ABSENCE

In 2026, the annual SAHANZ conference will be held in conjunction with the bi-annual Australasian Urban History Planning History conference.

SAHANZ-AUHPH 2026 will be hosted by the University of Melbourne, on the theme of Absence.

Our cities and landscapes are pockmarked by evidence of absence. Architectural, landscape and planning practices and their histories are similarly marked: by the unbuilt and unrealised, by the demolished, by the invisible and by the hidden. Gaps between buildings and unfinished estates are parallels to the spaces we have carved out of nature in order to build. Moreover, the void – the negative space enclosed by an architectural, theoretical, chronological, historiographical or geographical frame – is often as telling as the surrounding structure.

We invite abstracts of 300 words for 20-minute, 3000-4500 word conference papers that engage with the theme of absence as it relates to architectural history. Please indicate if there is a particular session for which you wish your paper to be considered. Papers will be fully refereed for presentation, with the option to be published in the conference Proceedings.

The call for papers for the conference is now open and further details can be found on the conference website:

https://bookings.events.unimelb.edu.au/event/absence2026

Abstract submissions are due by 27 February 2026, with acceptances sent out in early April.

NOTE: Abstract submissions for Absence 2026 are hosted through a third-party system called Cvent that helps us gather and review abstracts anonymously, so you’ll need to create an account via the abstract submission portal: https://www.cvent.com/c/abstracts/2609e6bd-d568-4978-a35b-089354a27df2. 

This can be done by clicking on the text that says “Log in” in the top right, and then clicking on the link that says “Need to create an account?”

Please contact  if you have any questions about abstract submission or conference registration.