Congreso "Trazas de poder" Sevilla 2025, International Congress "Traces of Power: Engineers Between Palaces and Fortifications (1746-1808)" University of Sevilla, Spain

Traditionally, the history of architecture has tried to differentiate the designs of engineers from those of architects, clarifying a dispute that became evident in the nineteenth century. On the contrary, in earlier dates the participation of engineers was not exclusively dedicated to defensive architecture. More specifically, they increased their presence in court works in the second half of the eighteenth century, especially in the American and Southeast Asian contexts. In order to recover its probable transfer of knowledge between the military and courtly worlds, this international conference calls for scientific contributions focused both on how engineers of this time period contributed to changing the common architectural approach to palaces or gardens; or how his growing experience in courtly spaces could affect the design of (military) residences in fortifications, barracks and even private or state houses.