Syracuse Sun

As part of its 2024 grant cycle funding, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts recently announced 33 new grants, totaling $390,000, in support of projects led by organizations around the world—including a publication by the Syracuse University School of Architecture.

Selected from submissions made at the foundation’s annual application deadline in February 2024, these projects—exhibitions, publications and other public presentations—expand understanding, methods and platforms of contemporary architecture discourse. They feature work by architects, archivists, artists, curators, designers, educators and other professionals working with organizations worldwide in cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Nashville, Athens, New York and Chicago.

School of Architecture faculty Lawrence C. Davis (associate professor and lead editor) and Luca Miles Ponsi (architecture field studies coordinator at Syracuse Abroad Florence), along with Marco Brizzi, Elisa C. Cattaneo and Cathy Lang Ho have been awarded funding to support their publication “Ethical Narratives: Essays by Richard Ingersoll (1949–2021).”

The book assembles key texts, drawings and images by Richard Ingersoll—a prominent architectural historian who wrote prolifically for leading architectural publications from the 1980s until his passing in 2021. It is under contract with Actar Publishers.

“Ingersoll’s writing was characterized by its gentle persistence and foresight,” says Davis. “This book seeks not only to capture his nimble intellect but also aims to underscore the creative, playful and generous aspects of his life and personality.”

The compilation includes more than 30 impactful texts selected from over 350 essays and lectures. These are organized thematically around Ingersoll’s primary polemics including social justice and climate change. Observations from colleagues such as Margaret Crawford, Luis Fernandez-Galiano and Liane Lefaivre offer additional insight into Ingersoll's impact.

“Professor Ingersoll was an impressive intellectual figure,” says Michael Speaks, dean of the School of Architecture. “This collection will be of great interest to anyone interested in architecture’s ethical and political impact on late 20th and early 21st century culture.”

Speaks congratulated Associate Professor Lawrence Davis and his team on receiving the prestigious grant. Davis expressed gratitude for the vital funding from the Graham Foundation.

The new grantees join a worldwide network that the Graham Foundation has supported over the past 68 years. The Foundation has awarded more than $44 million in direct support to over 5,100 projects globally.