ART1660: Cultures of Modern Architecture

Abstract

Modern architecture is revolutionary. Based on local climatic, historical, and social conditions, the expression of that revolution differs from culture to culture. And across cultures it seeks to liberate itself from historical styles, to embrace technological innovation, and to use industrial materials. It rejects decoration, and in fact the Viennese architect Adolf Loos, in his influential essay "Ornament und Verbrechen," equated ornament with crime. From its roots in the guild culture of the Arts and Crafts Movement, we will trace the development of innovative environmental design through the filters of various 20th-century architectural cultures, such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style, European expressionism, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Neue Sachlichkeit (functionalism), Le Corbusier's International Style, up to more recent trends, such as the Metabolic group in Japan, Robert Venturi's postmodernism (conceived theoretically in his Learning from Las Vegas), and various forays into deconstructivism by SITE, Morphosis, and Frank Gehry.¶ Class sessions consist of presentations and discussions with visual material, site visits to key examples of modernist architecture in New York, tours of architecture exhibitions in museums, and writing-intensive exercises, such as reverse outlining, abstracting, and one-sentence observations. Credits, meeting time and place, course management system, methods of instruction 3 credits, undergraduate (blended) Wilf Campus, Furst Hall 213 Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 25, 1:30-4:00 p.m. Canvas repository and course complement Illustrated lectures, reading, comparative analysis, studio exercise, and on-site building examinations