BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Telerik Inc.//Sitefinity CMS 13.3//EN BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:The CSCA (Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Arch itecture) is inviting papers for its forthcoming conference on \;Build ing Sites in Early Modern Europe (c. 1400-1700)\, to be held  \;June 2 026 (dates tbc) at Downing College\, The University of Cambridge. \;Su bmissions are due by Friday\, 5 September. More information is on our webs ite: https://csca.aha.cam.ac.uk/building-sites-conference-2026/ \;&nbs p\;This international academic conference explores the building site in ea rly modern Europe and its networks (c. 1400&ndash\;1700) as a place for pr oduction\, exchange\, and transmission in the history of art and architect ure. Far from being mere spaces of construction\, building sites functione d as dynamic laboratories where ideas\, knowledge\, cultures\, technologie s\, skills\, and social structures intersected. Building sites\, in this w ay\, acted as contact zones for the transfer of both practical and theoret ical knowledge. Europe&rsquo\;s &lsquo\;builder&rsquo\; patrons\, includin g the Medici\, Pope Julius II\, Franç\;ois I\, Philip II\, Catherine de Medici\, and Louis XIV\, facilitated the diffusion of techniques\, met hods\, materials\, and practices across geographic and cultural boundaries by summoning architects and artisans to their building projects\, notably Leonardo da Vinci\, Sebastiano Serlio\, and Gian-Lorenzo Bernini. Peripat etic architects and tradespeople often shared discrete practices across bo rders\, yet\, in some instances\, encounters could lead to practices being rejected\, as seen in the case of Bernini in France.Before the institutin alisation of architectural education around the turn of the eighteenth cen tury\, building sites served as spaces where pupils\, apprentices and fell ow architects observed the business of architecture in motion\, facilitati ng learning by situational observation and heuristic engagement in physica l and frequently chaotic assemblies. Similarly\, the &ldquo\;confusion of tongues&rdquo\;&mdash\; etiologically associated with the Tower of Babel b uilding site&mdash\;underscores the linguistic and social diversities foun d at building sites and demonstrates a dimension of architecture that has the potential to unite (rather than divide) through building processes.Pat rons\, governments\, and monarchs duly recognised the strategic importance of such sites as laboratories for technological advancement and demonstra tion of state and diplomatic affairs\, often dispatching ambassadors\, arc hitects\, and surveyors&mdash\;sometimes in disguise as in the cases of Je an-Baptise Colbert\, Christopher Wren\, and Peter the Great&mdash\;to obse rve\, pry\, steal\, document\, and transmit architectural intelligence bac k to their courts. Before the so-called &lsquo\;Grand Tour\, most royal ar chitects\, including Inigo Jones\, Hendrick de Keyser\, Nicodemus Tessin t he Younger\, and Lambert von Haven\, had travel arranged for them to see b uildings &lsquo\;in rising&rsquo\; across Europe as part of their educatio nal formation. \;This conference\, then\, considers building sites as complex mechanisms for revealing the practicalities of how buildings came into being\, but also as social\, cultural\, and economic structures that underpin them. Key themes include the coordination of labour\, management of materials\, money\, labour\, guild regulations\, and the relationships between patrons\, designers\, builders\, and labourers. Particular attenti on is also paid to the importance of paper-based practices&mdash\;drawings \, prints\, contracts\, and correspondence&mdash\;as essential apparatuses for administering and historicising architectural production\, which fund amentally distinguishes this period from medieval practice. By analysing b uilding sites as evolving structures of architectural practice alongside b roader academic and bureaucratic developments\, this conference aims to re frame the building site as a vital arena of artistic and architectural pro duction and knowledge creation. It invites new perspectives on how archite ctural forms and institutions emerged in tandem with the socio-economic an d political transformations in Europe and beyond.We invite contributions f rom historians of art\, architecture\, the built environment\, science\, g eography\, economics\, and other related fields. We are particularly inter ested in proposals that explore the following themes:Order \;(organisa tion vs chaos\, administration\, contracts\, the state\, bureaucracy\, cle rgy\, the academy\, on-site vs remote control\, patronage\, security\, saf ety)Situation \;(land\, foundations\, challenges\, access)Technology a nd Techniques \;(machinery\, innovation\, engines\, logistics\, scaffo lding)Materials and Materiality \;(access\, ownership\, importation\, tools\, measurement)Visuals and Visuality \;(prints and other images d epicting sites\, paintings\, the idea of concealing construction)Labour&nb sp\;(manual vs intellectual\, language barriers\, staffing animals\, group s such as women\, immigrants\, enslaved and indentured workers)Microsites of production \;(huts\, sheds\, workshops\, quarries\, timber yards\, kilns\, stores)Mobility \;(portability\, movement\, operations\, trans portation)Knowledge \;(intelligence\, espionage\, diplomacy\, disguise \, practical vs intellectual exchange)Drawing \;(drawing broadly defin ed\, models\, contracts\, letters\, surveys)Allegory and Mythology \;( ancient allegory\, metaphor\, emulation\, ceremony)Senses \;(noise\, s mell\, sounds\, work song\, music\, food)Scandal \;(failure or instabi lity\, abandonment\, corruption\, mismanagement)To submit a proposal: Pape rs should be original and include unpublished research to be delivered in tightly focussed presentations. Select papers will be invited to be publis hed in an edited volume. To submit a paper proposal\, please use the form on the conference website: \; \; Building Sites in Early Modern Eu rope Conference 2026 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260906 DTSTAMP:20250625T074347Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260604 LOCATION:United Kingdom\,Cambridge\,Downing College SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Call for Papers: Building Sites in Early Modern Europe (c.1400-1700 ) UID:RFCALITEM638864342275236573 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

The CSCA (Ax:son Johnson Centre for t he Study of Classical Architecture) is inviting papers for its forthcoming conference on \;Building Sites in Early Modern Europe (c. 1400-1700)\ , to be held  \;June 2026 (dates tbc) at Downing College\, The Univers ity of Cambridge. \;Submissions are due by Friday\, 5 September . More information is on our website:

This international academic conference explores the building site in early modern Europe and its networks (c. 1400&ndash\;1700) as a place for production\, exchange\, and transmission in the history o f art and architecture. Far from being mere spaces of construction\, building sites functioned a s dynamic laboratories where ideas\, knowledge\, cultures\, t echnologies\, skills\, and social structures int ersected. Building sites\, in this way\, acted as contact zones for the tr ansfer of both practical and theoretical knowledge. Europe&rsquo\;s &lsquo \;builder&rsquo\; patrons\, including the Medici\, Pope Julius II\, Fran&c cedil\;ois I\, Philip II\, Catherine de Medici\, and Louis XI V\, facilitated the diffusion of techniques\, methods\, materials\, and practices across geographic and cultural boundaries by summonin g architects and artisans to their building projects\, notabl y Leonardo da Vinci\, Sebastiano Serlio\, and Gian-Lorenzo Bernini. Peripa tetic architects and tradespeople often shared discrete pract ices across borders\, yet\, in some instances\, encounters could lead to p ractices being rejected\, as seen in the case of Bernini in France.

Before the institutinalisation of architectural educati on around the turn of the eighteenth century\, building sites served as spaces where pupils\, apprentices and fellow architects observe d the business of architecture in motion\, facilitating learn ing by situational observation and heuristic engagement in physical and fr equently chaotic assemblies. Similarly\, the &ldquo\;confusion of tongues& rdquo\;&mdash\; etiologically associated with the Tower of Ba bel building site&mdash\;underscores the linguistic and socia l diversities found at building sites and demonstrates a dimension of arch itecture that has the potential to unite (rather than divide) through building processes.

Patrons\, government s\, and monarchs duly recognised the strategic importance of such sites as laboratories for technological advancement and demonstration of state and diplomatic affairs\, often dispatc hing ambassadors\, architects\, and surveyors&mdash\;sometimes in disguise as in the cases of Jean-Baptise Colbert\, Christopher Wren\, and Peter th e Great&mdash\;to observe\, pry\, steal\, document\, and tran smit architectural intelligence back to their courts. < /span>Before the so-called &lsquo\;Grand Tour\, most royal ar chitects\, including Inigo Jones\, Hendrick de Keyser\, Nicodemus Tessin t he Younger\, and Lambert von Haven\, had travel arranged for them to see buildings &lsquo\;in rising&rsquo\; across Europe as part of their educational formation. \;

This conference\, then\ , considers building sites as complex mechanisms for revealing the practic alities of how buildings came into being\, but a lso as social\, cultural\, and economic structures that underpin them. Key themes include the coordination of labour\, management of materials\, mon ey\, labour\, guild regulations\, and the relationships betwe en patrons\, designers\, builders\, and labourer s. Particular attention is also paid to the importance of pap er-based practices&mdash\;drawings\, prints\, co ntracts\, and correspondence&mdash\;as essential apparatuses for administering and historicising architectural production\, which fundamentally distinguishes this period from medieval practice. By analysing building sites as evolvi ng structures of architectural practice alongside broader academic and bureaucratic developments\, this conference aims to reframe the building site as a vital arena of artistic and architectural production and knowledge creation. It invites new perspective s on how architectural forms and institutions emerged in tandem with the s ocio-economic and political transformations in Europe and bey ond.

We invite contributions from historians of a rt\, architecture\, the built environment\, scie nce\, geography\, economics\, and other related fields. We are particularly interested in proposals that explore the follo wing themes:

To submit a pr oposal: Papers should be original and i nclude unpublished research to be delivered in tightly focussed presentations. Select papers will be invited to be published in an edited volume. To submit a paper propos al\, please use the form on the conference website: \; \;

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