Author of The Transatlantic Design Network: Thomas Jefferson, John Soane, and Agents of Architectural Exchange

Although a good deal has been written about the voluminous intellectual exchange between Europe and the Americas in the eighteenth century across various humane disciplines, no study to date has focused on architectural culture, despite the fact that numerous Europeans made their way across the Atlantic to design some of America’s most important buildings. In this groundbreaking work, Danielle Willkens authoritatively fills that gap, defining and expounding the “transatlantic design network” of mainly British and American individuals that included Thomas Jefferson, the architect John Soane, and Maria Cosway, an acclaimed painter, musician, composer, and educator who maintained a lifelong correspondence with both Jefferson and Soane.

Dr. Willkens places Jefferson’s and Soane’s famous homes in a historical and aesthetic context that extends beyond their respective renown as national shrines. She shows how, contrary to their reputations, neither represents the product of a singular architectural vision. The contributions of other architects, designers, philosophers, and friends have been effectively effaced from both Monticello and the Soane House. Dr. Willkens here corrects the record, mapping the influence of this crucial hidden network on architecture and aesthetics on both sides of the Atlantic.

Following  a brief cocktail reception, Dr. Willkens will discuss her book and then sign copies, which will be available for purchase.

AUTHOR BIO
Danielle S. Willkens is an Associate Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) School of Architecture. She is also the Initiative Lead for Resilient and Informed Communities for GT’s Institute for People and Technology. She is a practicing designer, historian, and FAA Remote Pilot, as well as the author of The Transatlantic Design Network: Thomas Jefferson, John Soane, and Agents of Architectural  Exchange (2024) and Architecture for Teens: A Beginner’s Book for Aspiring Architects (2021). She has extensive experience in archives, community-engaged research, and the digital documentation and interpretation of heritage sites. Her research has been supported by the Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation, the International Center for Jefferson Studies, the American Philosophical Society, Dumbarton Oaks, the American Institute of Architects, the National Park Service, and the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology. She holds PhD in architectural history and theory from UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, a M.Phil from the University of Cambridge, a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design, and a M.Arch and BS from the University of Virginia. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Atlanta Preservation Center and the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District, and she currently serves as the secretary of the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians.