Cette journée d’étude se présente comme une occasion de commémorer le 60e anniversaire de la disparition d’André Bloc et de revenir sur son héritage dans le domaine de l’architecture. La journée d’étude vise aussi à réunir des chercheuses et chercheurs travaillant sur les revues d’architecture, les pratiques éditoriales et les transferts culturels qu’elles ont rendus possibles. En prenant Bloc comme exemple central, l’événement cherche à examiner comment la presse spécialisée a façonné la réception de l’architecture moderne, produit des références visuelles et promu des modèles, rapproché des réseaux professionnels et encouragé les échanges pluridisciplinaires.

Versailles & Meudon 4–5 december 2026

Argument

This international conference is an opportunity to commemorate the 60th anniversary of André Bloc’s passing and to reflect on his legacy within the field of architecture. A versatile figure, Bloc shaped twentieth-century architectural culture through both his creative work and his editorial initiatives. 

Trained as an engineer, he was a multifaceted creator and the founder of major architectural and artistic periodicals such as L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Art d’Aujourd’hui and Aujourd’hui, art et architecture. He also played a decisive role in establishing a space of mediation where architects, artists, engineers and critics could meet and publish their avant-gardist ideas. These publications became key platforms for the circulation of ideas, the confrontation of practices, and the construction of international modernity.

The conference aims to bring together researchers working on architectural periodicals, editorial practices, and the cultural transfers they enabled. Taking Bloc as a central figure, the event seeks to examine how periodicals shaped the reception of modern architecture, produced visual references, merged professional networks, and fostered interdisciplinary exchanges. Periodicals will be approached not merely as vehicles of dissemination but as active agents of modernity, capable of guiding debates and connecting distant scenes.

Scientific axes

1 Heritage and contemporary forms of mediation

Archives, corpus, and materiality of specialized periodicals — Material and visual approaches to twentieth-century journals, their modes of production, and their uses in shaping a modern architectural culture. 

2 Architecture, Art, and Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinary collaborations — Analysis of the collaborations between architects, engineers, landscape designers and visual artists connected to André Bloc (1896–1966), or working in his wake, in order to contextualize and reassess his legacies.

3  Sites of Cultural Transfer  

Transnational circulations — examination of cultural transfers across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East, enabled by modernist professional networks: correspondence for periodicals, study trips, congresses, exhibitions, biennials, and triennials.

The presentation of archival materials such as photographs, correspondence, and articles is highly appreciated. By bringing together specialists from multiple disciplines and showcasing collections that remain largely underexplored, the conference aims to renew our understanding of architectural mediation in the twentieth century and to foreground the contemporary relevance of the issues raised by Bloc: interdisciplinarity, the creation of networks, and the articulation between discourse and practice.

Submissions guidelines

Proposals for a 30-minute presentation should not exceed 500 words, including the title and notes. They may be written in French or English and must be accompanied by three keywords and a short biographical note of approximately 150 words.

Proposals should be sent before 18 September 2026 to the following addresses: lara.dautun@versailles.archi.fr marilia.macedo-espina@versailles.archi.fr

The proceedings will be published; further details will be provided by the end of the conference. 

Timeline

• 18 september 2026: submission deadline
• 20 october 2026: notification from the committee – confirmation of participants
• 4 decembre 2026: study day and closing roundtable, ÉNSA Versailles
• 5 décembre 2026: visit of the sculptures-habitacles at the Villa Bloc, Meudon

Venues

ÉNSA Versailles, 5 Avenue de Sceaux, 78000 Versailles

Villa Bloc, 2 Rue du Bel air, 92190 Meudon

Scientific committee

• Shahram ABADIE (ENSA Nantes, AAU-Crenau, UMR Arche  et Ressources)
• Guillemette MOREL JOURNEL (ENSA Paris-Malaquais/PSL,  équipe ACS)
• Paola SCARAMUZZA (LéaV, ÉNSA Versailles)
• Nathalie SIMONNOT (LéaV, ÉNSA Versailles)
• Annalisa VIATI NAVONE (LéaV, ÉNSA Versailles)

Organising Committee

• Lara DAUTUN (LéaV, ÉNSA Versailles)
• Carola D’AMBROS (Politecnico di Milano, SUPSI de Mendrisio)
• Marília MACEDO ESPIÑA (ACS, ENSA Paris-Malaquais)
• Ana Marianela ROCHAS-PORRAZ (LéaV, ÉNSA Versailles/Université Paris-Saclay)

Contacts 

Marília MACEDO ESPIÑA:  marilia.macedo-espina@versailles.archi.fr –  Lara DAUTUN:  lara.dautun@versailles.archi.fr