In 2027, The Art, Design & Architecture Museum at the UC Santa Barbara, will celebrate the centennial of David Gebhard (1927-1996), renowned architectural historian, professor, museum director, preservation advocate, and founder of the museum’s Architecture and Design Collection.
Through a year-long program of events, Gebhard will be honored for his contributions to the study, documentation and preservation of historic and modern architecture, with emphasis on Southern California.
Bringing together scholars, architects, preservationists, curators, educators, students, and community members, Gebhard’s career will be examined while considering the continuing relevance of his ideas and methods to the future of architecture, architectural history, collecting, curatorship and preservation.
“David Gebhard transformed the way generations of scholars, architects, and members of the public understood the architecture of California,” said Silvia Perea, curator of the Architecture and Design Collection at the AD&A Museum and co-organizer of the centennial.
“Through his scholarship, teaching, preservation advocacy, and the creation and curation of an extraordinary architectural archive, he connected architectural history with public experience, bringing scholarly understanding of the built environment into everyday life. And that’s an incredible accomplishment for a scholar,” she said.
The centerpiece of the centennial will be a three-day symposium, Jan. 22–24 at UCSB and Lotusland in Montecito.
“Leading scholars, architects, preservationists, curators, and practitioners will come together to explore the enduring significance of Gebhard’s scholarship and his influence on how architecture, landscape architecture, and cultural heritage are understood today,” organizers said.
Many dimensions of Gebhard’s career will be examined, from his pioneering studies of California architecture and influential guidebooks, co-authored with Robert Winter, to his advocacy for historic preservation and his role in establishing and growing the Architecture and Design Collection at UCSB.
Pritzker Award-winning architect Thom Mayne will offer a keynote lecture, Friday, Jan. 22 at UCSB’s Henley Hall, followed by a Q&A session.
Saturday’s program will showcase three panels addressing Gebhard as a museum director and curator, architectural scholar, and intellectual.
Speakers will include Wim de Wit, Lauren Weiss Bricker, Sidney Williams, Judith Sheine, David Bricker, Silvia Perea, Aliza Leventhal, Marcos Novak, and Susan Chamberlin with moderators Gary Chihiiro Fox, Beth Edwards Harris, and Swati Chattopadhyay.
The day concludes with a tour of the Architecture and Design Collection at the AD&A Museum.
On Sunday, Jan. 24, the symposium moves to Lotusland in Montecito, where Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA, will deliver a keynote lecture devoted to Gebhard as a preservationist. Pam Post will moderate the discussion. The program will conclude with a tour of Lotusland.
The symposium is free and open to the public, with reservations required due to limited capacity. Registration details for the symposium will be announced by the AD&A Museum via its website and newsletter in the weeks ahead.
As part of the centennial, ORO Editions will publish “Beyond the Canon: David Gebhard and the Architecture of Southern California,” a volume of new essays by eighteen scholars, architects, curators, educators, and preservationists. The book is anticipated for release in fall 2027.
The volume will offer both a tribute to Gebhard and a critical examination of the ideas and approaches that continue to shape contemporary architectural discourse.
Study room and exhibit
Opening in fall 2027, a study room at the AD&A Museum will provide an immersive encounter with Gebhard’s intellectual and archival legacy.
Drawing on the rich holdings of the Architecture and Design Collection, the study room will feature research files, architectural drawings, photographs, manuscripts, publications, and other materials assembled throughout Gebhard’s career.
Together, these materials will reveal the depth of his investigations and the breadth of the archives he created and preserved.
“David Gebhard had a highly diversified view of architectural history. His fascination with architecture of the past began with the building itself, but he sought to understand the intent and meaning that informed it,” said Lauren Weiss Bricker, professor emerita of Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona and co-organizer of the centennial.
“As a man totally of the present, his historical studies could be motivated by the preservation of significant buildings and new construction. His architectural taste was broad; in fact, he couldn’t be pigeon-holed into a single ideology — good design and its logical application guided his standards,” Weiss Bricker said.