Architects require solid ground on which to base their practice, yet oceans have always been a key element shaping the history of architecture and the built environment. This themed conference aims to shift the focus of architectural history from the land to the sea. It will address the planet’s bodies of salt water either as areas of increasing urbanization (through the building of structures such as underwater cables, oil rigs, windmills, etc.), as connectors between space and cultures (navigation routes for people and resources, transported in the form of knowledge, labour, and materials), or as an ecosystem functioning, in connection with the land, as an essential life-support system (defining climatic patterns, providing resources from food to raw materials, and securing services from carbon sequestration to large-scale habitats). The conference aims to bring together scholars representing a wide range of interdisciplinary knowledge and sets out to cover a broad chronological scope, from deep history and archaeological sources to more recent accounts of ecological decline and potential futures. Where is the architecture of the sea? To what extent does the built environment impact saltwater landscapes? What reciprocal impacts do seascapes have on the built environment?

Proposals are to be submitted using the conference’s online platform, via a link soon available; they should include an abstract of no more than 400 words and an author’s bio (c.200 words per author). Abstracts will be evaluated primarily on the basis of their relevance to the conference theme; innovative methods, interdisciplinary exploration, and sound research will also be taken into account. Contributions should be the result of original research and should not have been previously published or be in the process of being published elsewhere. We welcome and encourage proposals from researchers from around the world, at any career stage and representing a broad range of disciplinary backgrounds and methodological approaches to architecture and the built environment—including but not limited to marine biology, ecology, literary studies, history, geography, archaeology, anthropology, or media studies.

For further details, please see the conference website: www.thebuiltocean.com
Email: fish@arq.up.pt