Society of Architectural Historians Announces 2018 Publication Award Recipients

Written by Lindsey Leardi
Published on May 02, 2018

Get ready to add to your reading and watch lists because the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) just announced the 2018 award recipients for the SAH Publication, Film and Video Awards. Winners received their awards at SAH’s 71st Annual International Conference awards ceremony on April 20th in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The list of SAH Award recipients represents some of the best media in architectural, urban, and landscape history, as well as historic preservation scholarship and architectural exhibition catalogs. Nominations for the 2019 awards will be accepted by SAH on June 1st of this year.

See the list of this year's SAH Award recipients below.

Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award

For nearly 70 years, the Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award has acclaimed one of the most scholarly works of architectural history published by a North American scholar.

Winner: Kathryn E. O’Rourke, Modern Architecture in Mexico City: History, Representation, and the Shaping of a Capital (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016)

Kathryn E. O'Rourke explores Mexican homes, schools, a government ministry, a workers' park, and more in this new perspective of modern architecture in the Mexican capital. This book explains the connection between Mexican architecture, history, art, and social reform. [Amazon]

Winner: Mrinalini Rajagopalan, Building Histories: The Archival and Affective Lives of Five Monuments in Modern Delhi (University of Chicago Press, 2016)

By studying five Delhi monuments, Mrinalini Rajagopalan exposes the stories these memorials have to tell about marginalized groups from past to present. [Amazon]

Philip Johnson Exhibition Catalogue Award

SAH believes architectural history exhibitions are invaluable to the study of architectural history. The Philip Johnson Exhibition Catalogue Award encourages excellence in this form of scholarly expression, which often includes artifacts and documentation.

Winner: Nina Stritzler-Levine and Timo Riekko, Artek and the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World (Bard Graduate Center, New York with The Alvar Aalto Foundation, Helsinki, 2016)

This comprehensive architectural catalog documents over three hundred furniture and product designs created by Artek, the producer and distributor of Alvar Aalto's modernist furniture. More than just a catalog, this publication delves into Artek and the Aalto's mission and ideologies. [Amazon]

Spiro Kostof Book Award

In true Spiro Kostof fashion, this award calls out particularly inspiring contributions to our interdisciplinary understanding of urban history.

Winner: John North Hopkins, The Genesis of Roman Architecture (Yale University Press, 2016)

In his publication, John North Hopkins tells the story of Roman history through architecture and sculpture. Not only does Hopkins give a detailed written account of Rome's urban history but he affords us a unique visual experience through illustrative Roman reconstructions. [Amazon]

Honorable Mention: Michele Lamprakos, Building a World Heritage City: Sanaa, Yemen (Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2015)

Michele Lamprakos delves into the world of the Sanaa, Yemen conservation effort which began in the 1980's under UNESCO. Her book, Building a World Heritage City, begs the question how do we conserve what is somewhat still alive today? [Amazon]

Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Book Award

One of SAH's most recent awards, the Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Book Award honors scholarly work with regards to landscape architecture or garden design.

Winner: John Beardsley, Cultural Landscape Heritage in Sub-Saharan Africa (Dumbarton Oaks, 2016)

Broaden your horizons and step into one of the world's least studied landscapes with John Beardsley. Explore nomadic pathways, anthropogenic forests, significant tombs, and more through Beardsley's essays documenting the Sub-Saharan African landscape. [Amazon]

Founders’ JSAH Article Award

An award for emerging scholars in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, this honor recognizes journalism merit.

Winner: Sabine von Fischer, “A Visual Imprint of Moving Air: Methods, Models, and Media in Architectural Sound Photography, ca. 1930” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 76 No. 3, (September 2017)

SAH Award for Film and Video

This award honors the most significant film contribution to the history of the built environment and our understanding of it.

Winner: Peter Rosen, Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future

Peter Rosen's award-winning film explores the life of the St. Louis Gateway Arch architect, Eero Saarinen. See this father-son story unfold as bits of Eero Saarinen's life and career are revealed.

News via: the Society of Architectural Historians.