Open Call 12th JBSC Conference: Networks of (Ex)Change, Global Disseminations of Architectural Knowledge.

The Jaap Bakema Study Centre has announced a call for papers for its annual conference, to be held on 26 and 27 November. This year’s conference, entitled Networks of (Ex)Change, is being organised in collaboration with the gta Archive of the ETH Zurich and focuses on international networks of knowledge exchange in architecture and urban planning.

Networks of (Ex)Change
In 1928, the Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM) was founded by an international group of forward-thinking architects to address major challenges in architectural design and urban planning. In the run-up to the CIAM centenary in 2028, the Jaap Bakema Study Centre and the gta Archive of the ETH Zurich are organising a series of joint events on networks of knowledge exchange in architecture and urban planning. These events will focus not only on the historical impact of such networks, but also on the potential lessons for addressing today’s key issues of sustainable growth and transformation in our urban regions. The 12th annual conference of the Jaap Bakema Study Centre in Delft and Rotterdam on 19 and 20 November, is the first event in the series.

In the 21st century, globalisation seems like an almost natural condition, inescapable in everything from planetary communication technologies and energy infrastructures to the threat of pandemics and climate crises. The transformation of architectural discourse and exchange has followed suit. Current geopolitical upheavals are a stark reminder of the importance of such networks of collaboration and knowledge exchange.

CIAM played a central role in facilitating a transnational shift in architectural discourse and practice following the crises of World War I. Crucially, design issues were seen as inextricably linked to pressing social and environmental concerns, with mass housing and universal health care at the forefront. CIAM became a place for the exchange of design strategies to both accommodate and counter the relentless modernisation of cities, countries and even entire continents.

CIAM was neither the first nor the only international platform for architects to network and share knowledge. From the first international congresses on housing and urban planning, to a host of avant-garde groups, professional organisations such as the UIA, and international agencies such as UN Habitat, all contributed to the emergence of multiple networks that facilitated international exchanges and professional alignments across ideological and political boundaries. Whatever their scope, agendas or lifespan, these networks were almost invariably transdisciplinary, recognising the benefits of including expertise and voices from outside architecture, especially from government representatives, societal stakeholders, and benefactors.

For this first conference, we seek exploratory contributions that map and identify the formative moments and multiple actors within these global networks and their modes of operation.

Questions to be addressed include but are not limited to:
• What conditions prompt such exchanges?
• By what means are they enacted, from architectural competitions to knowledge exchanges, government policies and industry programmes?
• What is the role of institution building–from archives to schools of architecture–in the development and maintenance of such networks of exchange?
• What is the role of architectural media in these exchanges and how are the architectural media transformed by such exchanges?
• How do industrial and economic interests, as well as local political and professional organisations, intersect with these networks of exchange?

We are interested not only in the historical dimensions of this phenomenon of global networks of exchange, but also in how it can address pressing contemporary issues, from socio-ecological perspectives to the need to pluralise histories in search of overlooked, marginalised and oppressed voices.

Abstract
Abstracts (300-500 words) and short biographies (100 words) should be sent to Stef Dingen (s.dingennieuweinstituut.nl) for consideration. Selected authors will be asked to develop their abstracts into full papers for publication in the conference proceedings by the conference date.

Dates and Deadlines
• Submission of abstracts: 22 May 2025
• Notification of selection: 26 June 2025
• Submission of full draft papers (2000 words): 28 August 2025
• Conference dates: 26-27 November 2025

Organising Committee
• Dirk van den Heuvel (Nieuwe Instituut, TU Delft) 
• Stef Dingen (Nieuwe Instituut)
• Irina Davidovici (gta Archive, ETH Zurich)
• Andreas Kalpakci (ETH Zurich) 

Jaap Bakema Study Centre Advisory Board
• Tom Avermaete (ETH Zurich)
• Sofie de Caigny (Nieuwe Instituut) 
• Maristella Casciato (Getty Research Institute) 
• Carola Hein (TU Delft) 
• Georg Vrachliotis (TU Delft) 

Locations
• Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft
• Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam

Selection
Abstracts will be selected on the basis of relevance and focus in relation to the call, state-of-the-art research, an innovative and challenging approach, and an eloquent and evocative articulation of the proposition. Both academics and practitioners are invited to submit proposals. We aim for a diverse group of speakers, including in terms of nationality, seniority and academic and institutional background, to ensure a productive and lively exchange of knowledge. We are unable to confirm at this stage whether a limited number of travel grants will be available for selected participants.