Joseph L. Clarke
HISTORIAN OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
CURRENT RESEARCH
Designing the Postwar Office
The experimental Bürolandschaft or “landscape office” movement of the 1960s was a turning point in the history of office work. Landscape offices were linked with the evolution of computers, new conceptions of creativity, and the rise of teamwork as a paradigm for white-collar labor.
My work explains this pivotal chapter in the history of the office, and speaks to current debates about the future of knowledge work.
AVAILABLE NOW
Echo’s Chambers:
Architecture and the Idea of Acoustic Space
One of “13 Architecture and Design Books to Add to Your Reading List” —Metropolis
“In an academic world dominated by an overspecialization of knowledge . . . a breath of fresh air.” —Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
BIOGRAPHY
Meet Joseph
I am an award-winning architectural historian and an associate professor at the University of Toronto. I’ve written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Aeon, Triple Canopy, Frieze, and Log, and I’ve been an architecture commentator on podcasts, radio shows, and CBC national television news. In my public writing and media appearances, I help people see buildings as carriers of meaning, technical achievements, and works of art.
My newest writing is largely on mid-20th century office design and modern sacred architecture.
SELECTED MEDIA
Interviews and Commentary
The Politics of Acoustic Space
(interview with Vikram Prakash, ArchitectureTalk podcast, 2021)
Fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral
(interview on CBC national TV news, 2019)
Saving Canada’s Prime Ministerial Residence
(op-ed in the National Post, 2023)