Call for Papers LIVING IN THE PAST: HISTORIES, HERITAGE AND THE INTERIOR

The 6th Modern Interiors Research Centre Conference, Kingston University 
Thursday 14th and Friday 15th May 2009

The annual conference of the Modern Interiors Research Centre has
established itself as a leading forum for international interdisciplinary
debate on the history and theory of the modern interior. 

In 2009 the Modern Interiors Research Centre Conference will bring together
architectural and design historians and practitioners, curators and policy
makers, to examine and debate the theme of the interior as a marker of
history.  Deeply embedded in historical processes, interiors are mutable
spaces, shaped and re-shaped over time.  The conference will seek to reveal
and debate the numerous ways in which interiors register and mark the
passing of time and will question the ways in which time and the effect of
social, cultural, political and economic factors shape our understanding and
assessment of the interior.

The convenors welcome proposals for 20-minute papers, which may be
historical or contemporary case studies, addressing the following themes:

History and the Interior.  How do interior designers, decorators, architects
and industry use or work with history?  Papers might explore:

·	The concept of history as it informs design practice
·	The challenge of working with/within historic buildings
·	Historicism and revivalism in the work of architects, interior decorators
and designers
·	The trade in architectural interiors
·	Re-modelling as a design practice

The Re-designation of Interiors.  How do/have interiors figured in practices
and discourses of urban and economic regeneration?  Papers might consider: 

·	The re-development of war or disaster damaged buildings
·	The re-purposing of obsolete industrial/commercial/recreational/religious
spaces
·	Histories of alteration of re-use within a single building type
·	Hybrids (the preservation of the architectural facade / tensions between
modern interior/historic exterior)

Heritage and the Interior.   How do curators and those working within the
heritage industry address the question of history?  Papers might:

·	Consider issues of conservation, preservation or renovation 
·	Explore the curatorial challenges of working with and presenting historic
interiors (e.g. periodisation, narrative) 

The Interior as History/Memory.  How do interiors register changing patterns
of social activity or human presence and in what ways do historic interiors
act as a focal point of social negotiation/cultural exchange?  Papers might:

·	Explore agents of change and the re-assignment of the use of interiors in
response to the changing needs of particular communities 
·	Consider histories of alteration and re-use through study of a single site
(e.g. functional shifts from domestic to commercial or religious to secular use)
·	Consider re-modelling and the erasure of history/histories

Abstracts of 300 words and a brief cv should be submitted to the conference
convenors (Prof. Penny Sparke, Prof. Anne Massey, Dr. Trevor Keeble and
Brenda Martin) at ‘Living In The Past: Histories, Heritage and The Interior’
The Modern Interiors Research Centre, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture,
Kingston University, KT1 2QJ, or by email to [log in to unmask]  The
deadline for receipt of abstracts is Friday 9th January 2009.