• Building Analysis
  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Outline
• Contemprorary Architect Analysis

Students will individually research a twentieth or twenty-first century architect and movement and prepare a presentation of them and the movement with representative projects.  Each student’s final project and group project must represent different periods.

Students will have the opportunity to earn 20 points of credit at each discussion centered class session; these dates are indicated in grey on your syllabus schedule.  Students must contribute in a meaningful and substantive manner to the class discussion points will be given as “all or nothing” at each class discussion.  Completed study guides may be used for excused absences.  This is almost 20% of your grade make sure you are prepared to participate in the discussion!

Students are expected to attend all classes. Excused absences must be reviewed with the instructor. If you know you will be missing a class you must review it with the instructor before the missed class and all work due must be turned in ahead of time. If you miss class for illness or an emergency any assignments due must be turned in at the beginning of your first class back. Points may be subtracted if you do not contact the instructor and fail to attend on a regular basis.

Late assignments will be reduced by one letter grade.

I will give permission for students to withdraw up to the next to last week of the quarter. I will not give permission during the last week. It is the student’s responsibility to request permission to withdraw and to bring the withdrawal form to registration.

Incompletes will only be granted for serious illness and emergencies or unforeseeable situations outside of the student’s control. Students must be current on all assignments prior to the emergency to be granted and incomplete. The student must request an incomplete by the next to last week of the quarter. It is the student’s responsibility to request an incomplete grade.

Pagers, cell phones, and listening devices will be turned off during class. If you are on call or have extenuating circumstances please discuss them with me outside of class.

Any violations of College of DuPage policies regarding academic honesty and/or integrity will be referred automatically to the appropriate College authorities for disposition. See appropriate pages in the college catalog for definitions and regulations.

In order to achieve the course objectives, it is essential that you enjoy the class in addition to complying with the above requirements and the rules and policies of College of DuPage contained in the catalog and other College materials. If you are having course/College related problems, please feel free to talk to me so that we can resole them to your satisfaction and benefit.

Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. What audience are these authors writing for?  Is this important?
2. Who is Vitruvius?
3. Why did Vitruvius write The Ten Books of Architecture?
4. Alberti and Vitruvius specifically describe the architect’s training; what does each author consider necessary and important for an architect?
5. According to Vitruvius what are the fundamental principles of design?
6. According to Alberti what are the fundamental principles of design?
7. According to Palladio what are the fundamental principles of design?
8. How does each author define beauty?
9. What relationships do the authors draw between nature and architecture?
10. What relationship do the authors draw between the human form and architecture?

As you prepare for class, choose one paragraph from each section (Part A and Part B) of the readings on which you would like the class to discuss. 

1. Alberti’s writing can be seen as a dialogue between the Renaissance and the ancients.   The works are similar in format and Alberti attempts to address the issues that he sees as fundamental to Vitruvius’ authority.
1. What were Alberti’s and Vitruvius’ goals in writing their treatises?
2. Who were they writing for? 
3. Alberti and Vitruvius have different opinions as to what training is necessary for an architect.  What is your opinion of the necessary training for an architect?  (Try to think in terms of a universal set, as opposed to transient competencies.)
4. How do Alberti and Vitruvius define the fundamental principles of architecture?
5. Do you agree with their definition? 
6. If not how would you define the fundamental principles?
2. The writings of this period focus on establishing a definition of beauty based on arguments that can be supported according to the humanistic beliefs of the period.
1. What do the definitions have in common? 
2. How do they differ? 
3. Do you consider beauty an important goal of architecture? 
4. How do you define architectural beauty?
5. The authors make various associations between nature, the human form and architecture.  Do you consider these ideas to be meaningful? 
6. Are there other associations between architecture and nature or the human form that you would consider more meaningful?
3. This semester will be spent studying architectural theory through the writings of philosophers, architects, builders, critics and others.
1. What do you think is the proper relationship between architectural theory and architecture? 
2. Who should be responsible for writing architectural theory? 
3. Can an architectural theory exist without being written?

1. What architectural elements and concepts are common to the Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque styles?
2. What was the French Academy of Architecture and what was its purpose?
3. How do the “Ancients” define good architecture?
4. How do the “Moderns” define good architecture?
5. What do these writers mean by harmony and proportion?
6. How does Claude Perrault define “positive” and “arbitrary” beauty?
7. How does Christopher Wren define “natural” and “customary” beauty?
8. What are the characteristics of gothic architecture that are appreciated during this period?
9. What was the process through which Palladio’s ideas were introduced to the English?
10. What audience was each of the works written for?

As you prepare for class, choose one paragraph from each section (Part A and Part B) of the readings on which you would like the class to discuss. 

1. During this period France is preoccupied with the argument between the “Ancients” and the “Moderns”.
1. How does each group define good architecture?
2. Who are the spokesman for each group and what is their background and authority?
3. How are the ideas of harmony and proportion involved in this argument?
4. These groups are also referred to as “Relativists” and “Absolutists” which group is which?  Why are these terms used as well?
5. The term “Baroque” means irregularly shaped pearl which can be considered elaborate or deformed, how does this relate to the argument?
6. Identify architects in the 20th century that have similar positions, in terms of a set of stylistic rules, to one or the other of these positions.  Identify specific works to support your statement.
7. What are the ancient’s and modern’s respective responses to the gothic style?

2. Theorists in France and England during this period were deeply engaged in the process of establishing a universal, comprehensive definition of beauty as it involves architecture.
1. How does this reflect the character, zeitgeist of the period?
2. Do you think this is possible?  
3. Compare Perrault’s distinction between “positive and “arbitrary beauty” to Wren’s distinction between “natural” and “customary” beauty.  What do they have in common?  How do they differ?
4. Wren states, “An architect ought to be jealous of Novelties, in which Fancy blinds the Judgement; and to think his Judges, as well those that are to live five Centuries after him, as those of his own Time.” (Mallgrave-92) Do you agree with this statement?  Are there any examples of contemporary architecture that you think can achieve this goal?
5. The 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, believes that the definition of beauty must be derived from nature and that an inability to appreciate it is a moral failing, how does this reflect the beliefs of the period?
6. Why do you think Palladio was so readily and completely adopted as the source of architectural standards by the English?

The readings cover the Age of Enlightenment.  This was a period of political, social and intellectual upheaval.  All traditional ideas were challenged and subjected to the new standards of evaluation based on the scientific method, an expanding body of knowledge and new ethical standards.  It is during this period that we first see the ideas of human rights, individual freedoms, and social equality.  The new intellectual standards generate a need for codified and accurate information which leads to the publication of the first encyclopedias.
     
Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. Why does Soufflot think the rules of Blondel and the ancients may need to be broken?
2. What does Loboli think should be the basis of the new architectural rules?
3. What are zilology and lithology?  Why are these new fields of study important?
4. What does Rousseau see as the consequences of scientific and artistic advantages?
5. What were the goals of D’Alembert and Diderot in writing their encyclopedia?
6. How does Laugier think man first learned to build?
7. How does Laugier link his rustic hut to classical forms?
8. What does Chambers consider to be the proper relationship of the parts of a composition?
9. What did Alberti consider the mature form of classical architecture?
10. What does Ramsay define as the universal characteristics of good architecture?
11. What was the Prix de Rome and why did the French Academy develop it?
12. Did Le Roy believe the Greeks used an absolute system of proportions?  What statements of his support your answer?
13. What justification did Stuart and Revett give for considering Greek architecture superior to Roman?
14. How does Wincklemann define beauty?
15. What does Boffrand mean by character?
16. Define “relativisit aesthetic”.
17. What does Le Roy list as the qualities of architectural beauty?
18. Where does Le Camus think the artist will find standards of fitness and principles of good design?
19. Why does Quatremere de Quincy consider the Doric order to have more character than the other orders?  How does this lead him to prefer Greek over Roman architecture?
20. What does Boullee consider necessary for “volumetric harmony”?  Which characteristic does he consider most important?
21. Define “architecture parlante”.
22. What did Soane believe was necessary to create good architecture?

As you prepare for class, choose one paragraph from each section (Parts A, B and C) of the readings on which you would like the class to discuss. 

1. The 18th century questions and reevaluates all of the previous centuries’ theories and assumptions subjecting them to the new process of scientific enquiry and evaluation based on new information, especially the documentation of actual Greek ruins.
1. Lodoli implies the question of what should be the basis of architectural standards in his statement; “What parts [of architecture] are immutable, capable of being considered primary and demonstrably eternal; and what parts may be considered secondary, calling for norms consonant with the unalterable qualities of the primary integral parts.”(Mallgrave-pg 129)  How would the early neoclassicists answer this question? How would it be answered by architects today?
2. During this period does the concept of truth replace nature as the absolute authority?
3. Compare Rousseau’s view of nature and its role to Anthony Earl Cooper’s view.  How do the different interpretations reflect their times?
4. Do you think the internet has affected our society and ideas in a way similar to the way the encyclopedia would have affected the 18th century? 

2. The documentation of actual Greek monuments by architects, artists and scholars leads to a heated discussion as to the appropriate source for classical forms, details and proportions.  Proponents of Rome and Greece seek to establish rules of architecture that will show their preferred style to be the superior one.
1. Ramsay states; “The admiration that attends whatever is great in its dimensions, costly in its materials and precise in execution, is as far as our experience goes, universal…” (Mallgrave-pg164)  Do you agree with this statement?  How does this idea eventually become involved with the Greek versus Roman style debate?
2. As Le Roy and others developed measured drawing of the Greek temples they noticed dimensional variations.  What did Le Roy attribute these variations to?  Do modern architects respond to similar conditions in the same way?  What are specific examples?
3. Wincklemann describe the damage and destruction to the Parthenon and its sculptures by a combination of warfare and theft.  What is the responsibility of the present time for historical monuments? 
4. Piranesi’s final definition of architectural sources is completely eclectic and inclusive.  Compare this to Francois Blondel’s position of the previous century.  Which position do you think is closer, in character, to contemporary architectural theory?

3. In the years surrounding the French Revolution dramatically different issues come to dominate the discussion of architectural forma.  The questions of classicism that have occupied architectural theorists for the previous centuries are now replaced with the discussion of character and the expressive nature of architecture.
1. Le Roy frames his discussion on the viewer’s experience of the space and form.  Compare this to Francois Blondel’s and Perrault’s argument of the previous century.
2. Identify both 18th century and a 20th century examples of structures that exhibit a “male” character” and a “female” character as defined by Jacques-Francois Blondel.  Is this a meaningful distinction?
3. Compare Quatremere de Quincy’s term “relative character” to the modern concept of functionalism.
4. Boulee defines architecture as; “It is the art of bringing building to perfection”. (Mallgrave-pg 215)  Do you agree with this definition?  Within this definition are Boullee’s visionary designs architecture or are they something else?  Do you think works need to be built to be a piece of architecture?
5. This period explores the sensations that structures create in their viewers defining appropriate responses based on the type of building.  What do you think their response would be to the work of Eisenman notorious for generating a sense of disorientation and queasiness?  Do these architects share a common philosophy with the differences merely a reflection of their times or are their ideas fundamentally different?
6. Compare Ledoux’s abstraction of classicism to Decosntructivism’s abstraction of modern architecture.

The concepts of the picturesque and sublime are fundamental to 18th century English design.  Picturesque begins as a element of landscape design and moves into the realm of architecture.  Both develop are associated with the concepts of character and expression developed in the previous chapter.  These concepts too rely on the experience of the viewer to establish meaning.

In Part C Whatley’s discussion of building types and their appropriateness for various locations and situations is referring to “Follies”.  Follies are architectural features used to in British landscape design to create interest and give character to a compositional group.  The forms are often built as ruins of historic forms, castles, classical temples etc.
     
Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. What two things does Locke think our understanding of the world is based on?
2. How does William Temple define Chinese principles of beauty?
3. What reasons does Vanbrugh give for retaining the old Woodstock Manor?
4. How does Addison define “Great”, “Novelty” and “Beautiful”?
5. What features does Langley think contribute most to the beauty of a garden?
6. What associations did Morris make between types of landscapes and their appropriate architectural styles?
7. What characteristics does Addison associate with the concepts greatness of bulk and greatness of manor?
8. What are Hutchinson’s two categories of beauty and how does he define them?
9. How does Berkeley “prove” that the appreciation of beauty is based on reason rather than sensation?
10. How does Hume associate beauty and deformity with human nature?
11. Why does Gerard say that both grandeur and simplicity are required for an object to be sublime?
12. How does Burke disprove the idea that beauty is intrinsically tied to proportion?
13. How does Burke define “sublime”?
14. What does Chambers describe as the preferred relationship between architectural elements and the landscape within Chinese design?
15. What does Gilpin think must be changed in a natural landscape to make it an example of picturesque beauty?
16. How does Reynolds define art?  What does he say is necessary for architecture to be an art?
17. What did Soane find admirable in King’s College Chapel?
18. What does Price include as components of the picturesque?
19. What does Price see as consequences of “-accommodate(ing) his building to the scenery, not make that give way to his building.”

As you prepare for class, choose one paragraph from each section (Parts A, B and C) of the readings on which you would like the class to discuss. 

1. The exploration of the Picturesque and Sublime is rooted in the philosophical debate between knowledge through experience and inborn or innate values.
1. Compare the philosophical positions of Rationalism, Empiricism and Sensationalism.  Where do your beliefs fit within this spectrum?
2. Compare Cooper, Rousseau and Laugier’s views of nature and natural and the values they give them.
3. Do you agrees with Addison’s statement that art can never equal nature but that nature is better as it more closely resembles art?  Are these ideas contradictory?

2. Relativist aesthetics is a concept developed by British philosophers to counter French rationalism.  It does not propose a set of rules but basis its discussion on the sensations the viewer feels.  With this it adds to lexicon of desirable affects the concept of “sublime”
1. If we accept the relativist position that our aesthetic preferences are tied to our time and culture what reflections of cultural character can we see in the styles of the 20th century?  Cite specific examples of styles and architectural works that exemplify them.
2. How have you experienced the sublime?  How would you describe this feeling?  Which of Burke’s categories were involved in this experience?  Has w work of architecture ever produced this feeling in you?
3. Why were the rules of architectural proportion originally linked to man’s proportions? 

3. The final phase of the British rejection of neoclassicism and its rationalist associations is the development of the concept of picturesqueness as an aesthetic principle.  Though associated with stylistic eclecticism, especially in contemporary understanding, it is actually defined more broadly and includes several very modern characteristics.
1. Why do you think picturesque began, and developed, in garden design before being explored architecturally?
2. Price states that beauty produces a sensation of languor and peacefulness, while the sublime generates feelings of astonishment or terror and the picturesque arouses curiosity.  Do you think these three concepts adequately describe the range of aesthetic possibilities in architecture?  If not what should be added?
3. Which of the aesthetic consequences do you think is most active n contemporary design?  Does this give insight to understanding our time?   Cite specific architectural examples.
4. What precursors of 20th century architectural thought can we see in Knight’s Statements? (Review Towards a New Architecture for early 20th century ideas)
5. Compare Soane’s and Knight’s views on eclecticism.  Which do you think would produce better architecture?

The first part of the 19th century is occupied with arguments supporting the validity of various historical styles.  The fundamental concepts of classical architecture are shaken by new archaeological evidence revealing, among other things, the extensive use of polychromy by the ancients. This leads to a reevaluation of all historical styles and their proper relation to modern societies. In England the discussion takes the form of a debate between the merits of classical and gothic styles. The situation in France is similar but is shaded by the different character of French Gothic.  France delves into concepts of rationalism and the structural skeleton of Gothic as precedents. This concept is related to the theories that are developing in another newly formed nation, Germany.  Here the conversation is framed by the concept of purposiveness and the aspects of architectural design that should be given the most importance in design decisions. While in the United States the question of which classical precedent, Greek or Roman, is superior lingers and then is supplanted by the concept that this new country deserves a new style distinct from any that have gone before. 
     
Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. Define Historicism
2. What did Durand consider to the primary and original goals of architecture?
3. What are the desirable characteristics of architecture as defined by the “white view”?
4. When was the first reported observation of the use of color in ancient Greek sculpture and architecture?
5. What does Sackelburg define as the contrasting goals of northern and southern European architecture?
6. What does Vaudoyer identify as the proper roots of a civilization’s architectural character?
7. How does Vaudoyer define romantic architecture?
8. What did Victor Hugo blame fro what he perceived as the decline of architecture?
9. What were the two things Semper identified as responsible for the decline of architectural design/
10. Why does Reynaud think architecture dominates other arts?
11. What was Goethe’s reaction to a Gothic cathedral?
12. What does Chateaubriand think is the most important reason to respect and value Gothic architecture?
13. In what country did Schlegel think Gothic architecture originated?
14. Why did Gorres see Cologne cathedral as a symbol of Germany?
15. What are the characteristics Whewell attributes to the Romanesque style?
16. What are the characteristics Whewell attributes to the Gothic style?
17. What does Willis find distinctive about Gothic architecture?
18. What did Pugin feel was the most important justification for the Gothic style?
19. What are Pugin’s two rules for design?
20. What are Kant’s two kinds of beauty?
21. How does Schlegel define architecture?
22. Define purposiveness?
23. What does Hegel see as the true goal of church architecture?
24. What are “technostatic proportions”?
25. What elements does Wiegmann consider to be the proper basis of art?
26. What does Schinkel sees as the relationship between materials and forms?
27. What does Schinkel see as the relationship between “architecture” and “handiwork”
28. What did Wolf see as the proper activity of his contemporaneous architects?
29. What reasons does Latrobe give for not using Greek forms for American buildings?
30. Why did Walter think all American social and economic classes should be educated in architectural history and principles?
31. What did Emerson think was the origin of each order of architecture?
32. What did Greeonugh compare the Second Bank of Philadelphia to?
33. What does Greenough see as the origin of variety in animal forms and what general rule does he derive from his observation?
34. What did Emerson think gave a structure beauty?
35. What did downing consider to be the proper relationship between architectural elements and their site?
36. Which styled does downing consider to be appropriate roots for American architecture?
37. What association does Downing make between national character and architectural style?

As you prepare for class, choose one paragraph from each section (Parts A, B, C and D) of the readings on which you would like the class to discuss. 

1. The nineteenth century opened with the startling discovery of the use of color in both sculpture and architecture by the ancient Greek’s.   This new information challenged previous assumptions and reopened the question of the correct use of historical forms as models for architectural design.  The discussion led to the new concepts of architecture that was linked to its own time through style and technology, ideas that would become dominant in the early 20th century.
1. Do you agree with Durand’s evaluation of the role of ornament in Greek architecture?  What do you define as its role?
2. Why was the use of color in Greek architecture and sculpture the subject of so much discussion?  Were the points made explaining its role by Quatremere de Quincy, Cockerell and others valid?
3. Cam the present ever look a works from another time without distortion and misunderstanding?
4. Architecture has been called the “mother of all arts” do you agree with this label?  How do you support your position?
2. Throughout Europe the re-evaluation of historical forms led to renewed interest in Gothic works and a growing appreciation for the style and its accomplishments.  Each country’s awareness of these monuments developed independently and for different reasons and reflects broader themes that were active in each country during this period.
1. What rules does Moller establish for the study of architectural history?  What rules would you establish?
2. How do architectural styles acquire their names?  What are some of the consequences associated with this process, cite specific examples
3. The Gothic revival occurs for different reasons in each country; what are these reasons and what do they reveal about each country’s culture and character?
3. Germany in the nineteenth century is experiencing it’s first sense of national identity.  This leads to a lively debate striving to define a German architectural style.  The conversation begins with an effort to define art and architecture’s position within artistic expressions.  It continues into the eternal components of architectural expression, form, function and construction, and the relationship of these to each other, to style and to art.
1. What is art?  How does the requirement of functionality limit or impair artistic creation or enhance or enrich the process?
2. Do you think the model of thesis/antithesis/synthesis, as employed by Hegel, is a useful logical structure for the evaluation of architectural styles?  Cite a specific historical model that supports your statement.
3. Hubsch makes several a priori assumptions about the nature of walls that have obvious consequences on design.  What other a priori assumptions can we see in historical forms that have impacted designs?  What unanalyzed assumptions do we make that may not be valid?
4. Throughout this period we see the role of climate and materials as definers of architectural form debated?  What do you see as their proper roles?  Has this changed in our age as issues of sustainability and green building have become more important?
5. Botticher links style to the character of spatial enclosure and the structural logic of materials.  Compare that position to the stylistic debates of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment; which aspects of each period’s definition do you consider most valid?
4. Architectural theory in the United States began as an evaluation of styles and stylistic roots in an attempt to define which style was the most suited for this country.  As the discussion continued it evolved into an attempt to justify and define the characteristics of a style unique to the United States.
1. Why was the Greek revival style especially popular in the the United States?
2. Compare Emerson’s and Greeonough’s early functionalism to the German concept of purposiveness.
3. Greenough uses animal and ship forms to justify a purely functional, unornamented style of architecture.  Do you think these are appropriate sources for artistic standards?
4. Do you think the buildings that Emerson holds up as examples of the best forms are architecture?
5. Which European traditions do we see most clearly American architectural thought of this period?

The second theme of the 19th century is the transformation of society by the industrial revolution.  The changes affect every aspect of culture and society.  Population shifts dramatically from the countryside to the city creating slums and urban squalor as the industries require a work force.  The expanded cash economy gives rise to a growing middle class eager for the trappings of wealth and success and swayed by the superficial character of forms.  But more importantly the industrial revolution creates new building materials which allow for forms that would have previously been impossible.
     
Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. What are Ruskin’s three “architectural deceits”?
2. What style does Ruskin think would be the best basis for a new style?
3. What did Fergusson think was the pattern of architectural developments prior to the 16th century?
4. How does Fergusson define the rules of architectural design?
5. Why doesn’t Kerr, (R.K.), think Gothic is an appropriate source for a natural style of English architecture?
6. What does Garrett think justifies a new style of architecture?
7. What does Ruskin think distinguishes a “man” from an “animated tool”?
8. What did Redgrave see as a common flaw in ‘modern” works?
9. What desirable characteristics does Fergusson attribute to the Italian Renaissance style?
10. According to Viollet-le-Duc why are Greek forms inappropriate for France?
11. What role does Reynaud assign to science, (engineering), in the development of iron as an architectural form?
12. Based on the precedent of Gothic structural elements what modern building components does Viollet-le-Duc in vision becoming “motifs for decoration”?
13. How does Baudelaire define modernity?
14. How does Viollet-le-Duc define style as a universal, timeless concept?
15. How does De Lagny define beauty?
16. What does Viollet-le-Duc ultimately think will be the root of a new style?
17. How does Botticher define core-form and art-form?
18. How does Leibnitz define architecture?
19. What does Semper define as the four elements of architecture and what technologies are associated with each?
20. What are the two dangers Semper identifies as associated with new technologies?
21. What does Semper see as the role of polychromy in Greek architecture?
22. What does Semper think is required for materials to be forgotten and why is it a goal?
23. What does Semper see as the strengths and weaknesses of iron construction?

As you prepare for class, choose one paragraph from each section (Parts A, B, and C) of the readings on which you would like the class to discuss. 

1. The 19th century is England is dominated by the social changes generated by the industrial revolution.  The shifts of population and wealth impact the process of construction as much as the newly developed construction material, iron.  The impact causes some to look to the past for a more wholesome style, which they find in the Gothic; while others look to the future and a new style rooted in these transformations.
1. Compare Hope’s description of building practice to contemporary subdivision development.  In what ways are the practices similar?  Do we see consequences similar to those he describes?
2. Compare Hope’s description of how “our own” style might be developed to Greenough’s and the other American’s description of a similar process in the previous chapter.  What do the similarities and differences reveal about the two cultures?
3. Compare Ruskin’s description of how a new national style might be developed to Greenough’s and the other American’s description of a similar process in the previous chapter.  Does this support or contradict the national characters seen in the comparison with Hope above?
4. Garrett states; “Let us not deceive ourselves: a style never grew of itself; it never will. It must be sought, and sought the right way.  We may blunder on in a wrong path for ever, and get no nearer the goal.”  Do you agree with this statement?  If so what are we seeking that has led to the post-modernist and deconstructive styles of the late 20th and 21st centuries?
5. How would a 19th century architect define the “ribbons” of Gehry’s bandshell or Eisenman’s grid in the Wexner Center; are they ornament or construction?  Once defined would they consider it good or bad?
2. In France the consequences of the industrial revolution are manifested in a growing interest in structural rationalism derived from the structural forms of the Gothic style.  Superimposed on this exploration is the continuing search for an appropriate modern style.
1. Compare Viollet-le-Duc’s vision of to the high-tech vocabulary of Piano, Foster and Rogers.  Do you think their work fulfills his vision?  Cite specific works to support your answer.
2. Baudelaire implies that the transitoriness of modernity is an inherent characteristic.  This would lead to the corollary that a lasting or eternal form cannot be linked to its time.  Do you agree with this statement?  What are the implications for architecture?
3. Do you think Viollet-le-Duc’s definition of style can play a meaningful role in the perennial discussion of the distinction between architecture and building?
4. Do you agree with Daly that it is necessary to be well educated in architectural history to be a skillful designer?
5. Daly makes a distinction between architectural art and building art do you think this is valid?  How would you place the work of Eiffel, Nervi and Calatrava within this dialectic?
3. In Germany the period is categorized by an evaluation of the relationship between structure and ornament and the consequences of new materials on this relationship.  Gottfried Semper is the dominant voice is this discussion which is shaped by works.
1. Semper identifies risks associated with attempts to design using unfamiliar technologies.  Do you agree with his premise?  What new technologies do we face today?  Have the architects using them been successful or have they been overwhelmed by these alternatives?  Cite specific examples.
2. Semper states that liberation from the material is necessary to elevate a form to the status of high art.  Do you agree with this idea?  What consequences does it hold for architecture today?
3. Semper finds the lightness and delicacy of iron construction unattractive; do you think it is a valid response of its it a result of his experience in stone?  What preconditioned ideals do we bring to aesthetic evaluations?
4. Lucae describes the astonishment he felt from the breadth of space he experienced in a train station.  Have you ever experienced a sense of astonishment in a work of architecture?

19th century Germany is an association of competing states trying to form themselves into a modern nation.  The diversity or the culture is reflected in the range of architectural theories.

Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. Define werkform and kunstform as used by Boetticher.
2. Compare the curriculum of the Baukademie to the Ecoled des Beaux-Arts and the Ecole Polytechnique.
3. Compare Schinkel’s interpretation of Gothic architecture to Le Duc’s.
4. What does Schinkel consider the root of beauty?
5. What does Semper’s categorizations of architectural forms and materials have in common with Darwinian thought?  Why is this significant?
6. Compare Schinkel’s and Semper’s theories of materials and their role in defining architectural form.
7. Compare Hegel’s concepts distinguishing load bearing elements and enclosing elements to Corbusier’s free plan.

As you prepare for class, choose one particular paragraph from the readings on which you would most like the class discussion to focus on that day.   Email me your choice (transcribe the entire paragraph into your email) along with your reasons for choosing it by 10:00 Monday morning.

In 19th century England we see the seeds of many of the concepts of 20th century architecture.  From the arts and crafts movement which led to the Bauhaus and Wright’s organic architecture to the concepts of materialism and functionalism which found their expression in the International Style.

Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. How did Pugin define functionalism?
2. Why does Pugin consider Greek architecture unacceptable as a stylistic source?
3. What does Ruskin consider to the basis of architectural laws?
4. What are Ruskin’s 7 lamps of architecture?
5. How does Ruskin distinguish between building and architecture?
6. How does Morris define architecture?
7. What did Morris see as the link between art and society?
8. What was Morris’ philosophy regarding restoration of architectural works?
9. Why did Voysey think each nation should have its own characteristic style?
10. What are Scott’s four fallacies?

As you prepare for class, choose one particular paragraph from the readings on which you would most like the class discussion to focus on that day.   Email me your choice (transcribe the entire paragraph into your email) along with your reasons for choosing it by 10:00 Monday morning.

In this study guide, we will be looking at architecture in the early 20th century, spanning 1900-1919. There will also be discussion of influences of the late 19 th century on the beginning of the 20th century and the influences that the early 20th century had on the architecture of the future.

Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. How was the Art's and crafts movement influential on early 20th century architecture?
2. How was use of material and form changing in the early 20th century?
3. Who are Peter Behrens' apprentices?  Can we see any shared beliefs that they acquired while working in his office?
4. What defines the Bauhaus style?
5. What distinguishes this period in American architecture as compared to European architecture? What were some of Wright's influences on this and what was his influence on European architecture?
6. How were the world economy, and the changing of the production of materials, affecting architecture?

These readings are a loose collection of concepts from around the world.  Duringthis time Europe and most of the world was recovering from the trauma of WWI.  The war officially ended in 1918, but many of the artists who fought in WWI continued to respond  to its chaos after its official end.  In America the stock market crashed and the depression started in 1929.  Countries across Europe began throwing off the rule of the monarchies that once ruled them and instated  new governments.  In Italy Mussolini took over, in Germany Hitler became chancellor, and in Russia Lenin took control, but died in 1924 and Stalin took over.

Use the questions below to guide your readings and as notes for the class discussions.

1. What does Le Corbusier mean by Architecture or Revolution?
2. What are Le Corbusier's five points towards a new architecture? Do you agree?
3. Frank Lloyd Wright explains his ideas of modern architecture and how it was modern at the time. Do you think his ideas from 1931 still apply to architecture today?
4. How does Wright describe the division of architecture as a machine and as architecture?
5. What does the Bauhaus represent and how did it effect the standard of the time?
6. How does the standardization of production effect the outcome of style?
7. What is a "Collective Building" according to DeStijl?
8. How does Theo van Doesburg feel about the concept of form?