Challenging Erasure: Collaborative Architectural Documentation and Historic Interpretation

Speaker: Danielle S. Willkens, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract: How can we study and reveal the hidden, or repressed, histories within the built environment that illuminate a more complete and accurate record of our shared history? This talk will feature ongoing documentation, visualization, and historic interpretation work at modern civil rights sites in the southern U.S., and how expanded narratives can pave the way for a more resilient future. 

Short bio: Danielle S. Willkens is an Associate Professor in Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture and the Initiative Lead for Resilient & Informed Communities at the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT). Her research has been supported by the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Center for Architecture, Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation, the International Center for Jefferson Studies, the American Philosophical Society Franklin Research Grant, the Society of Architectural Historians and the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology. She holds an PhD from the Bartlett School of Architecture, a M.Phil from the University of Cambridge, and a M.Arch and BS from the University of Virginia.