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Call for Papers: Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain Annual Conference 2023

2 December 2022

'Constructing Coloniality: British Imperialism and the Built Environment' will be hosted in collaboration with UCL and the London School of Architecture, in May 2023.

Image: 'The Destruction of the Roehampton Estate in the Parish of St. James's in January 1832', 1833 (hand coloured litho), by Adolphe Duperly (1801-65). Credit: Photo © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images

The Society for Architectural Historians (SAHGB) gathers those with an interest in the history of the built environment, including academics, architects, heritage experts and the wider public. Their 2023 conference, titled 'Constructing Coloniality: British Imperialism and the Built Environment', will focus on the coloniality of architecture and heritage in relation to the British Empire, with its focus spanning four centuries of expansionism, racial capitalism and modern legacies.

It has been organised in partnership with UCL and the London School of Architecture, and will take place at The Bartlett’s Bloomsbury campus. Submissions are invited for the three day conference, which will run from Friday 12 – Sunday 14 May 2023.

The conference is being organised by The Bartlett’s Dr Eva Branscome, who is an Associate Professor in Architectural History and Theory, and Dr Neal Shasore (London School of Architecture), with advice from an International Academic Committee. Discussions will take inspiration from growing calls for decolonisation; the built legacy of empire and coloniality across the world, from public monuments to figureheads of slavery to the perpetuation and dominance of colonial landscapes, systems and structures; and the social, economic and political relations that created, fuelled, fed on and emerged from colonialism all the way up to the present day.

The organisers are seeking submissions and participants across a spectrum of themes that confront and examine the relationship between colonial systems/ideas and the built environment in the UK and territories that experienced British colonialism. Topics could include:

  • Domestic environments
  • Urban environments, including streets, squares, and gardens 

  • Factories and other sites of industrial production 

  • Sites of assembly, leisure, and entertainment 

  • Places of worship 

  • Buildings for colonial administration
  • 
Infrastructure such as ports, waterways, and railways 

  • Intercolonial networks and infrastructures 
  • Experiences of colonial dispossession, displacement, and exclusion 

  • Heritage sites and conservation 


Abstracts should be between 300 and 500 words, and submitted to conference2023@sahgb.org.uk by 27 January 2023. Submissions can be in the form of traditional papers, or other relevant media. Participants are also encouraged to submit their paper to the SAHGB’s journal Architectural History for consideration. 

The organisers have produced a PDF offering more detail about the conference for prospective participants: click here to open the PDF.

More information

Image: 'The Destruction of the Roehampton Estate in the Parish of St. James's in January 1832', 1833 (hand coloured litho), by Adolphe Duperly (1801-65). Credit: Photo © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images