Acting Institutions. Agents, Actors, and Authorities in Modern Architecture (between the 1890s and 1930s)
The conference will take place from 10–11 November 2022 at the Institute for Habsburg and
Balkan Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna and online via ZOOM. You can find more information and the programme at:
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/ihb/detail/event/acting-institutions
Vienna , Austria
Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Hollandstraße 11–13
By placing styles, buildings and their authors at the centre of research, architectural history became
a supposedly linear representation of the built environment. The monographic narrative is overt
evidence of the established approach, which emphasises individual, mostly prominent architects,
art schools, leading clients, and art-historically outstanding projects and objects. However, this
depicts only a limited part of history.
Shedding light to institutional actors who were necessarily involved in the architectural production
of public architecture illuminates the diversity of interests and final outputs. To understand the
diversity of this architectural production, we need to ask about the motivations of the involved
elements, the state as client and its authorities as executive bodies.
Striving for a comprehensive image of modern architecture, we shift the perspective from the
widely acknowledged masters and their work to the “invisible” group of unnoticed actors who,
nevertheless, decisively contributed to the outcomes of modern architecture. Beyond the
conventional agents, we emphasise the role of institutions, interest groups, and individual actors in
their historical meaning of power networks. Taking institutions into account does not lead to a
counter-narrative, but to an inclusive social field that was the genuine ground for setting priorities,
interests, and legal agenda. With our conference Acting Institutions we intend to open up the
historical gaze beyond the dominant actors and redraw the boundaries of scholarship. We replace
coherence with complexity.
