On April 5, the International Academic Conference Commemorating the Centenary of the Birth of Prof. Joseph Rykwert — “Cultural Foundations: Origins, Measures, and Fabrications” — was held at the Asian Architecture Archive Center, SEU Sipailou Campus. Wu Xiaocheng, Secretary of the CPC SEU Committee, attended the opening ceremony and deliveredremarks. In addition, David Leatherbarrow, Foreign Dean of the Architecture Internationalization Demonstration School at Southeast University; Prof. Mohsen Mostafavi, former Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design; Prof. Philip Ursprung, former Dean of ETH Zurich; Franca Trubiano, Chair of the Doctoral Program at the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania; Prof. Mark Wilson Jones, Director of the Classical Architecture Research Centre at the University of Cambridge; Chang Qing, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University; as well as other experts, scholars, and representatives from relevant university departments.

Wu Xiaocheng extended his warm welcome to the experts and scholars from home and abroad who traveled who traveled from across China and abroad, and briefly introduced the development history and disciplinary strengths of SEU and its School of Architecture. He noted that, thanks to the concern and promotion of Prof. Joseph Rykwert’s outstanding disciples and academic inheritors, the acquisition of Prof. Rykwert’s personal library, a project that has spanned seven years, isnearing completion. This libraryserves not only as a monument to Prof. Rykwert’s distinguished academic career but also as an invaluable asset in the global repository of architectural, historical, and humanistic thoughts. Its final settlement at SEU represents the trust of the international academic community in the university, and also reflects the profound academic foundation accumulated over more than a century. He remarked that the School of Architecture, as the only national Architecture Internationalization Demonstration School among Chinese universities, has established the Asian Architecture Archive and launched the introduction of Prof. Rykwert’s personal library through the active initiative and personal promotion of internationally renowned scholars, including Prof. Leatherbarrow. These two core projects have become important platforms for the university to advance interdisciplinary innovation and international dialogue in architecture and related fields. He emphasized that the university has officially launched the 2026 “Year of Global Engagement” initiative, and has appointed prominent international scholars such as Prof. Leatherbarrow and Prof. Ursprung as experts of its International Advisory Committee. On the occasion of the centenary of Prof. Rykwert’s birth, the university will further expand and deepen exchanges and cooperation with world-class peers, commit itself to building the Asian Architecture Archive into a globally influential academichub, and promote mutual learning and coexistence among diverse cultures.

At the opening ceremony, Prof. Mohsen Mostafavi, a former student of Prof. Rykwert, shared his understanding of Prof. Rykwert’s academic work, particularly his unique seminar-based teaching methods. He noted that Prof. Rykwert was not only a scholar of vast knowledge and keen insight but also a mentor who championed independent thinking and imagination.

David Leatherbarrow announced that the “Joseph Rykwert Archival Research Fund” is now open for global applications. The fund was established through a donation by Mr. Shan Guowei, an alumnus of the School of Architecture’s Class of 1987. Its purpose is to support cutting-edge research in architecture and the humanities by leveraging the precious collections of the Asian Architecture Archive Center. Leatherbarrow expressed his hope that this fund would not only attract scholars from around the world to SEU but also disseminate new ideas from Nanjing to the world, building a bridge between cultures and generations, and continuing the academic legacy of Prof. Rykwert.

Source: SEU News Network

Translated by: Melody Zhang

Proofread by: Gao Min

Edited by: Leah Li