Dr. Stephanie Pilat, Director of the Division of Architecture, recently presented a talk at Brown University, titled “The Afterlife of Fascist Architecture and Urbanism.” The talk was sponsored by Brown University’s Department of the History of Art and Architecture.
Dr. Pilat discussed the physical legacy that the Fascist regime left in nearly every Italian village, town, and city. From entirely new towns, roads, and infrastructure to stadiums, summer camps, schools, housing, and monuments, the Italian Fascist regime sponsored a vast array of building projects, many of which still stand today.
Today, these reminders of fascism provoke the questions: Who should not decide the fate of these buildings, towns, and monuments scattered across the country and in Italy’s former colonies? Who gets a say in the afterlife of fascism? What do the decisions made about what to preserve, adapt, or demolish tell us about Italian society and nationalism today?
Dr. Pilat analyzed two sites in Rome in order to illustrate some of the ways in which the physical legacy of Fascism in Italy is being negotiated today.
Robert L. Wesley, a pioneering architect and beloved mentor, has died at age 88. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Wesley joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became the firm's first Black partner in 1984. Throughout his career, he contributed to significant architectural projects while maintaining a strong commitment to civic engagement and professional mentorship.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to celebrate a series of recent accomplishments by Dr. Jim Collard, Professor of Practice in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, whose work continues to shape conversations around Indigenous economic development nationally and internationally.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans E. [PA1.1]Butzer returned to one of his most significant works on December 15, joining survivors and past and present board members for the groundbreaking of a $15.8 million expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
