Eve Blau is a historian and scholar who teaches at the

Graduate School of Design Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

as a Professor of the History and Theory of Urban Form and Design, as well as Director of Research. Blau has contributed to scholarship on the

history of architecture The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...

and

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

. In 2015 she received the Victor Adler State Prize ( Victor Adler-Staatspreis für Gesichte sozialer Bewegungen 2015) from the Austrian Ministry of Science, Research, and Economy for her work on

Red Vienna Red Vienna (German language, German: ''Rotes Wien'') was the colloquial name for the Vienna, capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, during which the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAP) mainta ...

and her boo
The Architecture of Red Vienna: 1919-1934
The Victor Adler State Prize is given for scholarship that is distinguished by its interdisciplinary breadth, use of innovative methods, contemporary historical questions, and that is widely published. In 2018, she was named Fellow of the

Society of Architectural Historians The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, the Society's 3,500 members inc ...

and in 2022, she was inducted into the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other F ...

Early life and education

Blau's parents were Austrian, and she grew up between Europe and the US. Her sister is Helen Blau. Blau attended the

Ecole d'Humanité The Ecole d'Humanité is an International school, international boarding school, located in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. It was founded in 1934 by :de:Paul Geheeb, Paul Geheeb and his wife :de:Edith Geheeb, Edith Geheeb Cassirer. In 1910, Gehe ...

in Switzerland and the Internationale Sommerakademie für Bildende Kunst in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

before going on to graduate from the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English and Sociology. Her postgraduate studies in the History of Architecture took her to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where she was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1974 and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in 1978.

Career

Blau began her teaching career in the Art and Art History Department at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

. She was the Head of the Department of Exhibitions and Publications (1984-1991) then Curator of Exhibitions and Publications (1991-2001) at the

Canadian Centre for Architecture The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; ) is a Architecture museum, museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between rue Fort (Fort Street) and rue Saint-Ma ...

. She was a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of the History of Architecture (2004-2011) in the Department of Architecture at the

, while

Toshiko Mori Toshiko Mori (born 1951) is a Japanese architect and the founder and principal of New York–based Toshiko Mori Architect, PLLC and Vision Arc. She is also the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at the Harvard University ...

was chair. Blau served as Director of the Master in Architecture Degree Programs (2008-2011). She has been part of the school's Department of Urban Planning and Design as Professor of the History and Theory of Urban Form and Design. In 2019, Blau was appointed as Director of Research by

Mohsen Mostafavi Mohsen Mostafavi (born 1954 in Isfahan) is an Iranian-American architect and educator. Mostafavi is currently the Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. From 2008 through 2019, Mostafavi served ...

. Blau has held visiting professorships at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

(1983),

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

(1995), and the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

(2016). From 1997-2000, Blau served as the Editor of the ''

Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians The ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' () is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians. It was established in 1941 as the ''J ...

''. Blau's research has focused extensively on a range of issues in

architectural history The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...

and theory, specifically in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, as well as the intersection of urban spatial form and media. Her publications have covered topics such as

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (often by oil tankers ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Photography

Photographs attributed to Blau appear in the collection of the Conway Library at the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

. Images captured includes religious and secular buildings, sculptures, and various communities. A linked exhibition of her work ran there from October 2017 to March 2018, which highlighted the architectural importance of the Greystone buildings in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Works

*''The Architecture of Red Vienna'', 1999, *''Project Zagreb: Transition as Condition, Strategy, Practice'', with Ivan Rupnik, 2007, *''Architecture and Cubism'', with Nancy Troy, 2012, *''Baku: Oil and Urbanism'', 2018,

Awards

*2000

Spiro Kostof Spiro Konstantine Kostof (7 May 1936, Istanbul – 7 December 1991, Berkeley) was a Turkish-born American leading architectural historian, and educator. He was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His books continue to be widel ...

Book Award for ''The Architecture of Red Vienna'' (1999) *2001

Alice Davis Hitchcock Award The Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award, established in 1949, by the Society of Architectural Historians, annually recognizes "the most distinguished work of scholarship in the history of architecture published by a North American scholar." The olde ...

for ''The Architecture of Red Vienna'' (1999) *2015

Victor Adler __NOTOC__ Victor Adler (24 June 1852 – 11 November 1918) was an Austrian politician, a leader of the labour movement and founder of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP). Life Adler was born on 24 June 1852, in Prague, the son of a Jewi ...

State Prize of the

Republic of Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

for the German translation of ''The Architecture of Red Vienna'' (2014) *2018 Fellow of the

*2019

DAM A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

Architectural Book Award for ''Baku: Oil and Urbanism'' (2018) *2022 Elected Member of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blau, Eve Marion 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of York Academic staff of McGill University Ecole d'Humanité alumni American people of Czech descent American architectural historians Yale School of Architecture alumni Wesleyan University faculty Williams College faculty Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty University at Buffalo faculty