48-311 History of Architectural Theory

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

Architecture is not only building, technology, drawings, etc., but also discourse, meaning, communication, and concept or theory. This architectural history seminar will study in roughly chronological order some of the major theories and theoreticians of architecture from Vitruvius through the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the 19thcentury, up to the modern era. Throughout the seminar we will chart the changing definitions of what constitutes theory in architecture, and how it relates to other writings such as criticism and history. Well study indepth how if at all theory relates to the intellectual context and built works before and after the writings. Students will discover how ideas on topics such as structure, expression, sustainability, form, and materials reoccur, and even the oldest theories have contemporary relevance. Work for the seminar will involve extensive readings, active class discussions, and a term paper on pre20thcentury architectural theory and how it relates to contemporary ideas.

Prerequisites: none listed

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