Cole Roskam, Ph.D. 2010
Cole Roskam is professor of architectural history in the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. His research and teaching engage topics in 19th and 20th century and contemporary architectural and urban history as well as theory, with a focus on China. He is particularly interested in understanding architecture’s role in mediating moments of transnational interaction and exchange between China and other parts of the world.
His books include An Improvised City: Architecture and Governance in Shanghai, 1843-1937 (University of Washington Press, 2019) and Designing Reform: Architecture in the People’s Republic of China, 1970-1992 (Yale University Press, 2021). His third book, Hong Kong: Uncertain City (Hong Kong University Press, forthcoming), examines the history of Hong Kong’s built environment in relation to various forms of crisis.
Other completed research outputs range from curated exhibitions in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Sydney to articles published in AD (Architectural Design), Architectural Theory Review Artforum International, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Journal of Architectural Education, Journal of Architecture, and Grey Room, among others.
Current projects in progress include a book-length study of the history of the P&T Group, research concerning architectural relations between China and the African continent, and the history of architectural production in the socialist and post-socialist world.
His scholarship has been generously supported by leading research institutions around the world, including the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, Graham Foundation for Advanced Study in the Fine Arts, Jencks Foundation, the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust, the Mellon Foundation, and the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong, among others.
He has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (Washington, DC) and the University of Edinburgh.