The Abbott Lowell Cummings Award, named after the founding president of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, is conferred annually upon the book that has made the most significant contribution to the study of vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes. In judging the nominated works, the jurors look for a publication that:
The Vernacular Architecture Forum seeks nominations for the 2024 Cummings Award. This award will be presented at the annual conference in Keweenaw, Michigan in 2024.
The deadline for the 2024 Cummings Award is Wednesday, November 15, 2023.
The awardee will receive a full complimentary registration including tours and the banquet for the VAF conference and a certificate of excellence.
The Abbott Lowell Cummings Award, named after the founding president of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, is awarded annually to the book that has made the most significant contribution to the study of vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes. In judging the nominated works, the jurors look for a publication that:
Entries may come from any discipline concerned with vernacular architecture studies. Books published from January 2022 through December 2023 are eligible for consideration. Edited collections of previously published materials are not eligible.
In the past ten years, the following books have received the Cummings Award:
There is no application form, but a cover letter should include the author’s complete mailing address, phone number and email address to facilitate communication should the nominated work receive the award. Please email this material to: cummingsaward@vafweb.org. Nominators will receive instructions for sending three copies of the nominated book to the award committee.
2023 Cummings Award Recipient
Sarah Fayen Scarlett, Company Suburbs: Architecture, Power, and the Transformation of Michigan’s Mining Frontier published by The University of Tennessee Press, 2021
Please visit the 2023 Cummings Award page for more details about Company Suburbs: Architecture, Power, and the Transformation of Michigan’s Mining Frontier.