The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB) has announced the latest recipients of its Research and Publication Grants (Spring 2025). Awardees demonstrate the incredible scope of work celebrated by the Society
The SAHGB writes:
Congratulations to:
- Gary Boyd, Richard Brook, Luca Csepely-Knorr and Karine Elliott, ‘Architecture of Borderlands’
- Hillary Burlock, ‘Assembled, Disassembled, Reassembled: Britain’s Assembly Rooms, 1660-1880’
- Daniel Maudlin, ‘A Night at the Inn: Architecture and the Elite Experience of Empire, 1650–1850’
- Maximilian Sternberg, ‘Hans Döllgast: Poet of Modern German Architecture’
- Nina Vollenbroker, ‘Hide and Speak: An Architectural History of Deaf Education in Britain (1840-1900)’
- Peter Williams, ‘Landscapes of Atomic Optimism: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Atomic Landscapes by Dame Sylvia Crowe through Visual Inquiry’
Dr Nina Vollenbroker [said] ‘I am delighted to receive this SAHGB grant for my research into the planning, construction, and operation of the first purpose-built deaf schools in Britain (1840-1900). I propose that, from the initial concerted efforts to provide formal deaf education, architecture was at the centre of debates about what it meant to be a child who does not hear. Through archival work – supported by SAHGB – I will trace how the built environment has historically been involved in ongoing processes of attaching meaning to deafness and ask what this participation in the production of ever-shifting cultural ideologies means for architecture and its history.’
Dr Hillary Burlock [said] ‘I’m delighted that my research on the histories of British assembly rooms has been supported by a SAHGB Research Grant! As spaces for dance, dalliance, and display, assembly rooms are the architectural eye candy to cinematic depictions of Georgian sociability today. Historically, they dominated social life, yet surprisingly little is known about their origins and development. This grant enables new, interdisciplinary research in archives across England and Scotland to trace the histories of these buildings, spaces, and their users. It opens up new directions of research, shining a light on the untold stories of enterprising architects, powerful lady directresses, and accomplished Black musicians.’
