The Tower of Babel, perhaps the original architectural fable, foretells the impossibility of architecture’s completion. The utopic final state dreamed by architects is such that its end never arrives, and may never be finished. This has precipitated lamentations of architecture’s seemingly permanent existential crisis, like a store continuously “going out of business.” Edward Said’s On Late Style identifies finishing as an awareness of coming to an end, yet without actually arriving there. Nonetheless finishing as a topic evokes the tendency to close down, to terminate, to desist, while remaining stubbornly under-theorized. Help us, then, expand the conceptualization of finishing and explain the practices of finishing in architecture along three currents: the surface, the project, and most broadly, architectural time itself.

Finishing up, finishing off, crossing the finish line. Is finishing the endpoint, or itself a process, a concluding stage? Architectural constructing and construing, not limited to the proverbial drawing board, defines a project, defines a building, but also spans an architect’s entire career, her oeuvre. Poetic acts can initiate and sustain architectural conversations when edifices exist in the public sphere, despite Winckelmann’s proclamation of the births and deaths of styles. For something to be complete (full or final), therefore, it need not necessarily be finished (ended), and vice versa.

​Finishing also connotes perfecting – applying the finishing touches. Is the end, then, the completion of a design, checking off the punch-list at the end of construction, or does it continue through a building’s lifetime, perhaps even extending to its ruined state and beyond as spoils? Michelangelo’s work often embodies “the poetic of the non-finito,” demonstrating that an unfinished edifice may find “an elegant but incomplete” existence well past the point of being considered a work-in-progress. Unlike the unfinished, Marco Frascari (2015) posits that the non-finito exists outside of time.

This symposium proposes an agenda for theorizing finishing by asking participants to explore the topic through one or more of these three currents:

1. Surfaces: Finishing as Polishing
The flow of this current leads to questions of 'Detail' via: Material, Tactility, and Craft.

2. Projects: Finishing as Completing
The flow of this current leads to questions of 'Building' via: Concept, Completion, and Reception.

3. Times: Finishing as Ending
The flow of this current leads to questions of 'Architecture' via: Performance, Teleology, and Oeuvre.

We invite submissions of scholarly and creative papers and/or creative and scholarly works. Individuals may submit both writings and works. All submissions will remain anonymous and blind peer reviewed. Email all proposals to Frascarisymposiumvi@gmail.com.

Submissions for either category should consist of not more than 532 words and three images in a .docx format. Specify in the email heading Abstract-Writing or Abstract-Drawing and the current to which it is being submitted (Surfaces, Projects, or Times). Individuals are allowed up to two separate submissions. In the body of the email, please include your name(s), institutional affiliation(s), four descriptive keywords, and a brief (100 word) bio of each author. In the case of multiple author submissions, only the submitting author will receive direct correspondence from the organizers.

Drawing abstracts should identify media (including electronic), size (in inches), 2-D or 3-D, and any special installation and exhibition instructions. While we will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate special installation instructions, unusual sizes or other complex requirements, we cannot guarantee they will be possible.

The symposium is planned to be held entirely in person at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center. If health requirements preclude gathering in person, we will make a timely announcement at least one month before the event so that everyone can revise their plans for on-line participation.

Final versions of accepted papers and drawings are due by Monday, March 13th 2023. Full papers should be submitted as a PDF or Word document. With your paper submission, you may include an optional recorded presentation no greater than 20 minutes in length. During the conference, presenters will have 11 minutes to present a précis of their paper in person. The longer full paper will be available for all participants’ review prior to the conference. This format will allow a more substantial discussion time for interaction among the conference participants.

The final versions of accepted creative works will be hung in an exhibition that will be open throughout the symposium. Makers may install their own work as arranged with the organizers on an individual basis.

Papers and creative works will be considered for a future publication following the symposium.

Important Dates

  • Abstract Submissions Due: Friday, September 2 2022 at 11:59 ET at Frascarisymposiumvi@gmail.com
  • Abstract Acceptance Notification: Friday, December 2 2022
  • Final Paper and Drawing Submissions Due: Monday, March 13 2023 at 11:59pm ET
  • Symposium: March 31 - April 1 2023

Call for Papers

We invite scholars ranging from Ph.D. students to seasoned academics to submit an abstract addressing one of the three currents: Surfaces: Finishing as Polishing, Projects: Finishing as Completing, and Times: Finishing as Ending. Presentations will be eleven minutes each, not including questions and discussions. Full papers should be submitted as recorded presentations with images not to exceed 20 minutes in length. Well developed submissions will be invited to contribute a full paper to a future publication.

Please submit abstracts of up to 532 words for blind peer review no later than September 2nd, 2022 by emailing a .docx (5MB max.) of your abstract to: Frascarisymposiumvi@gmail.com. Specify in the email heading Abstract-Writing and the current to which it is being submitted (Surfaces, Projects, or Times). In the body of your email, please identify the author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), abstract title, four descriptive keywords, and a brief (100 word) bio of each author. However, do not include your name(s) or other statements identifying yourself and/or your affiliations in the abstract itself. In the case of multiple author submissions, only the submitting author will receive direct correspondence from the organizers.

Authors and artists will be notified of their acceptance by December 2nd, 2022.

Call for Works

We invite you to contribute an original architectural drawing on the conference theme to be exhibited in conjunction with selected drawings by Marco Frascari.

Please submit creative work for blind peer review no later than September 2nd, 2022 by emailing your drawing to: Frascarisymposiumvi@gmail.com. Submissions should consist of not more than 532 words and three images in a .docx format (15MB max.). Specify in the email heading Abstract-Drawing and the current to which it is being submitted (Surfaces, Projects, or Times).

In the body of the email, please include your name(s), institutional affiliation(s), drawing title, four descriptive keywords, and a brief (100 word) bio of each author. However, do not include your name(s) or other statements identifying yourself and/ or your affiliations in abstract itself. In the case of multiple author submissions, only the submitting author will receive direct correspondence from the organizers.

Drawing abstracts should identify media (including electronic), size (in inches), 2-D or 3-D, and any special installation and exhibition instructions. While we will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate special installation instructions, unusual sizes or other complex requirements, we cannot guarantee they will be possible.

Authors and artists will be notified of their acceptance by December 2nd, 2022.