1x1 - The Potential of the Singular
Abstracts Due: November 1, 2019
Selections Announced: December 1, 2019

The IAWA opens the call for abstracts for the 2020 IAWA Symposium -1x1: The Potential of the Singular. This year’s symposium invites researchers and practitioners to contribute papers or creative presentations that focus on the relevance of the singular. The symposium seeks to shift attention away from large, collected bodies of work, in order to expand the recognized range of practices and individual women in architecture. The call seeks to uncover the diversity of singular contributions made by women in architecture and related disciplines, recognizing and highlighting the impact that certain individual instances, efforts or artifacts have had upon the architectural discipline.

The call asks participants to identify singular instances that reveal the architect’s insight, which - though personal to her - have left an important imprint in architecture and design. We invite papers that delve deeply into a particular instance or artifact that casts a woman as a pioneer, and contextualize its rise and impact. Examples of possible papers are ones that delve deeply into singular pieces made by known women pioneers in architecture; these may bring new analysis of known pieces, or discuss newly discovered pieces. Alternatively, papers may discuss singular artifacts which might have defined a pioneering moment, but have not yet been acknowledged by history. We also invite work that discovers an artifact which has not yet been made visible, and speculates on its potential and value, casting a woman architect in a new light as a pioneer in the field. Overall, we welcome papers which are speculative, musing on possible connections, influences, or alternative unfoldings of history.

We invite historical papers, speculative presentations, and short films, among additional types of presentations. All presentations should be approximately 20 minutes in length, and may be accompanied by audio-visual material and resources.

Please email 300-word abstract and a one-page CV, by November 1, 2019, to: ddunay@vt.edu Subject Heading: 2020 IAWA Symposium

Donna Dunay, FAIA
Chair, Board of Advisors, International Archive of Women in Architecture Center
School of Architecture + Design
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia

Download the full abstract call pdf here.