CFP_Swiss Study Day of Historicism
Istituto di storia e teoria dell’arte e dell’architettura
Call for papers
Technische und typologische Innovationen des Historismus
Les innovations technologiques et typologiques de l'historicisme
St. Moritz, 14-15.10.2022
Organisation: Réseau suisse de l'historicisme / Denkmalpflege Graubünden
Deadline for proposal submission: 28.02.2022
(for German and French versions see attached flyer)
The third edition of the Swiss Study Day of Historicism will be devoted technological and typological innovations, two crucial themes in a century marked by the progress of industrialisation and social change.
The Industrial Revolution, which began in England with the invention of the steam engine and the flying shuttle at the end of the 18th century, led to a cascade of transformations. A modern technical system dominated by machinery and mechanisation was established. New materials were available to architects and especially to civil engineers. The refinement of cast iron by Abraham Darby and the invention of iron, then steel, allowed the construction of new metal structures, such as bridges, markets, halls, and the frames of various buildings. At the end of the 19th century, the Hennebique concrete system marked another stage in the technological revolution. The use of these materials and the structural and formal possibilities they offered fundamentally and irrevocably changed the architectural language and opened the way to the realisation of previously unthinkable works. In Switzerland, the study of the chalet and wooden architecture by Graffenried & Stürler (1845) and Gladbach (1884) was accompanied by interesting and still little-known innovations in wood technology.
The finishing of buildings was as much affected by industrialisation as the structural work. The craftsmanship of the Ancien R gime was replaced by more economical (semi-)industrialized decorative practices: cast iron ornaments replaced ironwork, cement tiles paved the interiors, and prefabricated stucco ornaments were the ersatz that the middle class could afford. The range of materials available in the building industry was constantly expanding and opening up new possibilities for architects.
The 19th century was a time of great economic, social and political change, which also saw a diversification of architectural types. To respond to new functions and new ways of life, new buildings emerged. It was the century of the advent of hotels and spas, train stations, bandstands, opera houses, rental buildings, often referred to as rent boxes, public baths, department stores and museums.
This conference is an opportunity to renew and deepen research on these two themes in Switzerland. Preference will be given to unpublished or little-explored topics and reflections on the architecture and applied arts of the long Swiss 19th century.
Papers may deal with the above-mentioned general themes or present case studies, which must be relevant to Switzerland. Papers will be 20 minutes in length. The languages of the study day are German, French and Italian.
Abstracts of no more than 300 words and a short CV should be sent by 28 February 2022 to: [email protected]
