Pratt Institute Syllabus (original) (raw)

Contemporary architectural publishing. U+D, 1/2014

In order to understand the state of contemporary architectural publishing, I believe we should re-read the articles that launched new phases in the great journals of the past. Take, for example, the courageous editorial published in 1941 in «Costruzioni-Casabella», issue n. 157, where Giuseppe Pagano attacked mannerist traditionalism and monumental obsessions, initiating a discussion on the formalism of Fascist architecture which was to influence the architectural debate right up to the present day. Or take that of Ernesto Nathan Rogers, published in 1954 in «Casabella-Continuità», issue n. 199, where the famous quote by Marcus Aurelius “He who sees present things sees all that has been since the dawn of time and what will come about for all eternity because they are all of the same nature and species”, posed dynamic and highly topical questions concerning the relationship with history, the design merits of existing buildings and conservation as a creative act. Or take George Howe’s academic discourse, published as an editorial in the first issue of «Perspecta» in 1952, on training architects to be creators of a synthesis that draws together different disciplines, on architecture as the art of feeling, doing and thinking which influenced the future characters of Yale School of Architecture and had enormous influence on the Italian field as well. It was a time when the choice of what topic and text should be published was made by editors who were often architects, just as the authors of the articles were often active designers who, as well as being interested in maintaining the high quality of the journal and taking pride in it, all had a common concept of architecture that was generally shared, though expressed in a multitude of different results. The re-reading these texts and comparing them with the rest of the pages in those magazines, we cannot detect any similarity, even fleeting, with the state of contemporary architectural publishing; compared to the selfless commitment that those editorials expressed, today’s situation stands out in all its distressing, novel triviality.

Interior Design Paper on Modernism

Interior Design Paper on Modernism, 2023

The term Modernism was integral to changes in late 19th and early 20th century society. The word encompassed all of the arts including music, drama, literature, science and engineering. One should not assume that Modernism was primarily attached to national culture as it described a change of ideas nationally and internationally. There is great debate regarding Modernism in aesthetics; form following function and organic structural shapes. Several books enlighten us on the historical and geo-political motive for the explosive growth in towns and the need for the construction of factories, homes, churches, museums, schools and the great family estates for the middle classes.

ARCH 630 | Philosophy of Architecture and Design (Graduate Course, Fall 2022)

2022

Across culture and time, architects have interrogated the built environment and their role in shaping it. Questions of artistic agency, political power, social control, and cultural preservation all contribute to the fundamental debate of what architecture is—and is for. This syllabus aims to introduce students to the expansive theory, practice, and study of architecture. At once an examination of disciplinary history and theory, this course will investigate the diverse ways architects have understood their world (and situated their profession within it) by actively negotiating between written ideas, drawings, and built projects. To do so, this syllabus adopts an explicitly transnational perspective, challenging the Euro-American canon of architectural theory by presenting it as just one tradition amongst a range of cultural, geographic, and historical perspectives. Through exposure to a range of thinkers, students will be able to consider their own work within a diverse spectrum of theories concerning architecture, urbanism, and space.

Documenting Twentieth-Century Architecture: Crisis and Opportunity

The American Archivist, 1996

Architectural records come in many different formats and are used by a variety of users for diverse reasons. The records share, however, some common characteristics--their awkward sizes, their fragile physical form and increasing electronic existence, and their ever increasing volume. Little has been written on the archival view of appraisal and selection criteria for architectural records. With this in mind, and with the belief that a documentation strategy would provide a useful beginning to set appraisal guidelines, the Working Conference on Establishing Principles for the Appraisal and Selection of Architectural Records was held in April 1994 at the Canadian Centre for Architecture. At the conference, archivists, curators, and users gathered to discuss the inherent principles and problems in the appraisal and selection of architectural records, and to propose an agenda for the future analysis of these issues and for the development of a model documentation strategy.

Critical Essay Architecture and Utopia

Q: Revolutionary ideas can be proposed through art and design. Compare and contrast two revolutionary creative works, one from the 20 th century and one from the 21 st century. How has the context contributed to the approach, medium and presentation of the works? " Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who could, " states Marcuse (1977). A critique of revolutionary architectural design in both the Cold War and present day eras can be seen to reveal a homogenised thematic thread. This being that as technology continues to advance, our world becomes increasingly uninhabitable-an effect that may be felt both ecologically and existentially. The technological revolutions of the 20 th and 21 st centuries have greatly informed and influenced the approach, medium and presentation of art, and more specifically, architectural design. The 20 th century was an era of unprecedented technological expansion, and the effect of this cultural upheaval can be regarded as the catalyst for shifts in societal values and anxieties. The Viennese multidisciplinary group Haus Rucker Co. (1967-1992) were known for their pneumatic spatial forms that attempted to examine the contextual impact of nuclear warfare and the threat of imminent annihilation during the Cold War period.