I International Conference:
HiCA – History of High-Rise Construction “Verticality in the Americas between 19th and 20th Centuries”.

Instituto de Historia, Teoría y Praxis de la Arquitectura y la Ciudad. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (HITEPAC-FAU-UNLP) | Crecimiento vertical (PID tetra anual U198 UNLP) /HiCA (Historia de las construcciones en altura).

CONFERENCE VENUE
Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Virginia Bonicatto (UNLP), Ana Brandoni (UNLP), Catalina Fara (UNSAM), Sebastián Malecki (UNC), Claudio Solari (UNR), Claudia Waslet (UNLP).

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Anahí Ballent - Universidad Nacional de Quilmes
Maria Lucia Bressan Pinheiro - Universidade de São Paulo
Gail Fenske - Roger Williams University
Eduardo Gentile - Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Thomas Leslie - Iowa State University
Jorge Francisco Liernur - Universidad Torcuato Di Tella-CONICET
Mary Mendez - Universidad de la República
Dietrich Neumann - Brown University
Horacio Torrent - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Ana María Rigotti - Universidad Nacional de Rosario-CONICET
Carol Willis - Columbia University- Skyscraper Museum NYC

INTRODUCTION
As the 19th century came to an end, a new architectural type—later known as skyscraper—emerged in the United States, particularly in Chicago and New York. The technical possibilities and cultural aspirations associated with this type rapidly gained a prominent place in the debates and professional practice of architects, urban planners, and engineers. The fascination with skyscrapers attracted a much wider audience, so that they soon became symbols of modern times. As such, skyscrapers were part of a global imaginary of utopian projects and fantasies, along with airplanes, elevators, reinforced concrete structures and elevated streets and railways. Both images and projects cast these visions of the future and were disseminated in popular magazine, books, and movies. Numerous commissions and competitions—for both architectural and urban projects—made the Americas a promising space for the design and construction of high- rise utopias, strengthening the idea of the continent as a locus of modernity. The focus on "the Americas" problematizes the distinction between "North" and “South,” or "Anglo- Saxon" and "Latin," thus highlighting the complex network of dialogues and exchanges weaved across the hemesphere by a wide range of individuals and institutions.
We invite proposals for paper presentations which address and discuss, from different historical approaches—architecture, urban planning, visual culture, art history, technology history, etc.—, the problems related to high-rise construction in the Americas, during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The conference will be organized around the following subjects:
1. New historiographical perspectives.
Since the 1970s, Manfredo Tafuri and Rem Koolhaas, among others, presented new analytical perspectives for the study of high-rise construction. Focusing on European and North American contexts, these methodologies were later developed by Jean Louis Cohen, Javier Quintana de Uña and Dietrich Neumann. In the case of Argentina, Jorge Francisco Liernur drew from the same critical approach to interpret the emergence of a vertical urban landscape. We are interested in new research perspectives or discussions about the works of these and other architects/historians. Our intention is to broaden the debate with contributions originated in different academies.
2. Images of high-rise architecture: utopias and representations.
The production, circulation, and reception of images of high-rise buildings allow us to problematize its meaning, uses, and appropriations in the Americas. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between different fields such as visual arts or film studies, and their importance in the shaping of urban imaginaries of modernity and visions of the metropolitan future.
3. Projects and typologies of the modern city
Typology, planning, and urban milieus might inform the analysis of high-rise construction, showing the multiple and at the same time singular articulations between local traditions and foreign models. Although high-rise constructions vary from context to context, the modernization process created favorable conditions for the high-rise typology to grow alongside the metropolis.
4. high-rise architecture technologies and knowledge
The circulation of practices, construction techniques, and technical knowledges (such as reinforced concrete, iron skeleton structures, etc.) became key elements for modern architecture and high-rise construction. Attention will be given here to the contribution of skyscrapers to local technical developments, as well as to association of architectural practice with engineering.
5. Institutions and regulations
This last section seeks to reconstruct and to analyze the discussions around the regulations on high-rise construction and to study the relationship between material innovations, architectural programs, and typologies that were designed and implemented in the different metropolises of the Americas.

PAPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
1. Abstract length: up to 500 words. A maximum of three authors will be allowed for each proposal. Papers can be submitted in Spanish, French, English or Portuguese. Proposals must include the following information: thematic area, paper title, name/s of author/s, institution/s of the author/s, email of all authors.
2. The deadline for abstracts submission is October 30th 2023. Proposals will be evaluated by a scientific committee of academics from the HITePAC-FAU-UNLP and other institutions.
3. The authors of the selected papers will be notified on November 15th 2023
4. Once they have received the notification, the authors must send a full manuscript within the following guidelines: 2500 words, in Word format. Times New Roman 12, spacing 1,5, footnotes size 10, titles size 14 bold. Footnotes and bibliography following APA (Chicago Manual of style). Full manuscripts are due May 31th 2024.
5. Authors of the accepted papers will commit to present their work on the day and time established by the schedule, on October 23, 24, and 25, 2024. All the activities will take place at the Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
6. Abstracts and full manuscripts must be sent to the following email:
congresohicagmail.com

PUBLICATION
A bilingual publication (Spanish / English) with the minutes of the meeting is planned.
Registration
Registration fees for presenters will be announced in a next call for papers.