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Course Criteria
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3.00 Credits
The main objective of this seminar is to analyze the crisis of representation in contemporary culture and its relationship to architecture and the urban landscape, looking for a critique of architecture beyond formal aspects. The framework for the seminar is the transition of modernity into the contested terrain of postmodernity, and the limitations and possibilities faced by architects in the thinking and in the production of space. The activities are mainly organized along the reading and discussion of texts drawn from a multidisciplinary theoretical approach, and by the analysis of examples of representation from films, artworks, architecture, and the city.
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3.00 Credits
Since the 1960s, the practice of design in architecture and urbanism has been increasingly associated with a theoretical framework. Theory has provided support to the investigation of the phenomena related to the built environment and also has faced problems in the translation of abstract constructs into the practice of design. This seminar presents examples of relevant contemporary interpretive and critical theory and confronts them with current practices in architecture and urbanism. The purpose of this confrontation is to develop skills to articulate individual critiques of design as mediation between discourse and practice. Required work: The seminar activities take place in the form of reading and discussion of texts, as well as analyses of current examples of architecture and urban practices. Each student must investigate an individual case study to be presented in the form of a seminar as well as a final paper. Prerequisite: Arch 222 or 223. Fulfills history/theory elective.
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3.00 Credits
This class investigates the tools of representation from an era when there was widespread belief in the use of new technologies. Visually, spatially and in nuance of ideology, the groups of the Metabolists, Archigram, and the Situationists hold an indirect conversation regarding the status of society where the abstract qualities of media and technology gain significance within a context of liberating freedom, leisure, and mobility of a post-industrial class. We examine the cultural image of their representations, their consideration of ideological frameworks to privilege constructive environments, the desire to analyze through data and diagram the essential qualities of site and the ability to connect spatiality with local conditions and temporal events. Activities are split between lecture/discussion and the making of models anticipated for exhibition in the Kemper Art Museum, Gallery of Art as part of a larger proposal on drawing and urbanism. The models act as a vehicle for rediscovery and allow for careful consideration of their design intentions. To explore the ambiguous dialogue between drawing and models, the two would be exhibited alongside one another; the models constructed of similar materials as in the 1960s, with the added precision of digital fabrication and consequential translation with drawing. The representations of this time provide a point of reference for current debates on technology and social freedoms. Given that drawings, diagrams and models act as theoretical constructs of projected desires in the world of architecture, these instruments test out ideas regarding networking and specifics of local site conditions that describe anticipated events and possibilities.
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3.00 Credits
A seminar on philosophy, criticism, and architecture providing an intellectual framework for making architecture, by investigating the development of thought and ideas in other disciplines and the effect they have had in the arts. Specific assigned readings are presented and discussed by the class weekly. Emphasis placed on the discussion and the formulation of personal interpretations developed after careful and thoughtful reading. Offers an arena in which theory and practice, often seen as irreconcilable, can be understood as inseparable aspects of the same realm, informing both the author and the work. Fulfills history/theory requirement.
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3.00 Credits
The means by which we come to an understanding of a place profoundly effects any subsequent action taken in that place-specifically the action of building. The possibility for place to gather and hold, not only things, but also ourselves, our memories and our imaginations-the event of place-is defined as place becomes concretely defined and choreographed as a static background for action, rather than as a fluid and dynamic action itself. In order to reassert the active reflecting and gathering power of place and, subsequently, of architecture, the process of knowing and describing where we build needs to be reconsidered. This seminar focuses on the potential for visual description to effect alternative readings of place that are otherwise obscured, and speculate regarding the implications of such readings on the making of architecture. The course is divided equally between theory and making. In addition to discussions surrounding assigned readings, students select a specific place of study in St. Louis from which they develop different methodologies for observation and description over the course of the semester. Students have a choice of submitting either a final paper or project, which speculates as to what new understandings have emerged and what possible actions could result from their study.
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3.00 Credits
Imagine living on an oil rig, or in a submarine, or at the South Pole. What have we designed as places of habitation in these extreme environments? What can these extreme living conditions teach us about new ways of surviving (even thriving) in these environments, about new enabling technologies, and the evolution of habitation and settlement in general? The increasingly broad scope of human endeavor and exploration takes us into some very unusual environments and challenging conditions. Unexpected and surprising concepts are found hidden in these esoteric arenas. Think of marine, polar, submarine, or subterranean exploration (or exploitation), and the research-rich areas of military and defense programs, or programs for lunar and extra-terrestrial exploration. Likewise, think of the design intelligence that has been applied to the more common supports of modern life: air transportation, sea travel, recreational shelter, the trucking industry, mobile and emergency housing, and many others. The tradition of visionary thought in architecture is well established and is investigated during the course of the semester. However, our focus goes beyond those speculative propositions, to the actual experimentation and implementation being carried on today-often outside the domain of formal architecture. This course seeks to uncover the array of concepts, contexts and conditions in which the most original thinking about living in unconventional situations is taking place, literally making new places for people. We examine some of the ideas, methods, and places already in play for sustaining human occupancy in extreme conditions, particularly those that have required highly specialized and novel design responses. There we find existing and developing infrastructures for habitation that seldom enter the realm of conventional practice, either because they are considered too exotic and extreme or too marginal. Yet by investigating these very active trajectories of design and creativity, we open rich sources for inspiration and real promise of architectural innovation.
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3.00 Credits
Throughout history and across cultures, certain ideas, concepts, and organizational strategies have persisted in architecture, despite advances in social ideals and technological capabilities. The seminar explores the phenomenon of this continuity with the goal of uncovering the manner in which these ideas and strategies are transformed. Whether classified by use, characteristic form, or compositional device, the continuity of these notions is clearly traceable as a body of knowledge waiting to be revealed, understood, assessed, and, when valid, built upon. The transformation of ideas and strategies is one of the most fundamental activities of the designer, but relies on careful study. We discover evidence of this phenomenon in vernacular architecture, patterns of settlement and habitation, and in the work on many of our most influential practitioners, such as Le Corbusier, Kahn, Moneo, and Zumthor, as well as in the realm of painting and sculpture including Cubism, Suprematism, and Expressionism.
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3.00 Credits
This seminar is an introduction to the basics of small- to medium-scale development. It begins with a series of introductory lectures covering the principles and tools of development, such as creating a project performa, basic tax credits, TIFs, and financial structuring of a project; exploring methods of implementing sustainable practices and designs into development-driven projects through marketability, cost-savings, tax credits, and other incentives; and investigating the process of real estate development through the use of sustainable ideas and practices in buildings. It continues with a series of case studies in which the class examines models of existing developers in terms of these base elements. Finally, students are asked to develop a project in order to understand the architect-client relationship and how to stimulate recognition of the value and importance of sustainable design in real estate development.
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3.00 Credits
This seminar is intended to develop understanding of the history of modern architecture in the St. Louis area from circa 1900 to the present, using readings, class discussions, site visits, and lectures. Now again a topic of interest after an era of neglect, what is broadly termed modernism in architecture was extensively deployed in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century, before it became a source of controversy in the late 1960s. The course begins with a brief overview of the architectural history of St. Louis to 1930, when much of its historic architectural urban fabric was built, and then focuses on various architects and projects in the metropolitan area in the period between 1930 and 1970. Students are expected to research a local building, project, or architectural direction in depth, and make presentations about the topic over the course of the term. Other class requirements include regular attendance (including tours, which are an essential part of the class), class participation in discussions that demonstrate awareness of the required reading, and writing reading summaries. Assignments also include a short paper at the beginning of the semester, an essay exam, and a 15-page final research paper. For this paper, you are expected to document, critically analyze, draw conclusions, and present these buildings or sites to the class in a 20-minute presentation. This course is for graduate students or advanced undergraduates who have had some preparation in either the history of modern art or the history of modern architecture. Prerequisite: a 300-level art history course, architectural history II (Arch 3284/4284), or the permission of the instructor. Fulfills history/theory elective requirement.
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3.00 Credits
This seminar proposes a historical survey of significant buildings and urban spaces in Florence through the graphic documentation and spatial analysis of selected sites and buildings from antiquity to the Renaissance and to modernism. The general framework of our analysis is to understand the relationship between the historic development of the city and its most symbolic architecture. This approach is based on the work of Italian scholars, such as Giulio Carlo Argan, who define the history of architecture as the history of the city. The course is methodically divided into two blocks of exercises. In the first part of the semester, we focus on readings, site visits, sketches, analytical drawings, and photos, as well as the mapping of the urban development of Florence. In the second part of the semester, students focus on the tectonic study of specific buildings through the construction of representational and experimental models. Each student's individual work contributes to a collective 2-D and 3-D final project to be presented as an exhibition in the Florence Studio during the spring and to be shown at the School of Architecture in the fall.
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