Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
T. S. Elliott
Eisenman’s work, the experience of that work, the philosophy demanded by it, opens up the need to think philosophically beyond the recuperative and nihilistic unfolding of tradition. Tradition is housed – since there is no pure beyond – but the housing of tradition takes
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
ARCH 6261-003, CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURAL THEORY
Course Syllabus
Spring Semester 2005, First Session
10:45 am to 11:35 am, MWF, Arch 228
William Miller, FAIA, Professor
Office hours: 9:30-10:45 am, MWF, and by appointment
Office phone: 581-7116; CA+P fax: 581-8217
email: ; web page: www.arch.utah.edu/miller
Course Overview
Within the context of post World War II architecture, this course will focus upon the major theoretical developments in architectural design which have occurred on the international, European, and American scenes over the past 60 years. Coverage will include both the design and intellectual themes that mark the recent past and present, and the interrelationships between them. This course will engage in discussions of issues in contemporary architectural theory, and investigate contemporary architectural paradigms and concepts within a critical approach.
Course Premises
Lurking beneath almost any writing or pronouncement on architecture, especially those aspiring to theory, is frequently a quest for some overarching construct of the world that will guide and be reflected in architecture. Behind every aphorism, maxim, and dictum, if not every rule of thumb, is some nascent “grand theory”. And as T. S. Eliot suggests, between idea and reality falls the shadow – that “shadow” will be one of the areas examined in this course, along with theory and practice.
The word “theory” comes from the Latin theoria, in turn adopted from the Greek theoros, which means “spectator, envoy”. Its base, theasthai, means to “look upon, contemplate”. The English meaning of theory is a conception or mental scheme of something to be done, or a method of doing it, or a systematic statement of rules or principles to be followed.
In use from the end of the fifteenth century, the English word “practice” is adopted from the Latin practicus and from the Greek praktikos, meaning “record, action”, and from prattein, meaning to “do, act”. The term praxis stems from the same root but has become an affectation in architectural writing of late. Practice also means the habitual doing or carrying on of something, or a customary or constant action.
As architecture is both a discipline and a profession, this course will examine architectural theories in relation to practice, as most architects say they have a foot in both worlds, with principles guiding action and
experience confirming the appropriateness of such action and in turn the principles behind it. In other words, a basic assumption by architects is that theory is a “thing that guides” action, or as Adolf Placzek states:
place within a plurality of possibilities that can no longer be foreclosed by function, by teleology of by the aesthetics of form. Works with open doors must be what are henceforth demanded by philosophy and architecture
Andrew Benjamin
Theory . . . is the ability to demonstrate and explain the productions of dexterity on the principles of proportion.
Vitruvius
“Theory and practice form the counterpoint of architecture. Ratio-cinatio and Fabrica, or ars and scientia, or designing and building, it is always
out of this bi-polarity that architecture can be comprehended, that the story of architecture as idea and reality can be told.”
In everyday terms we might say that practical knowledge is “knowing how” and theoretical knowledge is “knowing that or what”. Architecture utilizes both, the balance between them depending on the thrust of an architect’s practice, from the more practical “knowing how” to the more theoretical “knowing that”.
And there is the tension, or Eliot’s “shadow”, existing between the two.
Course Text and Readings
There is one required text for the course:
Kenneth Frampton, Modern Architecture: A Critical History. New York: Thames and Hudson, latest edition.
Along with this book, there will be a series of readings associated with discussion topics. These readings address larger issues related to the profession or discipline of architecture. With the exception of the text, the syllabus and all reading assignments can be found on the instructor’s web site (link above).
Course Requirements and Grading
In order to examine various aspects of architectural theory and its use in contemporary practices, there will be two assignment for the semester.
The first assignment, which will be done in teams, will be for the team to conduct a seminar discussion session on one of the topic areas found in the “Semester Schedule” below. Each of the topics will have a reading package found on the instructors website, that the entire class will read prior to the session. Each team will organized the material and coordinate the presentation and discussion of the topic. Approximately half of the class period should be used to present the ideas, theories, and content of the assigned material, with the remainder used for open class discussion and examination of the presentation. Teams are free to develop their presentation in any manner that reinforces the ideas found in the readings. The topic areas of the readings include modernism, post-modernism, and deconstruction.
The second assignment, which again will be done in teams will be to present the theoretical positions of a contemporary, significant architect, through analyzing examples of their build or proposed work. This will be about a 30 minute power-point presentation, involving all members of the team, and focus on the architect’s ideas (theories?) and how they are realized (at all levels) through their architectural production.
Architecture tends to make an absolute separation between theory and practice, between analysis and synthesis. This difference, however, could be better expressed in the difference between discourses: an analytical, exploratory, critical discourse and a normative discourse. Most theories are developed within the first category, while practice falls into the latter.
Diana Agrest
The architects selected for examination this semester include: Daniel Libeskind, Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman, Herzog & de Meuron, and Steven Holl.
The value of the course assignments are as follows:
· Team Discussion Session 40%
· Team Theory Presentation 50%
· Course participation 10%
Instructor Absence and Communication
Faculty members are involved in scholarly and creative endeavors, professional and theoretical practice, professional service, and other activities. As such, I may be absent from time to time during the semester. Every effort has been made to minimize the times away, and the “Semester Schedule” below shows the dates I anticipate being away.
Email is an official means of notification for both the university, college, and this course. Please make sure you regularly check your college account, or have email forwarded from that account to your regular address, to ensure you receive all information concerning the conduct, meetings, and assignments for the course.
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SEMESTER SCHEDULE
Monday Wednesday Friday .
January
Week 1 9 – Introduction 11 – Theories 13 – Modern 1
Readings: Frampton, Part II, Chapters 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, and 26
Week 2 16 – Holiday 18 – Modern 2 20 – Team discussion
Readings: Frampton, Part II, Chapters 22 and 27; Part III, Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
Web page – Modernism
Week 3 23 – Situated Modernism 25 – Post Modern 1 27 – Post Modern 2
Readings: Frampton, Part III, Chapters 4 and 5.
Web page – Post Modernism
February
Week 4 30 – Team discussion 1 – Deconstruction 1 3 – Team discussion
Readings: Web page – Deconstruction
Week 5 6 – Deconstruction 2 8 – Current trends 1 10 – WM out
Readings: Frampton, Part III, Chapter 6
Week 6 13 – Team presentation 15 – Team presentation 17 – Team presentation
Week 7 20 – Holiday 22 – Current trends 2 24 – WM out
Week 8 27 – Concluding discussion
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