Some say that there are two ways to write about architecture: to look at ‘discourses full of objects’ or, conversely, at ‘objects full of discourses’. This doctoral seminar course radically explores the second approach by focussing on the ordinary ‘things’ that buildings are made of (e.g. toilets, elevators, but also bricks, or carpets) and extrapolating general concepts from them.

As soon as modern science started to measure, adapt, and shape its surroundings, the environment became part of the architectural debate. Amid the current crisis, the seminar explores the longstanding yet often overlooked relationship between architecture and the environment, which has continually evolved with societal, economic, and cultural shifts, revealing a range of architectural responses.

In the context of spanning structures, the interplay between form and forces influences material use. Currentenvironmental challenges demand new attention to it. This seminar discusses the design and constructionmethods of structures from both a historical and contemporary perspective: while 20th-century master buildersfaced different problems from those of today, some answers may be similar.

In the context of spanning structures, the interplay between form and forces influences material use. Currentenvironmental challenges demand new attention to it. This seminar discusses the design and constructionmethods of structures from both a historical and contemporary perspective: while 20th-century master buildersfaced different problems from those of today, some answers may be similar.

In the context of spanning structures, the interplay between form and forces influences material use. Currentenvironmental challenges demand new attention to it. This seminar discusses the design and constructionmethods of structures from both a historical and contemporary perspective: while 20th-century master buildersfaced different problems from those of today, some answers may be similar.