EAHN: European Architectural History Network

Second Annual Business Meeting, Delft, 12-14 January 2007

SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS

The members present already on Friday morning, 12 January 2007, were received on behalf of Dean Wytze Patijn of the Faculty of Architecture, Technische Universiteit Delft,  by Prof. ir. Leen van Duin.  A first meeting of the publications subcommittee with Cor Wagenaar followed before we enjoyed lunch with architecture faculty members from the TU Delft.   At the lunch we were welcomed by Prof. Dr. ir. Jo Coenen (restauration); others in attendance included Prof. Ir. Cees A.J. Duijvestein (environment), Prof. Ir. Leen van Duin (architecture), Prof. Dipl ing. H. Jürgen Rosemann (urbanism), Ir. Henk J. Engel (architecture), and Prof. Cees Kaan (architecture).

Preliminary Brainstorming Meeting: Those participants who had arrived already by Friday afternoon met from 13:30 until 17:00 in the Kleine Vergaderzaal of the Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft, for an informal working meeting which closed with an information session for potential members. A visit to the rare book collection of the TU Delft library hosted by retired librarian Chris Smeenk provided a welcome break during the afternoon.
Topics addressed during the brainstorming meeting included: the EAHN mission statement (discussed in the postscript and appendix below); approval of the EAHN brochure text, and its revision to reflect the EAHN mission statement and new activities (see point 3 below); databases (see point 9 below); and Christine's proposed research project on “Buildings for Justice” / Courthouses (discussed in point 14 below).
The information session was attended by Karin Theunissen, Suzy Leemans-Lemmens, Hielkje Zijlstra, Dirk van den Heuvel and Pauline van Roosmalen (TU Delft); Kees van der Ploeg (University of Groningen); and Mariet Willinge and Hetty Berens (NAi, the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut ). Conversation with this group offered a general introduction to EAHN and touched on the Colonial Architecture Thematic Subgroup (point 12.2 below) and possibilities of cooperation with the NAi in various projects.

MAIN BUSINESS MEETING

The participants met at 10 a.m. Saturday, 13 January 2007, at the Techniek Museum of the TU Delft. The agenda covered the following points with presentations and discussion.

1. Annual Reports 2006:

To open the meeting, Christine first thanked Jan and Ivan for their marvelous preparation of the weekend in Delft. She then reviewed the legal requirements for our network under its current articles of incorporation as a temporary organization in France. EAHN must 1) maintain an archive of its activities; and, on an annual basis, present 2) a president's report and 3) a financial report; and 4) hold elections.

1.1    Activity Report

Christine then presented the president's annual report of the network's activities. In addition to continuing activities begun earlier, EAHN's new 2006 accomplishments comprise:

• Approval of the minutes of our first annual business meeting in Berlin (prepared by Susan)
• Presentation of EAHN at SAH’s annual meeting in Savannah (minutes by Caroline Bruzelius) and the Docomomo conference in Ankara (minutes by Nancy Stieber)
• Vote of the committee on the EAHN name
• Exhibition reviews introduced to the website, with a predetermined format for entries (moderator: Dietrich)
• Tour to Ljubljana from 7-9 July 2006 (Carmen)
• Development of logo and corporate identity (Reto)
• Preparation of a brochure for the Docomomo conference in September (Belgin, Martin, Rob, Susan)
• Organization of the second annual business meeting in Delft (Jan, Ivan)

Christine noted that the committee has grown in strength: it has developed a good working atmosphere of mutual trust and has regularly welcomed new impulses.

1.2. Financial Report

Carmen presented the treasurer's annual report. EAHN's bank account balance is currently € 788 stemming from two sources: 1) the € 10 voluntary annual membership fee contributed by 13 committee members at the Berlin meeting (= € 130), and 2) € 658 left over from the Ljubljana tour (which had taken in € 200 per person for 11 people = € 2200). Thus:

€ 130 membership fees
€ 658 Ljubljana tour
_______________________
€ 788 balance

As last year, high fees for depositing checks remain a problem with our current bank account. We should explore options at other banks, also in other countries.

2. EAHN Logo:

Reto Geiser has prepared a fine logo and corporate identity for EAHN which was circulated among the committee members in mid-November. After meeting with enthusiastic, universal approval by the committee in the weeks following, Reto presented a few remarks regarding his design considerations and the technical details involved in adopting the logo.

2.1. Presentation

Reto developed the logo and corporate identity to emphasize the full name of the network rather than our somewhat problematic acronym. The items can be printed with two-color printing, which is inexpensive yet—with this design and distinguished colors—very effective. A black-and-white version of the design is copiable, faxable, and e-mailable, but retains much of the impact of the color version. The presentation includes letterhead, a fax cover sheet, business cards, and a newsletter layout. To introduce the logo to the network, Reto has prepared an electronic New Year's greeting card to be circulated through the mailing list very soon.

2.2 Financial and Legal Aspects

The copyright for the typeface must be registered with the Dutch foundry which designed it; this costs € 200 which Jan’s Foundation STAG generously offered to cover.  Letterhead can consist of a photocopied logo on normal paper for the time being, at negligible cost. Regarding the business cards for officers and committee members, a layout for the printer on one sheet of paper could hold 16 cards (i.e. 16 committee members) for a press run of 500 or 1000. For one sheet and a press run of 500 the total cost would be € 560, to be divided among the 16 committee members, thus € 35 per person. With more committee members, a second sheet would have to be prepared; as this would also contain general EAHN cards for the whole group, and possibly postcards and bookmarks to fill up the sheet, the price would rise to € 1120 / 20 people = € 56 per person, rounded up to € 60. Reto will provide Carmen with the necessary specifications so she can have a rubber stamp with the logo made to use on receipts and other official documents. Carmen collected money for the business cards, and Reto will soon contact the committee members to collect the information and photos for the individual cards.

3. EAHN Brochure

3.1 Presentation

Susan presented the first, temporary version of an EAHN brochure which was prepared for the Docomomo conference in Turkey in late September 2006 by Belgin, Rob, and Susan (text), and Martin (design). The brochure is conceived as a general introduction to what EAHN is and does; it is hoped that the brochure will motivate people to visit the website for further details about the network's activities and to sign up for the mailing list. The names of officers and committee members were not included in order to focus attention on the organization and not personalities, and because of possible future fluctuation (press run for next version?). The brochure emphasizes current activities, with only a general overview of possible future activities—these can be added as they are ultimately realized. A membership form, not included here, could be added on a separate sheet to be inserted in the two-fold brochure at a later date. The photos selected prominently feature the Ljubljana tour, but make an attempt to represent a wide geographic, stylistic and historic range of buildings. The text, layout and photos are all understood to be temporary, pending harmonization with the new mission statement, an updated list of activities, and the new logo.

3.2. Redesign / Harmonization with logo and mission statement

Reto has already prepared a sample of the brochure, redesigned to match the new corporate identity. He and Ivan will select photos for the new version of the brochure; Belgin, Susan and Rob will revise the text.

4. Website

The participants agreed that the website needs some revision. Specific suggestions included: creating a separate page or folder for calls for papers; substitute “webmaster” for Bernd's name in credits for particular entries; eliminate empty folders and pages until they have content to offer; distinguish between EAHN events and those of other organizations; set up a trial area on the site for the committee to test new concepts without damaging the original site; place a photo on the home page, to be changed monthly; change website “members” to “registered users” to eliminate confusion with general EAHN members and / or listing in the mailing list. All agreed that maintaining the entire website is too big a task for one person. We need a website committee with separate representatives for 1) technical maintenance and structure of the site (as Bernd does); 2) graphic design / layout; and 3) various content editors for specific categories (as Dietrich for exhibitions already). We can all help Bernd by giving feedback on the website on a regular basis (not just once a year!) through our comments and observations.

5. Mailing List

On behalf of Alice, Carmen presented a report on the state of the mailing list. This currently lists 192 e-mail addresses, although a few of these reflect multiple addresses for single individuals. Thus, the list reaches approximately 180-185 people. The members are overwhelmingly in Western Europe. Exceptions are approximately 15 members in Eastern Europe, 13-14 in North America, and 4 on other continents. The mailing list circulated 49 messages in 2006. Please continue to remind people to announce their events through the mailing list!

BREAK FOR LUNCH

6. Tours

Carmen outlined the general aims of the tours: 1) to contribute to the development of the network; 2) to contribute to the exchange of knowledge (tours should consciously select little-known venues); all while maintaining low cost (short tours). Points raised in discussion included starting an archive of tour information on the website for ready reference; and development of an image bank from each tour (online or on CD-ROM), possibly for sale. The entire image bank idea was rejected because of copyright issues.

6.1. Review of Ljubljana Tour, July 2006

The Ljubljana tour, with 11 participants, was a great success. The tour report should be posted on the website soon. Suggestions for fine-tuning future tours included: more densely planned programs with more buildings to see, perhaps one day longer (beginning on a Thursday for a long weekend), fixed menus ordered ahead at restaurants (with vegetarian option) to save time, and information gathered in readers for participants (with an honorarium for local scholars who help assemble this material). An earlier deadline for registration would facilitate many tasks: planning exact numbers for things like limited admission sites, better pre-tour coordination with local hosts, advancing cash for pre-tour preparations, down payments, etc.

6.2 New Tour Proposals for 2007:

6.2.1. Barcelona

concentrating on buildings of otherwise difficult access. Scheduled for Ascension weekend, 17-20 May 2007, organized by Jan.

6.2.2. Romania: Sibiu / Hermannstadt

(a European cultural capital this year), or elsewhere? As Sibiu is little representative of Romanian architecture (a rather Western European architectural heritage), and since it may well be overcrowded this year, perhaps another Romanian venue would be better. On the other hand, Janos Gerle would like EAHN to be involved in the Hungarian Week during August in Sibiu.  Carmen will investigate possibilities for August 2007; more to follow.

6.3 Future Tour Possibilities:

Portugal (Rui); Israel (Alona); Turkey / Ankara (Belgin); Hamburg (Christine); Moscow (Ivan).

7. Membership

Carmen pointed out that we still cannot charge a fee for individual members, since we have little to offer at the moment (but also few expenses). We should concentrate on attracting institutions as sustaining members (with financial contribution). For the time being, individual membership (as opposed to listing on the mailing list) should be tied to participation in EAHN activities: annual business meeting, tours, etc. By including a certain financial cushion as a membership donation with fees for events such as tours, we can begin to build up our bank account to fund future projects (see “Funding” below).

8. Relationships with other institutions: 

In Savannah, we were pleased to welcome Hilde Heynen, the European representative among the directors of the SAH, who will assume the responsibility of communications between the SAH and EAHN.  She joins us in Delft along with Andrew Ballantyne, president of the SAH-GB. We need lists of institutions with which we could associate ourselves (as links on the website). Examples: EAAE (European Association for Architectural Education) and AHRA (the British Architectural Humanities Research Association) All should contribute information about such institutions for investigation of possible exchange of links on websites.

9. Databases:

Rob reported on the database he has helped prepare on institutions, people, and buildings of interest for architectural historians in the Netherlands. Christine suggested we start by having everyone submit lists of institutions in his or her own country.
Already on Friday, Andrew noted that the SAH-GB is developing various research databases in architectural history—could we add a link to their databases on our website and thus tap their experience? Other questions raised then: Do we need any databases on our own website or can we work as a partner with other organizations? How do we narrow the vocabulary of searchable keywords, and should the keywords be limited to English?
Our short-term goals for databases could be forming lists of institutions and Ph.D candidates (with a Wikipedia approach: they provide their own data, title of thesis, institution, advisor, keywords). A long-term goal can be a general database of research (completed or in progress) in architectural history.

10. Funding

10.1. European Funding

Rob reported that obtaining EU funding is very complicated, with much paperwork. EU funding tends to support either research projects or projects which build relationships to overcome international barriers (networking). A further option is starting with a project in one country, which then may receive European support if money has already been invested at the national level; some EU programs essentially provide matching funds to institutions where a certain amount of money has already been raised. The EU also makes money available for documentation projects in the new Seventh Frame Program which has just started. Martin reported on the positive experience of the ASCE: Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe with EU funding for their conferences and a book; they have found that a clear product of a project (such as a book) is helpful since the EU can then use the product as a public relations tool. Several members reported that EU funding tends to support international groups of institutions, rather than a single international organization such as EAHN. One way of working around this might be—for example—to plan a series of biennial conferences, each at a different institution in a different country with EAHN acting as a coordinator, but the institutions as applicants. Participation of institutions from the new EU countries in Eastern Europe would also boost the chances of an application for funding. Christine's suggestion for an EAHN project tailored for EU funding appears in point 14 below.

10.2. Other funding possibilities

Nancy reported that the most promising possibilities would seem to be sponsors, institutional members, and donations included in the fees for tours. Well-known foundations are currently not options: the Graham Foundation is reorienting itself and may not be a possibility in the future; the Getty Grant Program supports small-scale group projects, not organizations. Capital campaigns are not an option in Europe, although bequests may be a (far-in-the-future!) source of funding. Architectural firms may be willing to sponsor specific events or publications, although we must make sure that such commercial donations would not endanger our legal status under French law. Jan reminded us that we have all invested time and travel money in EAHN to date and that this may be reckoned as a basis for matching funds from some institutions.

11. Periodicals List

Hilde reported on a list, to which she is contributing for her institution, the Catholic University, Leuven, of periodicals in architectural history for a future European citation index in our field. The periodicals are classified as of A, B, or C importance for the field. Such lists are becoming increasingly important for funding, both through the EU and European universities. Unfortunately, publications in periodicals are not entirely representative of our field, since books play a much larger role in the humanities than in the sciences. When completed, we could include the list, with its rankings, on our website.
Christine noted the virtual invisibility of art history and architectural history in EU research programs: for the EU’s citation index under development, art history is categorized together with “fine arts”, i.e. practicing visual artists!

12. Thematic Subgroups

One subgroup exists to date and a second is in formation; our “Architecture of Justice” project (see below) could be established as a third subgroup. Other networks and research associations (such as the Art Nouveau network) could possibly join as special interest groups.

12.1. Eastern European Architecture

Carmen reported on the EAHN roundtable in Bucharest at the School of Architecture, which Simone attended as well. The subgroup will participate in a conference being planned by the already existing Balkan architecture network. Carmen will be in Bucharest for the academic year 2007-2008 pursuing a research project on the Balkans; this could be a good opportunity for the EAHN subgroup to make additional contacts.

12.2. Colonial Architecture (in formation)

The idea for this subgroup arose at the Docomomo conference in Ankara, initiated by Johan Lagae.  Pauline van Roosmalen, who attended the Friday afternoon information session for potential members here in Delft, is also involved in developing this subgroup.

13. EAHN Journal and Newsletter

Nancy reported for the publication committee (Nancy, Alice, Alona, Belgin, Carmen, Ivan, Karin, Reto, Rob, Susan), which met Friday morning and then again Sunday morning (the following summary incorporates results from these separate meetings and some follow-up correspondence). So far, the committee is in agreement on the following points:

13.1 Newsletter

The publication committee aims to produce a quarterly electronic newsletter in English starting at the latest by 1 December 2007 (possibly as early as 1 September 2007). The contents will consist of a president's report; short commissioned articles; reports on and announcements of EAHN tours and activities; other events listings and calls for papers; reviews of books, exhibitions, conferences, websites; a list of books received; information about people (awards, obituaries, etc.) The newsletter staff assignments:
Alice Thomine - Editor-in-Chief
Reto Geiser - Graphic Designer
Belgin Turan Özkaya - Correspondents Editor
Rob Dettingmeijer - Reviews Editor
Carmen Popescu - Travel Editor
Susan Klaiber - English Language Editor
Nancy Stieber - Advisory Editor/Final Text Editor

13.2 Journal

The EAHN journal is a longer-term goal. We agree it must be peer-reviewed, distributed on paper (with possible additional electronic access), and feature excellent graphic design and printing. Open questions currently being pursued by the publications committee: language (all English? Bilingual English / original language? Multilingual?), a regular editor and / or guest editors? Thematic or general issues? Which publisher as a partner for printing and distribution? Annual, biannual, or quarterly publication? Which profile will set us apart from all the other journals on the market? Further questions (such as the journal's name, as well as initial and continuing funding) will be considered at a later date.  The subcommittee will present a proposal to the EAHN committee at the next business meeting.

14. Proposed Network Project

Christine proposed a concrete project for an initial attempt at obtaining funding from the EU: Courthouse Architecture / The Architecture of Justice. The project could cover all of Europe and historic periods from antiquity to the present, could comprise both research and documentation, and might appeal to the EU with its interest in topics like “Justice” and “Governance”. Products of the project could be a conference, an exhibition, and a publication. As EU funding is generally distributed to groups of institutions, we would need the home institutions of EAHN members to function as the applicants. Christine, Jan and Andrew all volunteered their institutions to coordinate the project (Sorbonne, TU Delft, and University of Newcastle). This project would demonstrate to the EU that architectural history can also bring relevant results to current topics, and not just contribute to issues of architectural heritage and preservation.

15. Looking ahead:

15.1. Calendar of Upcoming Events:

• SAH 60th Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, April 2007: EAHN brown bag lunch presentation, Friday, 13 April 2007, 12:00-13:30
• EAHN Tour: “Secret Barcelona” 17- 20 May 2007 organized by Jan Molema
• EAHN Third Annual Business Meeting, 4-6 January 2008, Leuven  organized by Hilde Heynen
• 2008 SAH / ETH Joint Conference, Zurich (with EAHN participation) organized by Dietrich Neumann and Andreas Tönnesmann with Reto Geiser
• IASTE Cambridge 2008 (?)
• 2008 /2009 conference with SAH-GB
• 2009 EAHN conference, Amsterdam

15.2. 4-5 Year Plan

We agreed on the importance of setting short-term, mid-term and long-term goals for EAHN, a timetable for the development of the organization. Rob will sketch out a plan of activities and possible activities for the next 4-5 years; a preliminary version covering the period to the end of 2008 is appended below.

16. Annual Election of Officers and Committee Members

Finally, the current officers and committee members were unanimously re-elected, and six new committee members in attendance were unanimously elected.
EAHN officers and committee members for 2007: Officers: Christine Mengin (president); Rob Dettingmeijer (vice president); Alice Thomine (secretary); Carmen Popescu (treasurer); Bernd Kulawik (webmaster). Committee: Barbara Arciszewska, Andrew Ballantyne (new), Maristella Casciato, Martin Ernerth, Reto Geiser (new), Simone Hain, Hilde Heynen (new), Susan Klaiber, Rui Lobo, Jan Molema, Dietrich Neumann, Ivan Nevzgodin (new), Alona Nitzan-Shiftan, Nancy Stieber (new), Karin Theunissen (new), Belgin Turan Özkaya.

Dinner: At the dinner following the business meeting, dr. ir. Hielkje Zijlstra represented ®MIT and ir. Suzy Leemans-Lemmens represented the STAG Foundation for Analyses of Buildings, which co-hosted the EAHN meeting in Delft together with the Faculty of Architecture of the TU Delft.

Postscript: The participants met again Sunday morning at Jan Molema's house to discuss:

1. Approval of the minutes from Saturday: these were approved as prepared by Bernd with only minor adjustments.
2. The EAHN mission statement: after a lively discussion of the draft prepared by Belgin and Alona, Nancy Stieber offered to prepare the final draft. This has since passed the mission statement committee (Alona, Belgin, Nancy, Susan) and been circulated among the entire EAHN committee. Comments by general committee members have been addressed, and the final version approved with no further objections by the general committee. The final version is appended below.
3. The projected newsletter and journal (in the publication committee): The results of this discussion are incorporated in point 13 above.

Closing Tour: The participants visited the Van Nelle factory (J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt, 1925-1930) in Rotterdam on Sunday afternoon. The architect Wessel de Jonge, who is coordinating the restoration and redevelopment of the factory as the “Van Nelle Ontwerpfabriek”, led us through the complex, a major monument of the Nieuwe Bouwen.

In attendance: Andrew Ballantyne, Rob Dettingmeijer, Martin Ernerth, Reto Geiser, Hilde Heynen, Susan Klaiber, Bernd Kulawik, Christine Mengin, Jan Molema, Ivan Nevzgodin, Belgin Turan Özkaya, Carmen Popescu, Nancy Stieber, Karin Theunissen.

Unable to attend: Barbara Arciszewska, Maristella Casciato, Simone Hain, Rui Lobo, Dietrich Neumann, Alona Nitzan-Shiftan, Alice Thomine.

Delft Coordinators: Jan Molema, Ivan Nevzgodin

Summary: Susan Klaiber (22.2.2007)

APPENDIX

EAHN mission statement (final version 13.2.2007)
The European Architectural History Network supports research and education by providing a public forum for the dissemination of knowledge about the histories of architecture. Based in Europe, it serves architectural historians and scholars in allied fields without restriction on their areas of study. The network seeks to overcome limitations imposed by national boundaries and institutional conventions through pursuit of the following aims:

• increasing the visibility of the discipline among scholars and the public.
• promoting scholarly excellence and innovation.
• fostering inclusive, transnational, interdisciplinary, and multicultural approaches to the history of the built environment
• encouraging communication among the disciplines that study space.
• facilitating the open exchange of research results.
• providing a clearinghouse for information related to the discipline.

First two years of a 'Four Year Plan' for the

 European Architectural History Network

NOTE:  Roman numerals refer to quarters of the year.  There is not enough decided about activities in 2009 - 2010 to make a detailed scheme yet.