Louis Kahn. Space – Material – Landscape, Edgar Stach: forthcoming Birkhäuser 2026 ( En)
This book examines the architectural philosophy of Louis I. Kahn through the integrated lenses of light, space, material, structure, and landscape. Tracing the evolution of Kahn’s thinking across his major works, from the Yale University Art Gallery and the Salk Institute to the National Assembly in Dhaka, the essay reveals how Kahn sought to create architecture that transcends function and engages the deeper dimensions of human experience. His concepts of material honesty, spatial hierarchy, the “unmeasurable,” and light as a generative force are analyzed in relation to both built projects and pedagogical practices. By synthesizing these themes, the book positions Kahn’s work as a profound and enduring inquiry into architecture’s capacity to shape meaning, evoke contemplation, and elevate the presence of the individual within the built environment.
Neutra in Pennsylvania, Suzanne Singletary and Suzanna Barucco: Follow-up to Emergence of a Modern Dwelling: Richard Neutra’s Hassrick House.
Neutra has 7 built residences in PA in addition to the Hassrick House—he also has 5 unbuilt, proposed houses, plus one built apartment complex and one proposed, in addition to the ill-fated Cyclorama, demolished 2009. Research is responding to questions about Neutra’s work in the region and expands upon the role of architect Thaddeus Longstreth in these designs. Exhibition/book.
School Lane Hills: A Modern Bottom-Up Community in Postwar Philadelphia, David Breiner (book proposal submitted to Routledge, Nov 2025).
Adopting a bottom-up developmental framework, School Lane Hills presents a compelling challenge to prevailing scholarly narratives surrounding post-World War II suburbanization in the United States. These dominant accounts have largely emphasized top-down paradigms—characterized by expansive tracts of homogenous, developer-constructed housing or by meticulously planned communities rooted in the austere aesthetics of International Style architecture. Initiated in Philadelphia through a partnership that included sculptor Dr. Alma Morani and architect Norman Rice, the School Lane Hills project diverged from these models by offering individual lots to private buyers, who in turn commissioned a diverse array of architects to design bespoke residences. This grassroots, market-driven approach—shaped by the decisions of multiple stakeholders—fostered collaborative processes that departed from both the architectural uniformity typical of speculative tract housing and the ideological ambitions of utopian suburban planning.
After Purism: Le Corbusier’s Architectural Polychromy between 1931 and 1965. Barbara Klinkhammer (book proposal under consideration with Birkhäuser)
Architecture in the Raw: the Past, Present, and Future of Brutalism, symposium in collaboration with DocomomoPHL, scheduled for February 27, 2026, focuses on exploring Brutalism, the often-controversial architectural style known for its raw materials and monumental forms — from its historical origins and cultural impacts to how it’s viewed and reinterpreted today and going forward.
Modernism Map, Philadelphia Metropolitan Area is a collaboration with DocomomoPHL on an interactive map that would allow scholars and students of modern architecture to search for information by name of the site, architect, and location. using the ARC-GIS Experience Builder software; the map will live on both websites.
Archive—Center for the Preservation of Modernism: Hassrick House. This collection contains research compiled by faculty and Historic Preservation students and consists primarily of first-hand research sources, including newspaper articles, letters, and an important collection of oral histories, compiled about the Hassrick House, but also includes several Conservation Management Plans for other mid-century modern buildings completed by students in the Restoration and Rehabilitation of Modernism course, taught by Suzanne Singletary and Suzanna Barucco. There is a physical collection stored in Gutman Library Archives and Special Collections and a digital collection of student and faculty research that will be available via the Jefferson Digital Commons, open access database. The archive is expanded on a regular basis.
Nomination of Modern Buildings to Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Part of the Center’s advocacy efforts is support of nominations to the local register in consultation with frequent collaborator, the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Properties considered for listing are those that hold value within the local community due to their ability to convey information about its local history, identity, or social and cultural heritage. Through this collaboration students gain experience writing nominations.
