What We Do
Our Mission and Purpose
We are an educational charity dedicated to furthering the knowledge of architectural history through advancing research, education and learning; disseminating that knowledge to public and professional audiences through programming, guidance and support, content production and publishing; and advocating for our members and the discipline in heritage, architectural and higher-educational settings.
+ Knowledge
Supporting Learning, Education and Research
Our learning activities are aimed at anyone interested in and wanting to find out more about architectural history, and include a wide range of expert-led but accessible events, as well as access to published research and features in our publications. We try to provide learning support for all levels and capabilities.
Our educational activities are aimed at anyone undertaking formal study in and around architectural history, including conservation and heritage practice. We support postgraduate research through subsidised funding (at PhD and MA level), guidance and networking opportunities. Our annual Architectural History Workshop, aimed at postgraduate and early-career academics and professionals, offers an important forum for debate and networking. Free places at a range of events are available, as is access to our awards programme, specifically through the Hawksmoor Essay Prize.
Our research support caters to a breadth of approaches in the practice and production of architectural history: research through its objects; its spaces and places; and its cultures and communities. You could be working with archives, collections, heritage sites or elsewhere. You might want an opportunity to share research-in-progress; bid for financial support towards your project; publish your conclusions; enhance your professional experience or share your insights. We are particularly interested in facilitating partnerships between university researchers and heritage/conservation professionals through knowledge exchange and impact opportunities.
+ Dissemination
Communicating architectural histories through programming, editorial and publishing
Our peer-reviewed journal Architectural History is a major international forum for new research in the discipline, broadly conceived. It has been a leader in the field for six decades. We provide grants to assist in the publication of important work in and around architectural history. We also publish The Architectural Historian for members twice a year, a magazine combining features, comment pieces and reviews with the latest news and events in the sector. Additional new, features, podcast is on the Knowledge pages of this website.
We run a diverse and expanding programme often delivered by leading experts in the field, ranging from study visits to major sites around the UK and beyond, to workshops and conferences. Regular highlights include our Annual Symposium held in late spring, the Annual Study Tour in early autumn, and the Annual Lecture and Awards Ceremony in the winter. We have recently established an Architectural History Seminar co-hosted by the Institute of Historical Research at Senate House, London, and developed a partnership with RIBA Learning, organising evening adult learning courses. We are actively developing further platforms and opportunities for the dissemination of research to wide audiences and welcome ideas on how we can better meet your needs.
+ Advocacy
Advocating for academics and practitioners, demonstrating the relevance of our discipline
In all we do, we seek to demonstrate that a strong discipline of architectural history is a vital strand of the arts and humanities, enriches the promotion and celebration of built heritage and the historic environment for all, and is part of the bedrock of architectural education and practice.
Our work in raising the profile of architectural history involves representing the interests of the area to governmental and non-governmental bodies. This extends to collaborating with institutions in higher education to both provide essential resources and ensure that an understanding of the built environment is an important part of related programmes. Forming partnerships with heritage bodies to achieve this aim is a major element of our current activities, and one to which we are dedicating our energies at present, as is our desire to further our relationships with practising architects in conservation and heritage, but also in wider areas of professional education and development. We welcome all proposals in these areas from both individuals and institutions at info@sahgb.org.uk.