The 2nd PhilArch Conference
October 19-20, 2012
Boston University, Department of Philosophy
What is architecture? How is architecture understood and how should it be understood? With the rise of phenomena such as ‘starchitects,’ avant-garde investigations of different creative mediums, parametricism, and contemporary forms of architectural pragmatism, and with the increasing specialization of construction processes, how do we identify when something is and is not architecture? Or have questions of architectural identity simply become irrelevant?
The 2nd PhilArch conference calls for a return to, or continuation of, explicitly philosophical inquiry into the character of architecture. In particular the conference seeks papers on the theme of architecture and its ‘image,’ broadly construed. Topics may address questions such as: Is architecture constituted by its history or by an atemporal, formal structure? Is a pure architectural object possible? What role should marginal practices play in the conceptualization of architecture? What is architectural representation? What is the relationship between models, drawings, and images and built architecture? Is architecture always the re-presentation of other content, or does it create its own meanings?
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Sylvia Lavin :: Professor of Architecture History and Theory
UCLA :: Department of Architecture and Urban Design
Dr. David Kolb :: Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Bates College :: Department of Philosophy and Religion
Call for Papers
The Boston University Department of Philosophy invites the submission of papers from diverse philosophical backgrounds aimed at the careful clarification of architectural thought. Preference will be given to papers related to the conference theme.
Send complete papers (3,000-5,000 words) with a 150 word abstract, formatted for blind review, toarchitecture.philosophy@gmail.
