CALL FOR PAPER

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DESIGN, PLANING AND BUILDING PRACTICE IN THE AGE OF MICHELANGELO

International Conference, 1-3 April 2019, TU Braunschweig

As part of the DFG-funded research project “Design, Origin and Impact of the Biblioteca Laurenziana”, a conference will examine the context of contemporary planning and building practice. Both the « big projects » and the everyday building of the 15th and 16th centuries will be studied from the perspective of the execution from the planning to the built edifice. The traditions of the ‘opera’ and workshops are just as decisive as the technical developments and inventions, especially with regard to the architectural development in Florence and Rome.

Requested are contributions that discuss questions about the election of building materials and material processing, the joining and connection of individual building elements. Procurement and invoicing shall be discussed, as well as considerations on various “peculiarities” of the production of architecture. Contributions should come from the research fields of historical building research, construction history, architectural and art history, historical source research and further related disciplines.

The contributions can be used to investigate the question as to whether the construction engineering and building (planning) practice of the builders and masters can reveal individual “peculiarity”. In-depth insights into the building industry and building organisation in the Florentine architectural context of the 15th and 16th centuries will be presented and discussed in the context of the “history of science in architecture”, with a view to the buildings being constructed (roof structures, stone joints, vaults, wood and stone processing, ceiling constructions, measuring systems).

The following topics will be addressed:

  • Design methods in the implementation process
  • Workshop organisation, material flows and construction sequence
  • Machining and joining techniques for building materials
  • Relationship between client, architects, masters and builder (and any intermediate positions)
  • means of communication in architectural production (contracts, representation and workshop drawings, models construction diaries, invoices)
  • Discussion of the theoretical foundations of building practice

Please submit the following documents by 13 February 2019 :

  • Title of the paper
  • Abstract (max. 400 words). Explain in it the connection to the research question raised.
  • Short CV with publications (max. one DIN A4 page)
  • estimate of costs of travel


Presentation (20 min) and discussions (10 min each paper) in German, English and Italian are possible. The costs for the journey and overnight stay can be refunded at least proportionately. Following the conference, the contributions will be published in a conference transcript.

Organizing committee:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander von Kienlin, Gunnar Schulz-Lehnfeld and Julian Bauch, TU Braunschweig Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hermann Schlimme, TU Berlin
In cooperation with:
Prof. Dott. Vitale Zanchettin, IUA Venice/Vatican

Questions to:
Gunnar Schulz-Lehnfeld, Institute for Building History,
TU Braunschweig, Tel. +49 531 3912524,
E-mail: baugeschichte@tu-bs.de

Pour les versions allemandes et italiennes ouvrez le lien : https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/Medien-DB/bauge/Plakate/call-for-paper-michelangelo.pdf