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Registration Open for Society of Architectural Historians Conference

Registration is now open for the 68th Annual International Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH). The architecture conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, April 15–19, 2015, with the theme: Chicago at the Global Crossroads. SAH’s 75th anniversary will be celebrated at The Rookery on April 17.

At the conference, over 180 speakers from around the world will present new research on built environment topics from antiquity to the critical present, feature 36 paper sessions, an introductory address by Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin, a public seminar, architecture tours, roundtables, exhibit area, awards ceremony, and a plenary talk by architectural historian and “History Detectives” host, Gwendolyn Wright.

The main public event is the half-day SAH Chicago Seminar, “Magnitudes of Change: Local Sites and Global Concerns in Chicago’s Built Environment.” The program features a keynote address by Harvard University’s Charles Waldheim and two panel discussions on the history and future of the Chicago River and Lakefront. Issues of community and preservation in Chicago neighborhoods will also be discussed. Alison Fisher, Harold and Margot Schiff Assistant Curator of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago, will serve as moderator.

Panelists include:

· Carol Ross Barney, Ross Barney Architects

· Robert Bruegmann, University of Illinois at Chicago

· Martin Felsen, UrbanLab

· Jeanne Gang, Studio Gang Architects

· Alaina Harkness, MacArthur Foundation

· Patricia Saldaña Natke, UrbanWorks

· Debra Shore, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Over 30 guided tours of Chicago’s world-renowned architecture and diverse neighborhoods will be open to the public. The tours cover everything from Chicago School skyscrapers and riverfront Mid-Century Modernism to Chicago’s public housing and the adaptive re-use of buildings. The neighborhoods of Uptown, Pullman, Pilsen and Chinatown will be explored, along with buildings and homes in Oak Park, River Forest, Riverside and the North Shore.

A pre-opening tour of The 606—the groundbreaking urban park being built on the unused Bloomingdale elevated rail line on Chicago’s northwest side—will also be offered. Tours-only registration opens to the public on February 16, 2015.

The deadline for Early Registration for the SAH conference is February 15, 2015. Visit sah.org/2015 for more information and to register.