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Buell Dissertation Colloquium

The biennial Dissertation Colloquium brings together a select group of doctoral students from diverse institutional and disciplinary backgrounds working on dissertation topics related to the history, theory, and criticism of American architecture, urbanism, and landscape. 

Buell Conferences on the History of Architecture

The Buell Conference on the History of Architecture brings together scholars in architectural and urban history to discuss topics in architecture, urbanism, and modernity as broadly understood.

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Building the Campus, Building the Metropolis: Architecture and Labor in the City
Thursday, November 20, 2025, 12:00 pm ET
Ware Lounge, Avery Hall and online

What traces of Columbia’s long architectural and labor history remain evident on its Morningside Heights campus, and in the archives contained here? This event considers the Buell Center’s exhibition Before you were here and Alexander Wood’s research featured in his recent book, Building the Metropolis: Architecture, Construction, and Labor in New York City, 1880–1935. Jonah Rowen (Vassar) will provide a response to both exhibition and book.

Speakers:

Alexander Wood is a historian of American architecture and urbanism. His published research has focused on the history of New York City and, in particular, on the history of the building industry. He is the author of Building the Metropolis: Architecture, Construction, and Labor in New York City, 1880-1935 (University of Chicago Press, 2025). His work has also been published in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Buildings & Landscapes, and other journals. In 2021-2022, he was the Helen and Robert Appel Fellow in History and Technology at the New York Historical. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and his B.Arch. from the Cooper Union. 

Jonah Rowen is an Assistant Professor of Architectural and Urban History at Vassar College. His work focuses on the intersections between craft, technologies, construction, economics, and environments. He devotes special attention to architectural drawings, business records, and correspondence among architects, builders, engineers, fabricators, and insurance agents. His forthcoming book is titled Architecture of Security: Building across the British Black Atlantic. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia GSAPP, M.Arch from Yale, and B.A. from Carnegie Mellon. He completed fellowships with the National Gallery, the Clark Library, and the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia. His publications include articles in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Grey Room, and Aggregate; recent chapters in The Routledge Companion to Race and Architecture, Architectures of Extraction in the Atlantic World; and a forthcoming chapter on the history of mahogany in Rewriting the American Present.