Lots of Academia

Just wrapped up a busy conference day with a group at the hotel restaurant – now the third time we have been kicked out of an establishment because they want to close.  Who would have thought that architectural historians were such a crazy lot?

Today was full on, with the bus coming to collect us all from the hotel at 8:20.  I woke up at half past seven with the feeling I had the last five years of my life – the feeling of being a bit tired – so clearly I am doing something right here if things are keeping me up working and socializing.  I had some cereal and tea before heading down to the lobby to encounter a sea of architectural historians.  I made my way through the crowd saying hello to the acquaintances I have made in the last five days (which is, excitingly quite many), and then we all boarded the bus to head north to Griffith for the day to start.

The trip took almost a half hour in traffic, and when we arrived we all grabbed a cuppa before heading to our different rooms to start the morning sessions.  For the first go, I sat in on three papers (which I will give you the titles of, so you know just how nerdy I am – and to make mom aware of the fact that I am really not the only one that uses big words and talks about things that no one understands):

1)      Artpolis Legacies: Proliferation of Public Architecture Programs for Urban Regeneration in Turn of the Century Japan – given by A. Seligmann (Monash University)

2)      Run to Paradise: The Chevron Hotel, Gold Coast, from Foundation to Renaissance – given by K. Rickard (Griffith University)

3)      Opening the Boundaries of Architectural History: Popular Culture, Imaginary Buildings, and the Influence of the Bachelor Pad – given by J. E. Sewell (Xi’an Jiaotang Liverpool University)

Following the first set of papers (there were three concurrent sessions) we all adjourned for morning tea and coffee, accompanied by a selection of fruit, banana nut muffins, and scones (with jam and cream – just like London).

The second session of the morning (lasting into the arvo) were comprised of a selection of roundtables.  I decided to sit in on the one which one of the presenters from the last conference was participating in with his team from University of New South Wales – the presentation was:

Landscapes of Leisure and Pleasure in Modern Sydney

1)      Leisure Capital: Sydney and the Post-war Leisure Boom – given by P. Hogben and J. O’Callaghan University of New South Wales – UNSW)

2)      Forgotten Modern: Repositioning the Branded Interior in 20^th Century Architectural Historiography – given by R. Rodrigo (UNSW)

3)      Shifting Grounds: Identity Politics and Sydney’s Ethnic Clubs – given by D. Alie (UNSW)

4)      Rugby Leagues’ Club Buildings in the 1960s: The Working-class Palace – given by H. Margalit (UNSW)

The second session ended at 1:00, and we adjourned into the beautiful weather for lunch, a selection of wraps and sandwiches (I went with the tandoori chicken wrap, myself).  I ate lunch with my two friends from Turkey, one from Stockholm, another from Montreal (who is finishing up at Harvard GSD), and a guy I hadn’t met yet who is from Minnesota and is doing his PhD at Michigan’s Taubman School of Architecture.  Considering this is an Australian conference, I found it a little funny that there wasn’t an Aussie among us.

After lunch we headed back upstairs for the first afternoon session.  I selected:

1)      Christians and Jews in the Muslim World: The Dilemma of Religious Space – given by M. Gharipour (Morgan State University)and S. Calley (Texas A&M)

2)      The Constructional Geometry of Early Hindu Javanese Temples – given by D. Beynon (Deaking University) and S. Datta (Curtin University)

3)      Tradition, Identity and Adaptation: Mosque Architecture in South-East Queensland – given by J. Harris (Griffith University)

Afternoon tea followed the sessions, complete with lemon, chocolate, and carrot cakes as well as an array of bikkies.  The final sessions of the evening were quite interesting, but I am very happy with where I ended up:

1)      Ugliness and Outrage: The Australian Townscape – given by M. Aitchison (University of Queensland)

2)      In Search of the Ugliest Country in the World: Australia vs. Belgium on Robin Boyd, Renaat Braem, Regionalism and Post-war Modernism – given by J. Gosseye (University of Queensland / TU Delft) and H. Heynen (KU Leuven)

Admittedly, this was my favorite session of the day.  Gosseye did an incredible presentation of great material, and I ended up taking notes of quite a few references to look over later.

Things wrapped up by 5:15, and we meandered downstairs to catch the chartered bus over to Bond University for a reception.  I sat next to Erik, the Swede historian I had met yesterday, and we had a nice chat on the 45 minute trip south through traffic.  When we arrived, we headed to the faculty club where we were treated to a cocktail reception with drinks, canapés, a few presentations, and a lot of mingling.  It was a really great time, I met some very interesting people from across Australia (and really, all over the world), and we were sad when they ushered us out just past 8:30.

A large contingent of us reconvened back at the hotel restaurant for a round of food and drinks and continued the conversation.  We got kicked out recently as they wanted to close, but with the promise of continuing on the conversations tomorrow.

It seems conferences are a bit like summer camp – you meet new people; those who come every year know each other from the past; you have a lot in common; you have a great time; but the end is soon.  I look forward to tomorrow to hear more presentations and continue to build the relationships I have established over the last few days.  But now, bed.