User:Zorrell/sandbox
~~~~Michelangelo Sabatino (born 1969, Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian-born architect, historian, educator, curator, and preservationist based in Chicago. He is Professor of Architectural History and Preservation in the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), where he directs the Ph.D. program in architecture and serves as the inaugural John Vinci Distinguished Research Fellow.[1]
Sabatino specializes in modern architecture and the preservation of the twentieth-century built environment. Over the course of his career Sabatino has paid particular focus on place-based scholarship that has generated a series of books and exhibitions. His work explores how cultural and social forces shape architectural expression and public spaces. He is the co-founder of Modern Again Architecture & Preservation Studio, established in 2012 with architect Serge Ambrose.
Early life and education
[edit]Sabatino was raised in Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, by Italian immigrant parents. His early interest in architecture was sparked by family trips to Italy and by witnessing the construction of Mississauga City Hall, a postmodern building designed by Edward Jones and Michael Kirkland that opened in 1987 and won multiple design awards, including the 1990 Governor General's Award of Merit.[2]
In a 2021 interview, Sabatino recalled walking into the Italian Consulate during high school and being encouraged to study in Venice. [3] He earned a professional degree in architecture from IUAV University of Venice, completed a doctorate in Fine Art at the University of Toronto, and held a postdoctoral fellowship in the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University.[4]
Academic career
[edit]Sabatino taught at the Yale School of Architecture and was a faculty member at the University of Houston’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design before joining IIT in 2014.[5] From 2017 to 2020, he served as interim dean of the College of Architecture, holding the Rowe Family Endowed Dean Chair.
He founded and leads several initiatives at IIT, including a gallery, a Ph.D. symposium, a holiday gospel concert, and the journal Prometheus: Journal of the PhD Program in Architecture, which received an American Institute of Architects award.[6]
Sabatino has held fellowships from institutions such as the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the MacDowell Colony, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the Newberry Library, and the Mellon Foundation. He was named Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Visiting Professor at Villa I Tatti, Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (2024–2025[7] and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2025.[8]
Publications and scholarship
[edit]Sabatino has written or edited more than 20 books, and his articles have appeared in journals such as The Journal of Architecture and Canadian Architect. His research focuses on modern architecture, preservation, and the dialogue between history and contemporary architectural practice. He often highlights lesser-known yet significant architectural works in suburban and regional settings.
In a 2023 interview referencing his book Modern in the Middle: Chicago Houses 1929–75, Sabatino advocated for examining modest architect-designed homes as essential to understanding the built environment.[9]
Modern, Again: The Benda House & Garden in Chicagoland, with Serge Ambrose (RIBA Books Oro Editions, 2025)
The Global Turn: Six Journeys of Modern Architecture and the City 1945–1989, with Tom Avermaete (Nai010, 2025)
The Edith Farnsworth House: Architecture, Preservation, Culture (Monacelli Press, 2024)
Mies in His Own Words: Complete Writings, Speeches, and Interviews 1922–1969, ed. with Vittorio Pizzigoni (DOM, 2024)
Carlo Mollino: Architect and Storyteller, with Napoleone Ferrari (Park Books, 2022)
Making Houston Modern: The Life and Architecture of Howard Barnstone, with Stephen Fox and Barrie Scardino Bradley (University of Texas Press, 2020)
Modern in the Middle: Chicago Houses 1929–75, with Susan Benjamin (Monacelli Press, 2020)
Avant-Garde in the Cornfields: Architecture, Landscape, and Preservation in New Harmony, ed. with Ben Nicholson (University of Minnesota Press, 2019)
Canada: Modern Architectures in History, with Rhodri Windsor Liscombe (Reaktion Books, 2016)
Pride in Modesty: Modernist Architecture and the Vernacular Tradition in Italy (University of Toronto Press, 2010)
Honorary Fellow, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (2025)
Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Visiting Professor, Villa I Tatti, Harvard University (2024–2025)
Docomomo US Modernism in America Awards (2020, 2024)
Allen G. Noble Award for Best Edited Book (2019)
Bruno Zevi Book Award Shortlist (2016)
Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award (2010)
MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies (2010)
Community engagement
[edit]Sabatino curates exhibitions and engages in projects that connect architectural scholarship to public history and local communities.[12] Recent exhibitions include:
A Living Room for Bronzeville (IIT, 2024)[13]
Outside the Box and Picturing Riverside (Riverside, Illinois, 2023)[14]
He serves on editorial and advisory boards including those of the Society of Architectural Historians and The Journal of Architecture. Sabatino is co-editor of the forthcoming book Building, Breaking, and Rebuilding: The Illinois Institute of Technology Campus and Chicago’s South Side.[15]
Preservation and stewardship
[edit]Sabatino serves on the boards of Docomomo International, Docomomo US, and Historic New Harmony.[16] With Serge Ambrose, he restored the 1930s modernist Benda House in Chicagoland, earning the 2022 Preservation Award from the Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside.[17]/
External links
[edit]Official website of Modern Again Studio
Project site for Building, Breaking, and Rebuilding
Interview: Bridge Chicago Magazine
- ^ [.https://www.iit.edu/directory/people/michelangelo-sabatino "Michelangelo Sabatino"].
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ [.https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mississauga-city-hall "Mississauga City Hall"].
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ [.https://canadaconstructed.ca/2021/01/15/interview-in-conversation-with-michelangelo-sabatino-part-1/ "Interview: In conversation with Michelangelo Sabatino"].
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Michelangelo Sabatino Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Visiting Professor".
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 22 (help) - ^ "Michelangelo Sabatino - Houston Seminar".
- ^ "Prometheus Journal".
- ^ [)https://itatti.harvard.edu/people/michelangelo-sabatino "Michelangelo Sabatino - Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Visiting Professor"].
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Honorary RAIC Fellows 2025".
- ^ "Bridge". Bridge. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "Michelangelo Sabatino | Illinois Institute of Technology". www.iit.edu. 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "Michelangelo Sabatino | Illinois Institute of Technology". www.iit.edu. 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "ABOUT". michelangelo sabatino. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "Exhibition: A Living Room for Bronzeville". Mies van der Rohe Society. 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "Outside the Box Exhibition Catalogue". RAC. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "A Living Room for Bronzeville". buildingbreakingrebuilding.com. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "Docomomo International – Architecture Archive". Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ "2022: Restoration Award : Frederick Law Olmsted Society". Retrieved 2025-05-11.