Narrating Architecture – A Discussion on Writing Architectural History in the Anthropocene

For decades, historians have studied, interpreted, and written about architecture as a narrative of styles, periods, and masterworks, with the human figure and the iconic buildings they created at its center. Today, that mode of writing is changing: the focus has shifted from the architectural object and the individual to uncovering the conditions that give rise to architecture – infrastructure, economy, technology, politics, and relationships with natural systems. This shift is tied to current thinking about the Anthropocene, an era in which human activity is increasingly understood to be reshaping the Earth in lasting ways.

In this panel discussion within the “Heritage of the Future” exhibition, we will examine how architectural history is written. We will explore questions such as what counts as worthy of documentation, what gets pushed to the margins, and which layers of everyday reality are left out of the story altogether. We want to look at space, the city, and culture differently – not only as physical constructions but as products of the stories told about them.

Friedrich von Borries and Sabrina Cegla will host curators, architects, and researchers from Germany and Israel for a conversation about writing architectural history in the Anthropocene. A full program and list of speakers will be announced.

The event will be held in English.

Schedule:

19:30 Doors open

20:00 Program begins

Alternative seating; no assigned places.

Parking arrangement with Shuk Bezalel parking lot: 2 HaMaccabi St., Tel Aviv. 75% discount – please collect a parking sticker before leaving.