AN INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURAL THEORY

ARCH101 SP03 MWF 9:00 9:50, Bolton 150 SYLLABUS

.. Instructor: Associate Professor Don Hanlon dhanlon@uwm.edu Teaching Assistant: Meldrena Chapin mkchapin@uwm.edu Office hours: by appointment

Introduction
Architecture 101 is dedicated to exploring the ideas that lie behind the appearances of buildings, that is, architectural theory. In general, theory is the province of ideas that precedes action. In the examples we will be studying, architects have combined ideas from different sources and for different purposes to create forms and spaces with complex and subtle meanings. In architecture, theory is not divorced from practice. On the contrary, theory and practice are inseparable. Architects cannot physically construct the buildings they design without a set of ideas to guide them. These may be, for example, traditional conventions, experimental structural concepts, or aesthetic judgment. Likewise, theory relies ultimately on practice to test its hypotheses and assumptions. This is not a history course, nor is it confined to a dominant culture. We will be studying examples of architecture from a wide variety of times and places. Though we are interested in how buildings relate to their specific historical and cultural contexts, our purpose is not simply to categorize styles. Ideas in architecture transcend time and place. By using a comparative method, we will discover how architects in different epochs and diverse places struggled with similar or divergent theoretical concepts. Therefore, the topics of lectures are dedicated to particular points of view that cut across history; they are not chronological. This may be difficult to understand at first because it is not a simplistic linear way of thinking. I will provide you with the essential information about the works we use to illustrate ideas (what, where, when, and by whom). Because of the wide range of architectural sources in the course, it is important that you carefully note the specifics of these examples so you can understand the conceptual relations we draw between them.

Schedule
1/22 1/24 1/27 1/29 1/31 2/03 2/05 2/07 2/10 2/12 2/14 W F M W F M W F M W F Introduction and course overview Design fundamentals Analysis: D. D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York by Frank Lloyd Wright Morphology: Formal Structure Morphology: Formal Structure Morphology: Formal Structure Analysis: Leper Hospital, India; Sanahin Monastery, Armenia Architectural morphology (Quiz at the beginning of class) Architectural morphology: transitional forms Architectural morphology: transformations Analysis: Des Moines Art Center by Saarinen, Pei, and Meier Earth, Land Landscape Analysis: Architectural landscapes
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2/17 2/19 2/21 2/24 2/26 2/28

M W F M W F

Forms of archaic architecture Archaic and vernacular architecture Vernacular and neo-vernacular architecture Analysis: Razvian House in Yazd, Iran Sacred space: hierophany Types of sacred space Sacred space and symbolic form Analyses: Nagara style temples in India Hopi kiva in Arizona Togu na, a Dogon ancestor house in Mali

(Quiz at the beginning of class)

3/03 3/05 3/07 3/10 3/12 3/14

M W F M W F

Formal properties of materials (Quiz at the beginning of class) Formal properties of materials Formal properties of materials Analysis: Saynatsalo Town Hall, Finland by Alvar Aalto Formal properties of materials Review of lectures and readings Mid-term exam

S p r i n g
3/24 3/26 3/28 3/31 4/02 4/04 4/07 4/09 4/11 4/14 4/16 4/18 4/21 4/23 4/25 4/28 4/30 5/02 M W F M W F M W F M W F M W F M W F

B r e a k

The Classical canon Classical derivatives; Renaissance Neo-classicism and Mannerism Analysis: San Lorenzo, Florence by Brunelleschi Mass and Light: Romanesque Mass and Light: Byzantine Mass and Light: Gothic Analyses: Notre Dame de Rheims, France (Quiz at the beginning of class)

The Islamic canon: the historical and cultural context The Islamic canon: philosophical foundations of design The Islamic canon: patterns and types Analysis: Hakim Mosque in Isphahan, Iran The Modernism: principles (Quiz at the beginning of class) The Modernism: new types and scales The Modernism: the house as experimental medium Analyses: Bauhaus, Dessau by Walter Gropius Constructivism and its derivatives Expressionism and its derivatives Rationalism and Minimalism Analysis: Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp by Le Corbusier Urban morphology: early city form (Quiz at the beginning of class) Urban morphology: new types and scales Urban morphology: modernism and its critics Analyses: the formal structures of Padova, Mantua, Verona, Vicenza, and Venice
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5/05 5/07 5/10

Review of readings and analyses Review of lectures Final Exam 10:00 AM 12:00 Noon

Required Texts and Schedule of Assigned Readings

There are two required texts for the course. The first is Architecture: Form, Space, and Order by Francis D.K. Ching. This is available at the Third Coast Design Center on the ground floor of the Architecture Building on the UWM campus. Though it is a valuable reference that many of you will continue to use in your study of architecture, we are also requiring you to read it as a text, and questions concerning its content will appear in the exams. The second text is a Course Reader, consisting of selected essays and graphic material. It is available from Clark Graphics at 2915 N. Oakland Ave. (about three blocks south of UWM). At the review sessions, we will provide guidelines for the type of questions we will ask on exams since there is an enormous amount of information in these texts.

Schedule of Readings Note: you are responsible for having read the following by the dates indicated.
1/31 2/07 2/14 2/21 2/28 3/28 4/04 4/11 4/18 The Aesthetics of the New Man: Beauty R Us from Egotopia: Narcissism and the New American Landscape by John Miller. Architecture: Form, Space, and Order: pp. 4 90. What are Patterns? from Landscape: Pattern, Perception and Process by Simon Bell. Just Folks Designing by Thomas Hubka. Architecture: Form, Space, and Order: pp. 91 129. excerpt from The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade. excerpt from The Classical Orders of Architecture by Robert Chitham. Architecture: Form, Space, and Order: pp. 130 175. The French Manner from A History of Architecture by Spiro Kostoff Architecture: Form, Space, and Order: pp. 176 251. excerpt from Architecture of the Islamic World by George Michell, ed. A selection of early Modernist manifestos: Ornament and Crime by Adolf Loos. Manifesto for the first Bauhaus exhibition by Oskar Schlemmer. Principles of Bauhaus production (excerpt) by Walter Gropius. Building by Hannes Meyer. ABC demands the dictatorship of the machine by Hans Schmidt and Mart Stam. De Stijl: Manifesto V by Theo van Doesburg and Cor van Eesteren. Five points towards a new architecture by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. Architecture: Form, Space, and Order: pp. 252 317. excerpt from Minimal Art and Primary Meanings by Allen Leepa excerpt from Beyond Horizons in Architecture by Tadao Ando The Plan of Al-Qahira by Don Hanlon Architecture: Form, Space, and Order: pp. 318 375.

4/25 5/02

Exams
The Mid-term exam will include all material in the lectures and assigned texts through March 10th. The Final Exam will include all material in lectures and assigned texts for the period between March 24 and May 2nd, plus some information that I will specify from the first half of the semester. The Mid-term exam will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions and the Final exam will consist of 120 multiple-choice questions. Prior to each of the major exams I will provide you with a list of specific topics from Architecture: Form, Space, and Order that may be on those exams. In addition, there will be six quizzes
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during class time throughout the semester (refer to the schedule). Each quiz will have 5 multiple-choice questions devoted to information presented in the lectures and assigned readings since the previous quiz. There will not be any slide identification questions in quizzes and exams. All graphic material that appears on quizzes and exams will be taken from graphics in the Reader, from hand-outs in class, or from Architecture: Form, Space, and Order.

Attendance
If you believe that you can obtain an acceptable grade in this course, or even pass it, by not attending class, go ahead. However, walking out of class during a lecture is rude. If you do so, do not return.

Study Section
Meldrena Chapin, the Teaching Assistant for the course, will conduct a study section for students who need extra help with notes from the lectures and the readings. The section is limited to 20 students. Contact Ms. Chapin via e-mail with your name and the reason why you need to join the group. Meetings of the group will be for 1 hour in room 144 of the Architecture Building at 12:00 noon on Mondays. Inclusion in the study section requires you to attend all meetings. If you are absent even once without prior notice to Ms. Chapin, you may be dropped from the group to make room for someone on the waiting list.

Grading
Mid-term Exam Final Exam Quiz 1 Quiz 2 Quiz 3 Quiz 4 Quiz 5 Quiz 6

The semester grade is based entirely on two exams and six quizzes. possible perfect score: possible perfect score: possible perfect score: possible perfect score: possible perfect score: possible perfect score: possible perfect score: possible perfect score: 60 points 120 points 5 points 5 points 5 points 5 points 5 points 5 points 210 points

Total possible points for the course

Suggested Reading
Arnheim, Rudolf. The Dynamics of Architectural Form Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space Bacon, Edmund. Design of Cities Bell, Simon. Landscape: Pattern, Perception and Process Benevolo, Leonardo. The History of the City Bloomer, Kent, and Moore, Charles. Body, Memory, and Architecture Crouch, D. & Johnson, J. Traditions in Architecture Crowe, Norman. Nature and the Idea of a Man-made World Furnari, Michele. Formal Design in Renaissance Architecture Girouard, Mark. Cities and People Kostof, Spiro. The City Shaped Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City Norberg-Schulz, Christian. Meaning in Western Architecture Rapoport, Amos. House Form and Culture Rasmussen, Steen Eiler. Towns and Buildings Rasmussen, Steen Eiler. Experiencing Architecture
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Reid, Richard. The Book of Buildings Rudolfsky, Bernard. Architecture Without Architects Venturi, Robert. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture Von Meiss, Pierre. Elements of Architecture: From Form to Place Wittkower, Rudolf. Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism Wolfe, Tom. From Bauhaus to Our House

University Regulations
Participation by Students with Disabilities If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact us as soon as possible. Accommodation for Religious Observances Students will be allowed to complete examinations or other requirements that are missed because of a religious observance. Please contact us in advance. Academic Misconduct The university has a responsibility to promote academic honesty and integrity and to develop procedures to deal effectively with instances of academic dishonesty. Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others academic endeavors. Complaint Procedures Students may direct complaints to the head of the academic unit or department in which the complaint occurs. If the complaint allegedly violates a specific university policy, it may be directed to the head of the department or academic unit in which the complaint occurred or to the appropriate university office responsible for enforcing the policy. Grade Appeal Procedures A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it is based on a capricious or arbitrary decision of the course instructor. Such an appeal shall follow the established procedures adopted by the department, college, or school on which the course resides. These procedures are available in writing from the respective department chairperson or the Academic Dean of the College/School. Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the University. It subverts the mission of the University and threatens the careers, educational experience, and well being of the students, faculty, and staff. The University will not tolerate behavior between or among members of the University community that creates an unacceptable working environment. Incomplete Grade A notation of incomplete may be given in lieu of a final grade to a student who has carried a subject successfully until the end of a semester but who, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond the students control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or complete some limited amount of term work. An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that the student was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above.