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PHILADELPHIA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

A 703 Theories of Architecture Seminar

Syllabus - Fall 2003
Dr. David M. Breiner

Type of Course This three-credit seminar is an elective history/theory course for all students in the architecture and interior design programs.

Prerequisite Successful completion of A532

Description Following the four-semester sequence of history of architecture and interiors courses, this seminar will focus on selected topics which characterize architectural theory during the "Modern" era -- that is, from the late 19th century to the present. An historical survey of the fundamental principles which have shaped architectural thinking, it will review, in a critical way, the major issues which have influenced both the meaning of and the practice of architecture during that time: the relationship of the architect to his/her work, and to the culture at large; the impact of technology and politics; and the spatial experience of a building. Theorists' critiques of contemporary practice will be emphasized; and current theories will be explored in an attempt to clarify an approach to the study and practice of architecture.

Objectives The primary objectives of this course are:
1. To develop the student's understanding of the diverse theoretical foundations and social settings from which the meaning of architecture (as exhibited in the making of buildings, landscapes and human settlements) has been derived for the last century;
2. To familiarize the student with the role of criticism and the relationship of criticism to theory;
3. To develop the student's ability to incorporate theoretical foundations into the design process; and
4. To develop the student's ability to examine architectural issues rationally, logically, and coherently and to communicate architectural ideas in written and oral forms.

Section 082-D meets Tues/Thurs 9:35 - 10:50 am

Professor Dr. David M. Breiner
office hours: Tuesday 1:00 – 2:30 pm and Wednesday 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
phone: 951-2597 office location: A + D Center, mezzanine
e-mail: BreinerD@PhilaU.edu

Required Texts Programs and Manifestoes on 20th-Century Architecture. Ed. Ulrich Conrads. Trans. Michael Bullock. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1970.

Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture. Ed. Kate Nesbitt. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996.

A packet of additional treatises will be distributed. Also, you are expected to keep abreast of current periodicals, and occasional articles may be added to supplement our discussions. Some supplemental readings may be put on eRes (from Gutman homepage, find Breiner/A703; password “Theories”)

Recommended Kruft, Hanno-Walter. A History of Architectural Theory from Vitruvius to the Present. Trans. Ronald Taylor, et al. London / New York: Zwemmer / Princeton Architectural Press, 1994.

Ockman, Joan, with Edward Eigen. Architecture Culture 1943-1968: A Documentary Anthology. New York: Rizzoli / Columbia Books of Architecture, 1993.

Procedures This seminar course is reading intensive and students will be required to engage in critical discussions of the course material. Students will carefully read the assigned material, highlighting and annotating it as he/she sees fit, in preparation for discussions and for occasional ten-minute quizzes, written at the beginning of class, during which time students may use their texts and notes. Furthermore, during each class one student will be responsible for helping to direct discussion of that session's readings.

Each student is required to review assigned periodicals for their approaches to design theory, and to attend lectures sponsored by local institutions (TBA); your understanding of the issues raised will be exhibited in your submission of a word-processed (approx. one-page) response to the periodical review and to each lecture.

Completion Each student's grade for the course will be based on the following:

Participation -- Your participation is evaluated by your ongoing contribution to class discussions on the readings and on current periodicals, and by your demonstrated knowledge of the material.

Quizzes and one-page responses -- Quizzes will be graded on how well answers address the question in relation to the assigned readings. The one-page responses will be graded on insightfulness, clarity, and presentation.

Statement of personal architectural theory -- Near the end of the semester, each student will submit a personal architectural theory, inspired by the readings and discussions associated with this course as well as by other influences.

Final exam -- At the end of the semester, an open-book, in-class exam will address issues discussed throughout the semester.

Distribution Participation 25%; Personal theory 25%; Quizzes and responses 25%; Exam 25% = Total 100%

Attendance and Comportment Class attendance and promptness are critical to success in this course. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get notes from a classmate.
More than three absences will reduce your grade for participation; more than five absences automatically earns you an "F". Written assignments must be submitted when due. Eating and drinking in class are not permitted. Please be courteous to everyone in the class; it isn't easy for a dozen or so people to conduct an orderly discussion.

Honesty Plagiarism is prohibited by your Student Code of Conduct and will be strictly enforced. Even unintentional plagiarism is wrong and ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse. Plagiarists misrepresent the ideas, words, or work that rightfully belong to another as their own. The proper use of the ideas, words, or word of another requires that you acknowledge your source adequately.

Student Archives The College reserves the right to keep your work indefinitely. Some student work, representative of the course, will be collected and will become a permanent part of the archives. We retain our students' work because the assessment of student work is important in securing accreditation by both FIDER (for interior design) and NAAB (for architecture).

COURSE OUTLINE

Readings due
H (handout), P (Programs and Manifestoes), T (Theorizing a New Agenda)


Week 1

Aug. 26 Introduction: What is Modern?
M. Berman, "Modernity -- Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" H (15-36)

Aug. 28 Craft and Ornament
W. Morris, "The Lesser Arts" H (233-54)
L. Sullivan, "Ornament in Architecture" H (187-90)

Week 2

Sept. 2 The Total Work of Art and the Will to Form
O. Wagner, "The Promotion of Art" H (143-48)
H. van de Velde, "Programme" P 13
---, “Credo” P 18
H. Muthesius, "Aims of the Werkbund" P 26-27
H. Muthesius and H. van de Velde, "Werkbund Thesis and Antithesis" P 28-31

Sept. 4 Culture, Ornament, and Purity
A. Loos, "Ornament and Crime" P 19-24
LeCorbusier, "The Decorative Art of Today" H (7, 83-101)

Week 3

Sept. 9 No class—to compensate for out-of-class activities

Sept. 11 No class—to compensate for out-of-class activities

Week 4

Sept. 16 Modernization of Universals
T. van Doesburg et al., "De Stijl: Manifesto 1" P 39-40
T. van Doesburg, "Principles of Neo-Plastic Art" H (279-81)
P. Mondrian, "Neo-Plasticism: the General Principle of Plastic Equivalence" H (287-90)
E. Lissitsky, "A. and Pangeometry" H (303-07)

Sept. 18 The Bauhaus
W. Gropius/B. Taut/A. Behne, "New Ideas on Architecture" P 46-48

W. Gropius, "Programme of the Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar" P 49-53

Week 5

Sept. 23 Architecture: Left and Right
B. Taut, "A Programme for Architecture" P 41-43
Work Council for Art, "Under the Wing of a Great Architecture" P 44-45
H. Meyer, "Building" P 117-20
CIAM, "La Sarraz Declaration" P 109-13

Sept. 25 No class – to compensate for out-of-class activities

Week 6

Sept. 30 A Modern Style
L. Mies van der Rohe, "Working Theses" P 74-75
---, "Industrialized Building" P 81-82
---, "On Form in Architecture" P 102
---, "The New Era" P 123
---, "Technology and Architecture" P 154
P. Johnson and H.-R. Hitchcock, The International Style, excerpts H (17-39, 140-41, 214-15)

Oct. 1 Other Modernists - Part I
H. Häring, “Formulations Towards a Reorientation in The Applied Arts” P 103-05

---, "The House as an Organic Structure" P 126-27
A. Aalto, "The Humanizing of Architecture" H (76-79)
---, "The RIBA Discourse: 'The Architectural Struggle'" H (144-48)

Week 7

Oct. 7 Other Modernists - Part II
L. Kahn, "Monumentality" H (48-54)
---, "Order Is" P 169-70
A. van Eyck, "Building a House" H (39-43)
---, "Right Size" H (43-49)

Oct. 9 Critique of Modernism - Part I
R. Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, excerpt H (16-40)

Week 8

Oct 14 Critique of Modernism - Part II
P. Johnson, "The Seven Crutches of Modern Architecture" H (190-92)
J. Wines, De-Architecture, excerpt H (143-65)

Oct. 16 Region and Material - Part I
F.L. Wright, "Out of the Ground Into the Light" H (186-203)
K. Frampton, "Prospects for a Critical Regionalism" T 468-82

Week 9

Oct. 21 Region and Material - Part II
T. Ando, "From Self-Enclosed Modern Architecture Towards Universality" H (138-42)
---, "Toward New Horizons in Architecture" T 456-61
H. Fathy, "What is a City?" H (122-36)

Oct. 23 Historicism
D. Porphyrios, "The Relevance of Classical Architecture" T 91-96
Q. Terry, "The Origins of the Orders" H (126-28)
---, "Seven Misunderstandings about Classical Architecture" H (129-30)

Week 10

Oct. 28 Semiotics and Structuralism
D. Agrest and M. Gandelsonas, “Semiotics and Architecture” T 110-21
G. Broadbent, "A Plain Man's Guide to the Theory of Signs in Architecture" T 122-40

Oct. 30 No class – to compensate for out-of-class activities

Week 11

Nov. 4 Poststructuralism and Deconstruction
J. Derrida interviewed by Eva Meyer, "Architecture Where Desire Can Live" T 142-49
B. Tschumi, "Introduction: Notes Towards a Theory of Architectural Disjunction" T 169-72

Nov. 6 Urban Theory – Part I
C. Alexander, "A City is Not a Tree (Part 2)" H (380-88)
C. Rowe and F. Koetter, Collage City, excerpt T 266-93

Week 12

Nov. 11 Urban Theory – Part II
R. Koolhaas, "Postscript: Introduction for New T 322-25
Research, The Contemporary City"
---, "Toward the Contemporary City" T 326-30

Nov. 13 The School of Venice
Aldo Rossi, "An Analogical Architecture" T 345-52
---, "Thoughts About My Recent Work" T 354-58
Manfredo Tafuri, "Problems in the Form of a Conclusion" T 360-68

Week 13

Nov. 18 Ethical Agendas
D. Ghirardo, "The Architecture of Deceit" T 384-91
W. McDonough, "The Hannover Principles" T 408-10
McDonough, "Design, Ecology, Ethics, and the Making of Things" T 398-407

Nov. 20 Phenomenology and the Body of Architecture
C. Norberg-Schulz, "The Phenomenon of Place" T 412-39
J. Pallasmaa, "The Geometry of Feeling" T 447-53

Week 14

Nov. 25 Feminism, Gender, and the Body
B. Tschumi, "The Pleasure of Architecture" T 530-40
D. Agrest, “Architecture from Without” T 541-53

Nov. 27 Thanksgiving Holiday – no class

Week 15

Dec. 2 The Sublime
P. Eisenman, “En Terror Firma” T 564-70
A. Vidler, “Theorizing the Unhomely” T 572-76

Dec. 4 Tectonics
M. Frascari, "The Tell-the-Tale Detail" T 498-514
K. Frampton, "Rappel a l'ordre, the Case for the T 516-28
Tectonic"

Final Exam: Place and time to be announced. This open-book exam will ask you to synthesize themes discussed throughout the semester.