Society of Architectural Historians

For the third report of Caroline Amstutz' H. Allen Brooks Fellowship, they traveled to Antalya and Bursa, Turkey, and across the Bosphorus to Romania. There they encountered the ‘Düğmeli Evler,’ or ‘Button Houses,’ centuries-old timber and stone structures built along historic Silk Road caravan routes.

📝 Read the report: https://sah.org/2026/05/21/homes-memories-museums-materials-the-button-houses-of-antalya/

Created through a 2010 bequest from noted scholar and architectural historian H. Allen Brooks, this prestigious fellowship provides emerging scholars with an opportunity to study the built environment through travel and contemplation.

The SAH office is closed today in honor of Juneteenth, the national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday marks the date in 1865 that enslaved people in Texas learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Pictured is the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Photo by Dell Upton via SAHARA.

SAH has signed a statement published by the American Council of Learned Societies regarding the Office of Management and Budget’s proposal for new criteria and process for federal funding for scientific research.

"What the administration is trying to present as an effort to eliminate waste and fraud is another attack on the production and dissemination of knowledge that puts our communities, our nation, and our planet at risk."

Read the full statement and submit a public comment by July 13:

SAH Signs ACLS Statement on OMB Proposal for New Criteria and Process for Federal Science Research Grants - Society of Architectural Historians The Society of Architectural Historians has signed the following statement published by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) on June 9, 2026, regarding the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s proposal for new criteria and process for federal funding for scientific research. The OMB...

SAHARA’s holdings include photographs of bookshops from around the world. From small local institutions like the Violet Valley Bookstore in Water Valley, Mississippi to lavish spaces like Portugal’s neo-Gothic and art nouveau Livraria Lello & Irmão, these buildings share the common function of connecting readers and books.

📚 Check out the full collection of images in the latest SAHARA Highlights: https://sah.org/2026/05/21/sahara-highlights-bookshops/

SAHARA is a digital image archive developed by the Society of Architectural Historians in collaboration with JSTOR/ITHAKA and funded by the Mellon Foundation. Monthly selections presented by SAHARA Co-Editors Jacqueline Spafford and Jeannine Keefer and Associate Editor Elisabeth Narkin. Become an SAH member to access over 200,000 images of the built environment for your research and teaching.

📖 Pictured: Violet Valley Bookstore, Water Valley, Mississippi, US. Photograph by Stathis G Yeros, 2024.

Update: SAH encourages its members to submit comments to the National Park Service regarding the proposed Monumental Arch in Memorial Circle in Washington DC by June 15 at 11:59 p.m. MDT.

Learn more: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=151576

SAH Statement on Proposed Monumental Arch in Memorial Circle in Washington DC - Society of Architectural Historians On June 1, 2026, the SAH Heritage Conservation Committee sent a letter to William Scharf, Chair of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and NCPC Commissioners outlining why the proposed 250-foot Monumental Arch in Memorial Circle on Columbia Island should not be advanced to preliminary a...

The application period is now open for the 2027 SAH David B. Brownlee Dissertation Award, recognizing the most outstanding doctoral dissertation in the field of architectural history completed during the two years prior (July 31, 2024–July 31, 2026).

The award was established in 2019 to recognize the impact of namesake Professor David B. Brownlee as a scholar, teacher, and mentor to his many doctoral students at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has taught since 1980. In recognition of Brownlee’s wide-ranging interests, there is no geographical or chronological limitation placed on the subject of dissertation submissions — only that they have a connection to architectural history.

The awardee will be recognized at the Society’s 80th Annual International Conference in Chicago and will receive a stipend of up to $1,000 designated for the recipient to travel to the conference.

📝 The submission deadline is July 31, 2026. Learn more and apply on the SAH website: https://sah.org/programs/sah-awards/sah-david-b-brownlee-dissertation-award/

Reminder: the Call for Papers for SAH's 80th Annual International Conference closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

https://sah.org/conferences/chicago-2027/call-for-papers-2027-annual-international-conference/

SAH is now accepting abstracts for its 80th Annual International Conference in Chicago, Illinois, April 14–18, 2027. Please submit an abstract no later than 11:59 p.m. CDT on June 8, 2026, to one of the 54 thematic sessions, the Graduate Student Lightning Talks or the Open Sessions for the Chicago conference. SAH encourages submissions from architectural, landscape, and urban historians; museum curators; preservationists; independent scholars; architects; scholars in related fields; and members of SAH chapters, Affiliate Groups, and partner organizations.

If your research topic is not a good fit for one of the thematic sessions, please submit your abstract to the Open Sessions.

Read the full Call for Papers: https://sah.org/conferences/chicago-2027/call-for-papers-2027-annual-international-conference/

The SAH Heritage Conservation Committee recently sent a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission outlining why the proposed 250-foot Monumental Arch in Washington, DC should not be advanced to preliminary and final approval.

"After reviewing the submission made by the Department of the Interior, we feel that the proposal as presented, threatens to negatively impact the historic and architectural context of its setting, disrupts views to existing significant historic monuments, and runs counter to decades of design and preservation guidance for this area that has been prepared by none other than the applicant itself."

SAH Statement on Proposed Monumental Arch in Memorial Circle in Washington DC - Society of Architectural Historians On June 1, 2026, the SAH Heritage Conservation Committee sent a letter to William Scharf, Chair of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and NCPC Commissioners outlining why the proposed 250-foot Monumental Arch in Memorial Circle on Columbia Island should not be advanced to preliminary a...

Just two spots remain for the 2027 Jungle Kingdoms of the Ancient Maya Study Tour, co-sponsored by SAH and the Archaeological Institute of America! 🗺️

The 14-day itinerary (February 18 – March 3, 2027) led by SAH Executive Director Ben Thomas offers the most comprehensive and best-paced explorations of the region, targeting both major sites and hidden gems in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. This is a rare opportunity to experience and imagine Maya civilization while engaging with the still-standing walls of its culture.

📍See the itinerary at a glance: https://sah.org/programs/study-programs/jungle-kingdoms-of-the-ancient-maya/

Pictured:
- Image 1: Structure 33, Yaxchilán
- Image 2: Murals of Bonampak
- Image 3: Olmec monument at La Venta Archaeological Park

The June 2026 issue of JSAH is now available! This issue includes a roundtable titled "Architectural History and Trans Experiences," articles by Hannah Kaemmer, Dwight Carey, Simon De Nys-Ketels and Trésor Lumfuankenda Bungiena, and Ana Vaz Milheiro, and several book, exhibition, and multimedia reviews.

📓SAH members can access the full-color online journal through the SAH website: https://sah.org/publications/jsah/

Became an SAH member today to get access to the June issue and the entire JSAH archive dating back to 1941.

On the cover: James Collins and Nicholas Yeates, after Thomas Phillips, Tangier in its Rewings, c. 1683 (Pepys Library 2985, Part II, 298-99), reproduced by kind permission of the Pepys Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge