The Soane Fellowship Lecture – Architects Abroad: Seeing, Drawing, and Traveling

Sir John Soane found travel generative to his foundations as an architect, collector, and educator. As a young man, he drew “by the stealth of moonlight” in Pompeii and, near the end of his life, he made “Sunday sketches” of Parisian monuments and hydraulic architectural infrastructure. Perhaps driven by the realization that he was unable to freely travel due to professional obligations, or motivated by the awareness that many of his young countrymen did not have the means to travel internationally, Soane brought the world to his house museum. Through the arrangement of artifacts, cast, and paintings, Soane’s labyrinthian creation continues to inspire as it allows students and visitors to ‘travel’ through his eyes.

Although Soane never physically made the trip across the “Western Ocean,” the euro-centric term that English cartographers such as Aaron Arrowsmtih used for the Atlantic, his work was translated into an American context by transatlantic designers such as Benjamin Henry Latrobe. This lecture will explore the aspects of travel as architectural training by exploring the nature and scope of Soane’s Grand Tour and Parisian excursions for expanding his visual and experiential catalog, as well as the way Soanian design concepts were imported to the United States.

Speaker:
Danielle Willkens, Assoc. AIA, FRSA, LEED AP BD+C, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Georgia Tech; 2007 Soane Fellow

Danielle Willkens is a practicing designer, researcher, and FAA Certified Remote Pilot who is particularly interested in bringing architectural engagement to diverse audiences through interactive projects. Her experiences in practice and research include design/build projects, public installations, and on-site investigations as well as extensive archival work in several countries. As an avid photographer and illustrator, her work has been recognized in the American Institute of Architects National Photography Competition and she has contributed graphics to several exhibitions and publications.  She was the 2015 recipient of the Society of Architectural Historians’ H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship and her research into transatlantic design exchange has been supported by the Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation, the International Center for Jefferson Studies, and an American Philosophical Society Franklin Research Grant.

This event is organized by the Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation. 

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