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Subject Semester (Fachsemester) HS20 in the Field of History and Theory of Architecture gta(Delbeke)
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:36:00
Abstract
In this subject semester titled ‘Building Local - Printing Global 1450-1850’ we examine the role locality plays in architecture and architectural theory in this period. Focussing on the relationship between books and architecture, we explore both local architecture in Switzerland and locality in buildings in major cities as Rome, Paris and London vs. the globality of early-modern print culture.
Objective
After this semester students will have the ability to write an academic paper, and develop an attitude of research, to find their own ways to approach architectural questions. All members of the chair will provide input, in both content and methodology. Weekly group meetings and individual supervision by the chair members will train the students in academic researching and writing. Exchanges with the researchers at the chair are also beneficial to further their research themes and teaching. The students are also trained in developing a critical outlook, following the idea of: ‘In more general terms, much of what happens in the built environment is only marginally concerned with architecture; looking at the history of the built environment through the lens of architecture, as we do here, leaves much unseen [...] Buildings do not express meaning on their own, but as elements of an environment, or in dialogue with images and texts found in books, plates or, indeed, buildings’.
Content
Focussing on ‘Building Local - Printing Global 1450-1850’ the courses and meetings will examine the role locality plays in architecture and architectural theory in this period. We will explore for example how locality is expressed in a building, what role materiality plays, the tensions between the vernacular and the classical, etc., with Rome, Paris, London and Switzerland as focus and locus points. Students propose their own topic within this theme. The concept of 'in situ' functions as a theoretical concept to think about these topics and the general theme. Students can choose to study books, buildings, cities, and sites to further explore this. The History Studio will teach the students to be both historically and critically competent. Far from being univocal, the relation between certain cities and specific media can be looked at as exemplary. Already one of the chair’s strengths, the built and the printed will be analysed in relation with their geographical contexts. Starting from Rome, Paris, London and Switzerland we look at the wider impact of architecture by means of printed media. Tracing the development of major cities in print, the course does not follow a chronology, but zooms in on specific examples. The dialogue between the printed and the built will take shape in the different seminars and meetings. A diversity of buildings and sites will be examined, within the context of the diversity of printed media. The treatise, the guidebook, the builder’s manual, the novel, the journal, the pamphlet, the travelogue, all offer entrances into the complex world of early modern print culture. Touching upon precise examples, the interventions search for, test and highlight the limits of historical narratives. On the one hand, the idea is to convey the necessity of a canonical history; on the other hand, it is to search and test approaches and methods of enquiry that challenge that canon and propose a different history. We will examine how books travel, and the impact of certain books and treatises on the places they travelled to. We study the movement of the book and its impact on architectural culture, or the dialogue it created with architectural culture in a variety of locales (eg. those considered ‘peripheral’ next to European contexts) to trace how ideas move. This puts the global movement of print at the front and centre.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| independent project |
Subject Semester (Fachsemester) HS20 im Bereich Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur (gta Delbeke)
Permission from lecturers required for all students.
Self dependent work.
Enrolment in agreement with the chair only.
Meetings as required and in consultation with the chair.
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400 h semesterly |