Construction history and film – International symposium

Lisbon CIUL Auditorium

19 – 20 février 2026

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

(send proposals to constructionibus@gmail.com)

6 November 2025

The symposium marks the first step towards creating an academic forum dedicated to exploring film images as a valuable source for the study of Construction History. By bringing together scholars from diverse fields, we aim to foster discussion, share recent research findings, and open new perspectives in this emerging area of study.

Since the late nineteenth century, moving images have captured every aspect of daily life in communities around the world. As with earlier artistic media, motion pictures revealed the everyday realities of new construction in urban, rural or natural landscapes as well as restoration and maintenance of existing structures. Newsreels and documentaries are among the main categories of historical sources providing valuable insights into building practices since the invention of cinema. These films document the extraction, transportation, and use of materials, machines, and building techniques, the activities of architects, engineers, master builders, and work crews on construction sites, as well as in their leisure time. They also document a wide range of events, including foundation-stone ceremonies, inaugurations and trade union demonstrations, among many others. More recently, evidence of these communicative practices within media have been mainly replaced by television. In this context, some recent educational documentaries have also sought to disseminate knowledge in this field, with the aim of raising awareness and inspiring viewers to learn more.

In fictional films, rigorous — and sometimes fantastical — syntheses of theories or research results concerning past building practices were projected onto the screen to support narratives aimed at a general audience. These films contribute to shaping a collective, non-specialist imaginary that cannot be disregarded or undervalued.

The Symposium welcomes papers that explore aspects of historical building cultures using film sources, especially those offering fresh insights where films serve as a significant basis for research. Reflections on cinema’s and documentary film’s capacity to disseminate narratives of past construction processes are also invited. There are no restrictions regarding the geographical origin of the films or the historical periods under consideration.

Papers will be organised into the following Symposium sessions:

• Session 1. Archives, research questions, and methodological approaches to film sources in Construction History;
• Session 2. New constructions since the late nineteenth century;
• Session 3. Restoration, maintenance, and renewal since the late nineteenth century;
• Session 4. Representations of building sites prior to the late nineteenth century;
• Session 5. Fiction, collective imaginaries, and dissemination of Construction History through film.

Following blind review and an in-person presentation, selected papers will be published in English with a DOI in the first volume of the Portuguese Society for Studies Collection. in Construction History. The Symposium will take place exclusively in person, in Lisbon, on the dates indicated.

Important dates

Communication of the acceptation of abstracts: 08 December 2025.
Deadline full papers following the guidelines: 24 January 2026.

Submission guidelines

Abstracts instructions for authors: available here.

Papers: Language accepted: English only. Instructions for authors available here soon.

Registration fees:

• Presenters (early bird): €90

• Non-presenting participants: €30

Important: Only papers presented in person will be considered for publication. 

SPEHC Organising Committee

• João Mascarenhas-Mateus – SPEHC President
• Ana Paula Soares Pires – SPEHC Vice-President
• Maria do Carmo Ribeiro – SPEHC Board Member
• Clara Pimenta do Vale – SPEHC Board Member
• Manuel Marques Caiado – SPEHC Treasury