Rebecca B. Williamson , PHD

Rebecca Williamson directs the MS and PhD Programs in Architecture at the University of Cincinnati. A registered architect with experience in practice in Switzerland and New York (offices of Santiago Calatrava, Sergio Calori, John Petrarca, and Livio Vacchini), she received her Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania with a dissertation on political and architectural designs in 18th c. Italy under the guidance of Joseph Rykwert, Marco Frascari, and Rebecca Bushnell. She has since taught, published, and presented internationally.
Prior to joining the University of Cincinnati in fall 2006, she taught for five years in France at the Ecole d'Architecture de Versailles as part of an exchange with the University of Illinois and at the Master of Urbanism Program of the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris ("Sciences-Po"). She subsequently initiated an exchange between the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris and the University of Cincinnati and oversaw an exchange with the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, also in Paris.
She has supervised professional (M.Arch.) and post-professional (MS and PhD) theses and dissertations and has taught architectural theory, history of cities, and topical seminars as well as undergraduate and graduate studios. These studios, which have investigated underserved neighborhoods and atypical urban sites such as Cincinnati's Metropolitan Sewer District, have brought students in contact with a spectrum of residents, agencies, and institutions.
Her principal area of research is the history and theories of architecture and urbanism, including relations among form, environment, and experience. Among her recent publications are: "Guts of the City" in About Streets, ed. Marinic and Meninato, Routledge, Forthcoming, "Clutter, Tidying, and Architectural Desires" in Architectures of Hiding, ed. Goffi, et. al., Routledge,  2024, "Mademoiselle Sculpsit: A Backstory" in Journal of Architectural Education (2021), "Mi punge vaghezza, ovvero i misteri del mestiere" in Confabulations: Storytelling in Architecture, Ashgate, 2016; "Outside-In" in ARQ/La revue d’architecture Québec, ed. Alena Prochaska, Quebec 2014; "Les Jetsons dans la jungle" in Territoires liquides, ed. Richard Scoffier, Atelier International du Grand Paris 2013; "Mas alla de tierra y cielo / Beyond Earth and Sky" in Trans-versalidades, ed. Eduardo Rojas, Malaga, Spain, 2013; "Durisch + Nolli: Recherche impatiente / An Impatient Search," in Durisch + Nolli, ed. Heinz Wirz, Quart 2012; "Al Fresco: When Air Became Fresh," in Air, ed. John Knechtel, MIT Press  2010; and "Voices of Waste" in Speciale'Z, ed. Sony Devabhaktuni, Paris 2010.
She was research editor for Architecture School: Three Centuries of Educating Architects in North America, MIT Press 2012 and Cincinnati team leader for Métropoles et mobilités durables à l’épreuve d’un nouveau paradigme énergétique (Sustainable Mobility and Metropolitan Areas Facing a New Energy Paradigm), a research project involving partners at the Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Architecture de Bordeaux, France (ENSAP-Bx) and the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, Brasil. That collaboration, which began in 2011, continued for several years through other projects.

Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture (PhD) : Graduate School of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA , 1998

Master of Architecture (MArch) : College of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA , 1985

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting (BFA) : Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI , 1982

Impact of Energy and Mobility on Architecture and Urban Form in Bordeaux, Cincinnati, and Curitiba, Ministry of Culture and Communications, France (Cincinnati Team Leader) Pedagogies of Urbanism, Faculty Development Council Interdisciplinary Grant, University of Cincinnati (Principal Investigator) Pre-Modern Urban Infrastructural Landscape, Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship, Harvard University (Individual) The Architecture of Durisch and Nolli, Pogue-Wheeler Fellowship (Individual) Invention of the Modern City, University of Cincinnati Research Council Grant (Individual)

2013 -To Present Associate Professor , School of Architecture and Interior Design, College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning -- University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2006 -2013 Assistant Professor , School of Architecture and Interior Design, College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning -- University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2013 -To Present Affiliate Faculty Member , , Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, College of Arts and Sciences University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2008 - Visiting Faculty Member , University Studies Abroad Consortium, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy

2005 -2006 Adjunct Faculty Member, Master of Urbanism Program, “Sciences-Po,” Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, Paris, France

2001 -2005 Assistant Professor and Exchange Faculty Member, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Study Abroad Program in Versailles École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Versailles, Versailles, France

1997 -2001 Assistant Professor , School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL

1987 -1989 Architecture + Furniture, New York, NY

1986 -1987 Engineer/Architect, Santiago Calatrava, Zurich, Switzerland

1986 - Architect, Livio Vacchini, Locarno, Switzerland

2012 -2015 Metropolis and Mobility, UC Forward Program, Office of the Provost, University of Cincinnati ($10,000 a year, renewable over three years).

Investigators:Ecole nationale supérieure d’architecture et paysage de Bordeaux (ENSAP‐Bx) (K. Fitzsimons, PI), France; Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, Brazil (C. Araujo, team leader); and University of Cincinnati (R. Williamson, team leader). “Ignis Mutat Res” Research Program, Bureau de la Recherche Architecturale Urbaine et Paysagère (BRAUP), Ministère de la Culture et la Communication. Métropoles et mobilités durables à l’épreuve d’un nouveau paradigme énergétique (“Sustainable Mobility and Metropolitan Areas Facing a New Energy Paradigm”),

Investigators:co‐PI’s D. Edelman and M. Pride 2008 UC Faculty Development Council Interdepartmental Grant $25,000

2008 Pogue Wheeler Traveling Fellowship, UC College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning 2,000

2007 UC University Research Council Faculty Summer Grant 14,500

1999 Inter-Institutional Faculty Summer Institute on Learning Technologies, Illinois Board of Higher Education 1,000

1996 -1997 Delmas Foundation, Function and Representation: Carlo Lodoli’s Architectural Legacy 2,300

1995 -1996 Delmas Foundation, Use and Pleasure: Practice and Theory in Late Eighteenth Century Architecture 3,000

Grant: #URC AHSS Faculty Stipend Awards AY2015-16 Investigators:Williamson, Rebecca 05-01-2016 -04-30-2017 UC's University Research Council Ideal Towns: Contradictions of Urban Form and Experience Role:PI $6,000.00 Active Level:Internal UC

Published Abstracts

Williamson, R. (2007. ) Quand les égouts sont devenus beaux. (When Sewers Became Beautiful). Le beau dans la ville, Centre de l’histoire de la ville moderne et contemporaine, Université François Rabelais, Tours, France.

Williamson, R. (2007. ) Health and the Urban Environment in the Architectural Treatises. Environment, Health and History, European Association for the History of Medicine and Health. London, UK.

Williamson, R. (2003. ) The Tainted Mire: A Story of Stagnation and Circulation. 11th International Congress on the Enlightenment, American Society for 18th c. Studies. Los Angeles, CA.

Williamson, R. (2000. ) Exercise of the Imagination: The Lodolian Tradition of Architectural Education. Abstracts of the Fifty-Third Annual Meeting of the Society of Architectural Historians, Miami, FL:26. .[Abstract]

Williamson, R. (1998. ) Water and Identity in the Prato della Valle. Abstracts of the Fifty‐First Annual Meeing of the Society of Architectural Historians, Los Angeles, CA: 49.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Williamson, R. (2021. ) Mademoiselle Sculpsit: A Backstory .Journal of Architectural Education, , 75 (2 ) ,

Williamson, R. (2000. ) Fare e conoscere: Educazione architettonica nel circolo di Carlo Lodoli. (Making and Knowing: Architectural Education in the Circle of Carlo Lodoli.) Educazione dell’uomo e della donna nel settecento. .Acts of the Academy of Sciences of Torino, , 315–23

Williamson, R. (2000. ) Andrea Memmo’s Prato della Valle. .Urban Design Studies , , 5-6 ,93–104

Williamson, R. (1998. ) The Clocktower Controversy .RES: Journal of Anthropology & Aesthetics, , 34 ,85–100

Williamson, R. (2007. ) The Muck of Cities. Proceedings of the 2007 ACSA Annual Meeting.

Williamson, R. (2003. ) Some Questions about Plans and Life. The Planned City? Proceedings of the Eighth International Seminar on Urban Form [ISUF] International Conference .929-32.

Williamson, R. (2002. ) The Tainted Mire: A Story of Stagnation and Circulation. Proceedings of the Landscapes of Water Conference .429–32

Williamson, R. (2001. ) Giustiniana’s Garden: An Eighteenth Century Woman’s Construction. Proceedings of the Gendered Landscape Conference .48–56

Williamson, R. (2000. ) Testing Grounds: Some Thoughts on the Registration Exam Debate in Light of Recent Pedagogic Theories. Proceedings of the 88th ACSA Annual Meeting .200–4

Williamson, R. (1999. ) Possible Pedagogies of the Architectural Imagination. Legacy + Aspirations: Considering the Future of Architectural Education. Proceedings of the 87th ACSA Annual Meeting and Technology Conference .79–83

Williamson, R. (1997. ) The Clocktower Controversy. Architecture: Material and Imagined. Proceedings of the 85th ACSA Annual Meeting and Technology Conference .400

Williamson, R. (1996. ) Andrea Memmo’s Project for the Prato della Valle. Proceedings of the 84th ACSA Annual Meeting .620–3

Williamson, R. (1995. ) Andrea Memmo’s Project for the Prato della Valle. Critical Urbanism: Proceedings of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Northeast Regional Meeting.

Williamson, R. (1995. ) Souvenirs. Proceedings of the Testing Ground Symposium in Architectural History, Theory, and Criticism. Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA.

Invited Publications

Williamson, R. (2014. ) Outside‐In. ARQ/La revue d’architecture Québec (ed. Alena Prochaska), (169 ) ,

Williamson, R. (2013. ) Más allá de tierra e cielo / Beyond Earth and Sky .TransVersalidades (ed. Eduardo Rojas Moyano),

Williamson, R. (2010. ) The Voices of Waste .Speciale’Z, École Spéciale d’Architecture,

Williamson, R. (2006. ) L’architecture comme “Performing Art.” Interview with Marie Glon and Julie Perrin .Repères,

Williamson, R. (2004. ) What’s Left Out? .Urban Morphology, Journal of the International Seminar on Urban Form, ed. J.W.R. Whitehand, School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK., 8 (1 ) ,

Williamson, R. (1998. ) Eugenio Battisti’s Utopia in Uncertainty .Utopian Studies, Spring ,149-55

Williamson, R. (2019. ) Other Lives: Charles Eisen and Laugier's Essai sur l'architecture .Drawing Matter,

Published Books

Ockman, J., Editor, and R. Williamson, Research Editor (2012. ) Architecture School: Three Centuries of Architecture Education in North America. MIT Press (Editor)

Williamson, R., ed. (2000. ) Living Architecture: The Architecture of Durisch and Nolli. .University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Building Research Council. (Editor)

Book Chapter

Williamson, R. (2016 ) Mi punge vaghezza; ovvero i misteri del mestiere. Confabulations: Storytelling in Architecture .London, UK and Burlington, Vermont, Ashgate Publishing (Author)

Williamson, R. (2013 ) Les Jetsons dans la jungle. (The Jetsons in the Jungle.) Territoires liquides .Paris, Atelier International du Grand Paris

Williamson, R. (2012 ) Durisch and Nolli: Recherche impatiente. (Impatient Search.) Durisch Nolli .Luzern, Switzerland, Quart Verlag

Williamson, R. (2010 ) Al Fresco: When Air Became Fresh. AIR (Alphabet City no. 15) .MIT Press.

Williamson, R. (2006 ) The Breath of Cities Aeolian Winds and the Spirit of Renaissance Architecture .London, Routledge

Williamson, R. (2001 ) Giustiniana’s Garden: An Eighteenth Century Woman’s Construction Gendered Landscapes .(pp. -48–56).State College, Penn State University Press

Williamson, R. (2024 ) Clutter, Tidying, and Architectural Desires Architectures of Hiding .Routledge

Williamson, R. (2020 ) Encounters in the Field of Architecture InterVIEWS: Insights and Introspection on Doctoral Research in Architecture .Routledge

Williamson, R. (2025 ) Guts of the City About Streets .Routledge

Technical Reports

Fitzsimons, K. (PI, Bordeaux Team Leader), C. Araújo (Curitiba Team Leader) and R. Williamson (Cincinnati Team Leader), et. al. (2014. ) Métropoles et mobilités durables à l’épreuve d’un nouveau paradigme énergétique (Sustainable Mobility and Metropolitan Areas Facing a New Energy Paradigm) .

Creative Translation

Williamson, R., trans. (2009. ) London, AA Publications.

Williamson, R., trans. 2006.

Williamson, R., trans. (2005. ) Paris, Picard and Pavillon de l’Arsenal.

Attali, Jean, Meehan, T. and R. Williamson, trans. (2005. ) Rotterdam, NAi Publishers

Attali, Jean, Williamson, R., trans. (2003. ) (pp. 72-81).Rotterdam, NAI Publishers

Atela, A., and R. Scoffier ; Williamson, R., trans. (2002. )

Rogers, Ernesto Nathan; Williamson, R., trans. (1993. ) (pp. 301–7).New York, Rizzoli

Botta, Mario; Williamson, R. (trans.) (1992. )

Williamson, R., trans. (2002. )

Invited Presentations

Araújo, C., K. Fitzsimons, and R. Williamson (11-2014. ) Métropoles et mobilités durables à l’épreuve d’un nouveau paradigme énergétique: Rapport final, in conjunction with Ignis mutat res Seminar .Véolia Headquarters, Paris, France.

Williamson, Rebecca (03-29-2014. ) Mi punge vaghezza; ovvero i misteri del mestiere, at Confabulations Conference (organized by Carolina Dayer) .Washington‐Alexandria Architectural Constortium , Alexandria, VA..

Williamson, R. (02-2013. ) Les disciplines de la ville, École nationale supérieure d’architecture et de paysage .Bordeaux, France.

Williamson, R. (06-14-2013. ) Plenary Speaker at “Ignis mutat res” International Urban Roofscapes Workshop (organized by Alena Prochaska) .HOK Offices, Chicago, IL..

Ockman, J., Moderator and R. Williamson, Respondent (03-2012. ) On Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Architecture Schools Today .Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.

Williamson, R. (03-2010. ) Williamson, R. 2010, Tracking Currents of Change across Europe: Hygiene, Beauty, and Politics, Mediterranean and Transalpine Connections Colloquium .Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Williamson, R. (03-2009. ) The Air of Cities .Washington–Alexandria Architectural Consortium, Alexandria, VA..

Williamson, R. (09-2009. ) Architectural Research: Mode d’emploi .Virginia Tech PhD Program in Architecture, Washington–Alexandria Architectural Consortium, Alexandria, VA..

Williamson, R. (06-2009. ) Can Architecture Schools Learn? .Colloquium on Architectural Education Instigated by Sir Peter Cook, École Spéciale d’Architecture, , Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (04-2009. ) Salvaging the Unexceptional Past, International Conference on Sustainable Historic Preservation .Saint John’s International University, Vinovo (Turin), Italy.

Williamson, R. (11-2007. ) Quand les égouts sont devenus beaux, Centre de l’histoire de la ville moderne et contemporaine .Université François Rabelais, Tours, France.

Williamson, R. (11-2007. ) Cincinnati: Une ville, une campus, une école, des pédagogies .École Spéciale d’Architecture, Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (09-2007. ) Health and the Urban Environment in the Architectural Treatises 1450–1700. Environment, Health and History, European Association for the History of Medicine and Health .London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Williamson, R. (06-2007. ) Evolution of the Urban Form of Paris .École Spéciale d’Architecture, Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (02-2006. ) The Urban Structure of Padua .Portsmouth University, Padua, Italy.

Williamson, R. (09-06-2005. ) Paris Infrastructure I and II, Two presentations and 3‐hour walking tours for students of Rice University .Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (04-02-2005. ) Introduction to the Urban Development of Paris, Presentation and 4‐hour walking tour for students of the University of Southern California .Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (2004. ) A Section Through Paris, Discussion and Tour .Paris, France..

Williamson, R. (10-08-2004. ) Colloque‐action Danse, corps, architecture (Dance, Body, Architecture) (Invited member of scientific committee) .Théatre de la Cité Internationale de Paris, Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (05-28-2004. ) The Breath of Cities: Theories of Air Movement in 15th–18th c. Urban Design .International Symposium Academia Eolia Revisited, Costozza, Venice, Italy.

Williamson, R. (05-07-2004. ) Venise à Padoue: La manipulation pratique et symbolique des eaux .Ecole d’Architecture de Paris, Quai Malaquais, Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (02-11-2004. ) Exploring Movement Systems and Spatial Practices in the City. .Portsmouth University, Portsmouth, UK, at Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture, Paris, France.

Michelin, N., R. Scoffier, and R. Williamson. (12-06-2003. ) Architects and Oulipo, 6th Graz Biennial on Media and Architecture, Architecture and Literature in Dialogue / Dreams of Spaces – Workshops of the Potential .Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria,.

Williamson, R. (06-2003. ) Subterranean Paris, Discussion and tour .Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (04-2002. ) Dance and Architecture, Presentation of video, The Shape of Two Cities Program, Columbia University .Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (04-2002. ) Interdisciplinary Communications: The Discipline & Interdisciplinarity, Panelist, Ninetieth Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting .New Orleans, LA.

Williamson, R. (02-2002. ) Du corps à l’architecture en passant par la danse, Video presentation and roundtable participant .Ecole d’Architecture de Paris‐Malaquais, Paris, France.

Williamson, R. (06-2000. ) Exercise of the Imagination: The Lodolian Tradition of Architectural Education, The Society of Architectural Historians, 53rd Annual Meeting .Miami, FL.

Williamson, R. (03-2000. ) Emerging Pedagogies, Session discussant and roundtable participant, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting .Los Angeles, CA.

2011 Harvard University Dumbarton Oaks Summer Fellowship in Garden and Landscape Studies

1995 Harvard University Dumbarton Oaks Junior Fellowship in Garden and Landscape Studies

1993 -1995 Salvatori Award for Italian Studies, University of Pennsylvania

1992 German Marshall Fund Pre‐Dissertation Research Fellowship, Council for European Studies

1989 -1990 Fulbright Fellowship, Faculty of Architecture, Politecnico di Torino, Italy

1992 -To Present: Registered Architect Licensed in New York

Languages: Professional-level reading and speaking in French and Italian, adequate reading and limited speaking in German and Spanish, adequate reading of Latin and Ancient Greek, smatterings of several others.,

Phone: 513 556 0770