History and Theory of Architecture II

Abstract

The course offers a thematic introduction to the history and theory of architecture of the period ca. 1500–1850. The course examines a select number of European, non-European and Swiss buildings, and related literature, sources and imagery.

Objective

A first aim of the lecture course is to provide students with a basic chronological, geographical and methodological framework for the study of the history of pre-1850 architecture. A second aim is to familiarize students with different forms of historical analysis, as these will be performed in the lectures. A third aim is to reflect on questions and themes that are relevant to architecture culture at large. As such, the course expands and deepens questions that have been touched upon in the integrated exercises of Studio Foundations.

Content

Under the general theme of “beginnings”, each lecture compares a set of buildings and related texts and images, to reflect on how buildings, ideas, events, performances, transformations, … can mark a “beginning” in space or time. Following a fixed structure, the lectures will introduce the theme by means of a canonical European building, expand it by comparing it to a non-European counterpart, before exploring an example of the theme in Switzerland. The lectures are followed by an exercise session where students will be asked to read and write a short essay about a text (source text, academic publication, …). The aim of the exercise is to complement the content of the lecture, but above all to engage with assignments that build towards the essay questions of the Sessionsprüfung. The exercises are therefore an integral part of the exam preparation.

Resources