stories.
The Critic as Detective – On Gumshoe Stories, Architectural Forensics, and Canonical Buildings
All human artefacts are enigmas, some more so than others – not least buildings. Yet, so far, no kind of architectural writing has made use of that ubiquitous, hugely popular and fun literary genre: the detective novel. Why not then reconsider architectural history and criticism as investigations into mysteries just waiting to be solved? And try to apply precisely this forensic method to buildings that have been endlessly commented, hoping that the unearthing of original evidence or the discovery of overlooked motives of their designers will renew their accepted meanings? The critic/historian then turns into a detective, reopening cold cases, profiling characters, searching for clues, and elaborating reports which toy with the fictional substance of any interpretation.
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Manolis Korres is an architect, Professor Emeritus of Architectural History at the National Technical University of Athens. He is also Member of the Academy of Athens, and Chair of the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments (ESMA). He taught ancient architecture, historical topography, restoration, etc. at the National Technical University of Athens, at the National and Kapodistrian University, at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Berkeley etc. He is regular member of the Central Archaeological Council of Greece and corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute and the Koldewey Gesellschaft. Awards: Feltrinelli International Prize (2013), Premio Internazionale di Archeologia, città di Ugento (Premio Zeus, 2006), Alexander von Humboldt Prize (2003), Medal of the Order of the Phoenix (1998), Silver Medal of the French Academy of Architecture (1995), Bronze Medal of the Academy of Athens (1989).
Reuse of Historic Building Material The planned reuse of structural elements, simple or monumental, is a phenomenon almost as ancient as architecture. Works of classical Greek architecture often incorporate stones from older buildings, sometimes in a way that accentuate their historical significance. In the Roman era, entire buildings were moved, and reuse was intensified, mainly after the middle of the 3rd century, while during the early Christian era this was the only way to acquire load-bearing columns. This also applies to numerous works of early Islamic architecture. During the Italian Renaissance, ancient monumental structural elements were again reused in projects of great architectural and urban planning importance. The same was exercised during the Age of Enlightenment and Industry. This practice intensified in the post-war years, mainly in bombed German cities, often with high architectural quality. Lately, the technical causes of reuse have been undervalued, while ideological ones have been overemphasised. Without denying the ideological aspects I will argue why the economic ones are much more important.
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Despina Stratigakos is a writer, historian, and professor at the School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo. She also taught at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. Her research explores how power and ideology function in architecture, whether in the creation of domestic spaces or of world empires. She is the author of four books: Hitler’s Northern Utopia: Building the New Order in Occupied Norway (2020), winner of the Society of Architectural Historians 2022 Spiro Kostof Book Prize, Where Are the Women Architects? (2016), Hitler at Home (2015), and A Women’s Berlin: Building the Modern City (2008), which won the 2009 German Studies Association DAAD Book Prize. Stratigakos has served as UB Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and on the Board of Directors of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House, Society of Architectural Historians, International Archive of Women in Architecture, and Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. She also participated on Buffalo’s municipal task force for Diversity in Architecture and was a founding member of the Architecture and Design Academy.
Working Together (Again): The Collaborative Turn in Women’s Architectural Histories
The last few years have witnessed a notable rise in collaborative initiatives to increase knowledge about the histories of women architects. These range from team-based writing projects to exhibitions, research networks, and more. Such efforts harken back to feminist practices of the 1970s and 1980s, which broke new ground in raising awareness of women in architecture. What are the reasons for this renewed focus on collaborative work and how does it differ from earlier developments?
