SANTA BARBARA, CA.- In 2027, The Art, Design & Architecture Museum at the University of California, 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 prestigious Architecture and Design Collection.
Through a year-long program of events, Gebhard will be honored for his extraordinary contributions to the study, documentation, and preservation of historic and modern architecture, with particular emphasis on Southern California. Bringing together scholars, architects, preservationists, curators, educators, students, and community members, Gebhard’s remarkable 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.”
THREE-DAY SYMPOSIUM
The centerpiece of the centennial will be a three-day symposium, January 22–24, 2027, held at UC Santa Barbara and Lotusland in Montecito. Leading scholars, architects, preservationists, curators, and practitioners will be brought together to explore the enduring significance of Gebhard’s scholarship and his influence on how architecture, landscape architecture, and cultural heritage are understood today.
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 UC Santa Barbara.
The evening of Friday, January 22, at Henley Hall at UC Santa Barbara, will feature a keynote lecture by Pritzker Award-winning architect Thom Mayne, FAIA, 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 will conclude with a tour of the Architecture and Design Collection at the AD&A Museum.
On Sunday, January 24, the symposium will move 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.
NEW PUBLICATION ON GEBHARD’S LEGACY
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. Approximately 220 pages and fully illustrated in color, the book is anticipated for release in fall 2027 and will retail for approximately $45.
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. Contributors will explore his research, publications, teaching, collecting, and preservation work while considering his legacy for the future of architecture, architectural history, curatorship, pedagogy, and archival practice. By bringing Gebhard’s work into conversation with contemporary scholarship and practice, the publication will introduce his contributions to new generations and demonstrate the continued relevance of the questions he posed about architecture and cultural heritage.
STUDY ROOM AND EXHIBITION
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.
Conceived as more than an exhibition space, the study room will function as a living resource for teaching, research, and exploration. Students, scholars, and Museum visitors will have the opportunity to read Gebhard’s writings and archival materials while discovering new connections between architectural history, preservation, collecting, and contemporary practice.
“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, PhD, 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.”
