We are pleased to invite submissions for the 25th issue of Building Material:
ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE: PARTS-TO-A-WHOLE
Our natural and cultural landscapes are inseparable, shaped over millennia through the interaction of geology, ecology, climate and sustained human occupation. Mountains, rivers, bogs and coastlines coexist with archaeology, agricultural patterns, settlements and designed landscapes, together giving landscape its distinctive character. Tangible and intangible values embedded within these landscapes, including cultural and economic traditions, language, music, memory and identity, strengthen our understanding of a sense of place. Our landscape cannot be understood from any single perspective but must instead be considered as a complex nature–culture system, in which environmental, cultural, social and economic processes are interconnected and continually evolving.
Architects are currently operating across these landscapes in many ways: as designers, consultants, volunteers, researchers, teachers, and members of councils and community groups. This is valuable but often unseen work. This edition of Building Material will provide an opportunity to take stock of the different ways in which architects work to sustain, protect and contribute to our landscapes. This call is intended to help us recognise the diversity of this work and to encourage architects engaged with landscape, in its broadest sense, to make a submission to the journal.
In this issue, we welcome a diversity of submissions and media, including writing, photography and drawing, reflecting the different ways in which architects engage with landscape. We are particularly interested in new research and new ways of thinking about, representing or engaging with landscape. Submissions may be practice-based, community-based, theoretical or research-led, but should be reflective and make a considered contribution to a wider understanding of landscape. Through submissions, we hope to capture how architects are engaging with communities, other disciplines, environmental concerns, legislation and economic policy, and in doing so begin to understand more fully the role architecture can play in protecting, sustaining and developing landscapes.
Submissions may include: case study, written essay, photo essay, drawing essay, studio project, research article, interview, round-table, field report, archival research, position paper, book review, speculative work, experimental work, pedagogical insights, retrospective.
The selection process will take place in three stages: abstract, extended and final. In Stage 01, text-based submissions should be 500-words with 2 images, and visual-based submissions should be 4 images with 250-words. Submissions should be analytical and critical rather than descriptive. Abstracts should be prepared in MS Word, double-spaced, at a minimum 11-point font size. Notes should adopt the UWA Oxford Referencing style (footnote format). Single quotation marks should be used throughout. Image files should be formatted as individual JPG files at 300 dpi.
Building Material is a peer-reviewed journal, and selected submissions will be assessed by two independent reviewers. To facilitate double-blind peer review, please ensure that all contact details are contained in a covering email and that authors’ identifying details are not included in the submission files. Submitted material must not have been published, or be under consideration for publication, either online or in print.
Abstracts should be submitted by 16 November 2026.
All submissions and correspondence should be sent to buildingmaterial@architecturalassociation.ie.
All applicants will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and will be notified of the outcome by email.
Building Material was first published in 1999 as a newsletter for the Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI). In 2009 it evolved into a journal of architectural discussion with the addition of the All-Ireland Architectural Research Group (A-IARG). This year we are joined by the ICOMOS National Scientific Committee for Cultural Landscapes and Architecture at the Edge for a special issue focused on landscape. Building Material 25 is proudly funded by the Arts Council, under the Project Award.
Previous issues of Building Material are available to view on JSTOR. Hard copies may be purchased via architecturalassociation.ie.
BM25 Team :
Editors : Helen McFadden & Steve Larkin
Readers : Megan Brien (AIARG) & Mary Laheen (ICOMOS NSCCL)
Producers : Éadaoin Weisz Quinn & Shane Sugrue
Designer : Anna Cassidy
Advisor : Brian Ward