Architectural experience became a key concept in architectural theory and design in the second half of the eighteenth century. The course examines this concept in texts, designs and buildings in Paris and London. We will question the emergence of architectural experience in observations of buildings, in theories, in teachings at the academies, and in designs of buildings.

The term “vernacular architecture” is a recent invention, but the idea is as old as architecture itself: From the moment someone defined and legislated what is the art of building and who is allowed to practice it, an “other” and an “outside” was born. This course will trace the different definitions of this other and their implications, from contemporary architecture back to the middle ages.

The term “vernacular architecture” is a recent invention, but the idea is as old as architecture itself: From the moment someone defined and legislated what is the art of building and who is allowed to practice it, an “other” and an “outside” was born. This course will trace the different definitions of this other and their implications, from contemporary architecture back to the middle ages.

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Through the close reading of specific case studies, this lecture course will examine how architecture’s capacity to embody meaning is perhaps most explicit when it is violently destroyed through political dissent.

Through the close reading of specific case studies, this lecture course will examine how architecture’s capacity to embody meaning is perhaps most explicit when it is violently destroyed through political dissent.

Architectural experience became a key concept in theory and design in the 18th century. Starting from this period, this class studies early modern architectural history through the lens of how the built environment was experienced. We explore instances of the concept in texts, designs and buildings in different geographies. The course includes weekly critical reading and writing assignments.

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Architecture serves as a litmus test of how political power represents itself under unstable conditions, and the case of the Roman Papacy is emblematic. By incorporating perspectives based on gender, social status, profession, and political agency, the course examines ephemeral artefacts, visible and secret architectures, and the public spaces shaped by the Pontiff’s public and private ceremonies.

Marxist Architectural HistoriesHow do we write history? Just as Marxism posed the most profound challenge to politics in the 20th century, it also confronted the way history could be told. We will uncover the origins of Marxist architectural history and the heated debates which surrounded its authors.

Marxist Architectural HistoriesHow do we write history? Just as Marxism posed the most profound challenge to politics in the 20th century, it also confronted the way history could be told. We will uncover the origins of Marxist architectural history and the heated debates which surrounded its authors.

"Ombromania" explores shadows as fundamental tools to the perception of architectural forms and their expressivity. Combining art history, architectural history, and optics, the course examines how shadows are produced, represented, and designed. Through observation and analysis, students learn to understand the mechanisms of shadow projection and their aesthetic function in architecture.

The course focuses on Orthodox icons, mainly from the Eastern European tradition. At a time when the question of “national identity” is once again coming to the fore in European societies, the course showcases how tradition can be reflected in art and architecture in a progressive way, i.e., through a modern lens rather than historicisms, and through inclusivity rather than nationalist narratives.

This elective approaches semi-public interior spaces of Grand Hotels and sleeper cars as a continuous, transnational space, marketed to Europe’s upper class. This elective questions the role of this “brand identity” and transnational identities of the upper class in its imagery and advertisement posts, which simultaneously incorporated local, vernacular and exoticized elements to allure clients.

The course will introduce students to Ottoman architecture through the concept of ‘trading zones’, understood as sites of encounters facilitating their users’ communication and knowledge-making despite widely diverse backgrounds.

This course will aim to explore the Mediterranean, a region of great importance to trade, culture and politics over many centuries that continues to defy conventional academic and geographic categories. The course will aim to expand the existing discussion towards the inclusion of the built environment and cultural artifacts, and contemporary reverberations of the region’s history.

Integrated discipline courses allow bachelor’s degree students in the 2011 program to work together with the Chair on a research project in architectural history that relates to their studio coursework.

The "Integrated Discipline History of Art and Architecture" requires an independent demonstration of achievement within the History of Art and Architecture as an integral part of the Architectural Design project. The assignment must be completed in writing and/or in the form of creative work. Choice of subject, form and scope of the assignment must be defined in accordance with the Chair.