Dear All,
This is a slightly different email to the usual. A few months ago I applied for the Rome Scholarship in Architecture (what used to be called the Scholar’s Prize in Architecture). I had been thinking of applying for for years, but I never quite got around to it, or felt like I had the right proposal.
However, I am a year into a construction project with a four year build programme, with my part projected to be particularly busy in the final two and a half years. If I was going to apply, this year had to be it. I wrote the first CV I have written in over seven years, put together my research proposal and hit send. It all felt like rather a long shot. However, nothing ventured…
After a hiccup with a spam folder I found myself shortlisted for interview. Then, a very enjoyable interview with architects I have admired for years, which I nevertheless left convinced they thought I didn't have the academic nous for the place. The next morning while I was on my way to work on the tube an email arrived; 'I am delighted to be able to offer you...'.
I must have read that letter about fifty times in the week that followed, I was so convinced I had misread it.
Last week I received a further letter ‘we are delighted that you will be joining the British School at Rome (BSR) as the Rome Scholar in Architecture.’ It all feels so exciting… but surreal; slightly unbelievable! I spend many of my weekends and evenings doing niche architectural research and writing- the thought of three months to do this without a day job… almost too good to be true! (No one can accuse me of having normal hobbies!)
For those that don't know the British School at Rome is an interdisciplinary research centre in Rome supporting the arts, humanities and architecture. It was established in 1901 with a mission "to promote knowledge of and deep engagement with all aspects of the art, history and culture of Italy by scholars and fine artists from Britain and the Commonwealth, and to foster international and interdisciplinary exchange".
It has its own building on the site of the British Pavillion of the 1911 Rome International Exhibition of Art adjacent to the Villa Borghese gardens and hosts visiting scholars, researchers and award holders from Britian and the Commonwealth. My scholarship gives me a funded place for independent research between January and March next year; living in the BSR, exploring the city and no doubt haunting their library for my research.
My research will consider the towers of medieval Rome (which used to number into the hundreds)- their rise, their fall, and what we may be able to learn from them in contemporary discussions about height. I'll be taking a sabbatical from Allies and Morrison- who have been nothing but supportive and encouraging throughout, despite the inconvenience i'm causing them- and moving to Italy in the new year. So now i'm attempting to learn Italian, reading books on medieval Rome and trying to make sure I hit the ground running in January.
So, to the newsletter news- given all this my emails will transition in January from highly sporadic 'stories I want to tell that no one is likely to publish' to a more informal and much more frequent running commentary on life and research in Rome. I can't tell you more than that as I have never been a resident researcher before, but I hope you’ll enjoy it!
In other research-adjacent news I wanted to share the book cover of the book I have been working on for the last couple of years. It will be published by RIBA Publishing early next year- and on Friday I received the first proofs of the full book. It is beyond exciting to see the, increasingly messy, word documents that have shuttled forth between me, my co-author, various editors and copy editors transformed by some magic (and no doubt much hard work) into real book pages! I can’t wait to share more in due course!
This promises to be an exciting few months!
A Presto!
Eleanor