Paper Architecture: Birth of a Profession | Lecture by Peter Jackson, FRIBA (October 2022)
This illustrated presentation describes the development of modern architectural theory and learning in the Italian Renaissance, commencing with the discovery in 1416 in a Swiss monastery of a Roman treatise written for the Emperor Augustus. The early modern treatises that followed would attempt to reconcile classical teachings with the practical needs of building, as well as shaping a new Italian nation in the quattrocento. The communications revolution that was initiated with the invention of printing using movable metal type was as profound to western society 500 years ago, as the development of computing and the internet has been globally over the past 50 years. Printed architectural treatises were then widely disseminated across Europe—France, Spain, Holland and eventually to Russia and North America—even impacting architecture in the Ottoman Empire. These printed architectural treatises were fundamental in re-defining the role of the architect as an increasingly independent designer of buildings, removed from the site-based builder or master mason, thereby driving the beginnings of modern architectural education and our profession.
About the speaker
Peter Jackson, FRIBA
UCL Bartlett trained, Peter Jackson came to the Gulf early in his career with John R Harris Architects. He has since worked in Oman, UAE, Jordan, UK, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, and in his own architectural partnership in Zimbabwe (1980-2002). He returned to Dubai in 2002, and as Architect Advisor in HH the Ruler of Sharjah’s Office since 2007, has been involved with the planning and design of various notable museums and visitor centers in the Emirate of Sharjah. He initiated the Heart of Sharjah Master Plan, overseeing restoration and covering of the souk. In 2016, his Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre was awarded best Education Project of the Year by Middle East Architect. Other projects under his direction include the Sharjah Islamic Botanic Garden, Buhais Geology Park and Khor Kalba Mangroves Centre, Sharjah Safari, and Wasit Wetlands Centre (recipient of an Agha Khan Award for Architecture). Peter has lectured and written numerous papers focused on architectural history and architectural conservation, and published two books, Historic Buildings of Harare in 1986, and in 2007 Windtower, co-authored with Dr. Anne Coles.
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