Arch 316: PLACE AND CULTURE School of Architecture University of Southern California USC/BCN Fall Units Instructor: Sophia Gruzdys

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1 Arch 316: PLACE AND CULTURE School of Architecture University of Southern California USC/BCN Fall Units Instructor: Sophia Gruzdys COURSE DESCRIPTION Pedagogical Goals and Objectives: The goal of this seminar is to understand the cultural context of Spain, by examining its architecture, history, political and economic developments. Beginning in Madrid and travelling north, we will visit cities and landscapes and examine the variety of influences that determine their form. In Barcelona we will analyze the city s major urban and architectural sites, topography, and systems of urban organization. We will examine Barcelona s architectural practices that challenge and engage European traditional and modernist orthodoxies and its culture committed to design. In Southern Spain, we will examine cities shaped by a coexistence of different influences (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) and others dominated by one. While certain aspects of the built environment are intentional, others are not. How did a theory of urban and architectural design emerge in Spain, and where did it come from? What constitutes a cultural geography of place? Comparisons drawn between Barcelona and cities visited in field trips, including Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and Paris, will provide the basis of final paper topics. Using Barcelona as a home base, students will interrogate their observations and findings made during the semester, by asking two basic questions: "where" and "why". Separate assignment handouts will be provided for each part. Part 1. Madrid and Northern Spain: 8/25-9/1 Part 2. Barcelona: 9/26 10/6 Part 3. Southern Spain: 11/30-12/7 Lectures and readings will serve to locate and position diverse and multi-faceted observations made throughout the semester as part of a broad spectrum of historical, philosophical and cultural discourse. The course is intended to offer a more penetrating look at the generating forces that add to a deeper understanding of the physical landscape and provides the student a grounding in the history and theory, essential to an architect s education. Course Structure: The course is structured around three activities: reading, writing and drawing. Readings will provide a theoretical context for the physical environment and place that the class will visit, along with required writing responses. The course will also serve as a repository of sketches, photographs, observations and experiences gathered during the semester. They will be issued to illustrate and explain the basic themes of writing responses, to deepen a cultural, theoretical and historical understanding of place. Themes for final papers will emerge from findings in the visual narrative and readings. The goal is to bring reading, writing and design together, the "physical" and "non-physical", so that each informs the other. Class Organization: Weekly readings and discussions provide the basis for understanding each cultural context. When in Barcelona, slide-based lectures will provide a conceptual framework, presenting a survey of theoretical and visual context, supplemented by in-class field trips. Office hours will provide further opportunity for individual feedback and criticism.

2 The instructional approach is grounded in collaborative learning and teaching. Students will be expected to participate in informed discussions that analyze and critique cultural geographic themes presented each week. Coursework and Instructional Methods: 1. Readings and Writing Response: Each student will submit four written responses on themes that expand on readings and travel observations during the course of the semester, published in a group blog. The site will be maintained by faculty and participating students and will require submittal of written entries that argue a thesis and an original idea as well as criticism and written responses to others writing. Reading responses will vary in length, ranging from 500 words to 1000 words 2. Discussion: Weekly discussions based on weekly readings provide a foundation and theoretical armature for a broader discussion of place and its relationship to culture. 3. Final Paper: Final paper themes are to draw comparisons between cities and their architecture and culture. First draft due: Monday, Nov. 14 Final paper due: Wednesday, Dec. 14 Grading will be based on reading responses, the visual responses and the final paper. Attendance and participation: 10% Written responses: 40% Sketchbook 10% Final Paper: 40% F MADRID 09:00 10:00 Discussion: Diagramming the Structure of a Reading Assignment A.1: Reading: "Madrid", Thomas Hall Assignment A.2: Reading, "Madrid", James Michener Assignment B.1: Diagram the structure of Michener s Madrid article, Assignment check Monday, August 20, final due Monday, Sept. 1 S BILBAO 09:00 10:00 Discussion: Part 1: Autonomous regions of Spain and Architectural Identities Assignment A.3: Reading: Amnistia and Amnesia, Tremlett Assignment A.4: Reading: "Shadow of the Serpent and the Axe", Giles Tremlett M BILBAO, RIOJA, CATALUNYA 09:00 10:00 Discussion: Part 2: Autonomous regions of Spain and Architectural Identities Assignment A.5: Reading: "Cultural Revolution", John Hooper Assignment A.6: Reading: Barcelona, Thomas Hall Assignment B.2: Reading response 1:

3 Launch Essay: In 500 words essay, write about a specific experience or observation during the course of Field Trip 1. Include 1 photo and/or 1 drawing from the trip. TH BARCELONA 15:00 18:00 Lecture: Ancient Layers Cartography and representation and survey techniques from ancient cities of Timgad and Miletus; topical representation of city including figure/ground of Nolli's map of Rome; Piranesi's map; Marble map of Rome; Museu Maritim Barcelona: Portolan Chart of Gabriel de Vallseca Maps Gerardus Mercator to Buckminster Fuller (Dymaxion projection); maps of Charles Minard Assignment A.7: Reading: Sola-Morales, Manuel. "The Feran-Princesa Axis" Ten Lessons on Barcelona (1985), pp , Barcelona, 2007 Assignment A.7a: Reading: Hernandez, C. "Calle Montacada", (study the plans) F BARCELONA 15:00 18:00 Lecture: Concepts of the Garden Garden Design: 18th c. garden: Laberint d'horta, th c. garden: Parc de la Ciutadella, th c. park: Park Guell, 1910 Oriol Bohigas (small scale park development) 21st c. park: Rose Garden (Jean Nouvel) Assignment A.8: Sola-Morales, "La Ciutadella and Montjuic", pp Assignment A.9: Charles Waldheim, "Landscape as Urbanism". The Landscape Urbanism Reader. (Princeton Architectural Press, 2006) M BARCELONA 10:30 12:30 Lecture: Cerda, Eixample, Modernisme 1. Early Romantics: Search for Identity in the Past Barcelona University, ; Elies Rogent Casa Vicens, ; Gaudí 2. Modernisme : Rise of Patronage Renaixença (romantic historicism) Noucentisme (Mediterranean classicism) Universal exhibit of Moderne to modern : Search for Institutional Identity Assignment A.10: Reading: Hughes, Robert, Barcelona, pp T BARCELONA 10:00 12:30 Presentations: Cathedral and Landscape in the City W BARCELONA 10:00 12:30 Lecture: New Town of Gracia Assignment A.11: Reading: Sola-Morales, "The New Town of Gracia", pp TH BARCELONA

4 10:00 12:30 Lecture and Discussion: Barcelona and the Sea Assignment A.12: Reading: Sola-Morales, "Placa de Palau", pp Assignment B.3: Essay 2: In a 500 word essay, write about your changed/ing attitude about one or two of the parts of the city that you studied in the last three weeks in Barcelona. Include 1 photo and/or 1 drawing. Due: Monday October 24, 2011 F GRANADA 15:00 18:00 Discussion: GRANADA: Layers and Cultures Assignment A.13: Reading, to be discussed: "Beginnings", Ornament of the World, Maria Rose Menocal Assignment A.14: Reading, to be discussed: "The Alhambra", Antonio Fernandez-Puertas S CORDOBA 15:00 18:00 Discussion: CORDOBA/MERIDA: Grids & Purposeful Landscape, Part 1 Assignment A.15: Reading, to be discussed: "Name Debate Echoes an Old Clash of Faiths", NY Times, Rachel Donadio, Nov. 4, 2010 Assignment A.16: Reading, to be discussed: "Mother Tongues", Ornament of the World, Maria Rose Menocal M SEVILLE 15:00 18:00 Discussion: SEVILLE: Grids & Purposeful Landscape, Part 2 Assignment A.17: Reading: "Mean Streets of Flamenco", Ghosts of Spain, Tremlett Assignment A.18: Reading: "Moderns and Ruins", Ghosts of Spain, Tremlett Assignment B.4: Essay 3: In a 500 word essay, dissect the cultural differences that you perceive between Northern and Southern Spain. Include 1 photo and/or 1 drawing. Assignment B.5: Essay 4: In a 500 word essay, develop an attitude about Spain s attitude toward the creation of contemporary buildings, using Giles Tremlett s essay Moderns and Ruins, as a point of departure. Due: W Dec. 14, 2011, 18:00 FINAL PAPER Architectural Features & Urban Ambitions Final Paper Essay-Place and Culture Select three items; no more than TWO from any of the categories listed below. In a 1500 word essay, describe the architectural features (materials, use of light, occupancy, among others) and urban ambitions (what does the building/space aspire to do at the scale of the city or landscape) of each item selected, what they have in common and what sets them apart and makes them unique. Include a discussion of the cultural and historical context in which these pieces reside, and any contributions that they have made to the political, technological and cultural developments of Spain, or the world.

5 Illustrate your points with photos taken by you, or sketches that you made during the course of the building visits. Use a minimum of three sources and include full citations. No more than 12 illustrations/photos for the paper. The COAC library is one of the best architectural libraries in Europe, and is located opposite the COAC Bookstore on the Placa Nova. There is a small fee that you have to pay each time you use the library, and they have scanners and copiers that you can use. COAC Library Arcs, 1-3, 3a planta Barcelona Telèfon: Fax: bibl.bcn@coac.cat Hours: M, T, W and F, 9:00 to 14:00; TH from 14:00 to 19:00. Please note, that plagiarism constitutes "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." Please submit one double-spaced copy. The paper constitutes 30% of your grade. The following is the grading criteria: Organization Clarity of Thought Original Thinking Spectrum of Information Quality of Writing Graphic Communication Schedule: Thursday Oct. 6: Wednesday Nov 2: Friday Nov. 11: Friday, Nov. 25: Issue Final Paper Topics Working Title, Thesis Statement and Paper Outline due (no prose!) First draft due Final Essay due, prior to departure to Field Trip 4 (southern Spain) ARCH316: Place and Culture, Fall 2011 List of Buildings and Places studied: 8/24 10/6/11 Barcelona: MACBA, Richard Meier, 1994 PRBB Building, Manel Brullet and Albert de Pineda, 2005 Roca Gallery, Carlos Ferrater, 2009 San Antoni Library, RCR, 2007 Gracia Library, Josep Llinas Jaume Fuster Library, Josep Llinas, 2008 Fundacio Antonio Tapies, Domenech I Montaner, 1880; Amado/Girbau 1990 CCCB, Viaplan + Pinon, 1994 Apartment Building Barceloneta, Coderch, 1951 Ferran-Princessa Axis, 1824, with Consell de Cent Manzana de la Discordia (Domenech I Montaner, Puig I Cadafalch, Antonio Gaudi), Montjuic Igualada Cemetery, Miralles/Pinos Rose Garden, Jean Nouvel, 2006 Media-Tic, Cloud 9 Arq., 2006

6 Can Framis Museum, BAAS architecture, 2006 Nacional Teatre de Catalunya, Richard Bofill 1992 Institute for the Deaf-GEAS (Poblenou), 2007 Madrid: Placa Mayor, 1589 Atocha Train Station, Moneo and others, 2005 Reina Sofia; Ian Ritchie, Jean Nouvel, 2005 CaixaForum; Herzog/DeMeuron, 2005 Hotel Puerta America; Jean Nouvel, 2007 Barajas Airport, Richard Rogers, 2009 Celosia Housing, MVRDV, 2008 Toledo: Palacio de Congresos/Escalator, Moneo, 2005 Escalator, Lapena/Torres, 2009 Toledo Cathedral Transparente, Narciso Tome, 1729 Synagogue of el Transito, 1336 Bilbao: Guggenheim, Gehry, 1997 Campo Volantin, Calatrava, 1997 Deusto Library, Moneo, 2009 Alhondiga Bilbao Cultural Center, Bastido 1905, Starck 2010 St. Sebastian: Kuursaal, Moneo, 1999 Peine de los Vientos, Eduardo Chillida Museo San Telmo, Nieto Sobejano, 2008 Rioja: Marques de Riscal, Gehry, 2004 Ysios Winery, Calatrava, 2004 Bodegas Baigorri, Inaki Aspiazu, 2003 Lopez de Heredia, Zaha Hadid, 2004 Village of Laguardia Porto: Architecture Faculty, Alvaro Siza Atelier Siza, Alvaro Siza Braga Stadium, Eduardo Souto de Moura Casa da Musica, OMA, Rem Koolhaas Casa Ponte da Arrabida Serralves Museum, Alvaro Siza Santiago: Galician Center of Contemporary Art, Alvaro Siza Xoan XXIII Avenue, Albert Viaplana COURSE BIBLIOGRAPHY PROGRAM & TYPE

7 Kruft, Hanno-Walter. "The role of Spain from the 16th - 18th c." from A History of Architectural Theory, Princeton Architectural Press, 1994, pp ARCHITECTURE and BARCELONA Gausa. Barcelona: A Guide to its Modern Architecture Gonzalez. Barcelona Architecture Guide Hughes, Robert. Barcelona, First Vintage Books, Mackay, David. Modern Architecture in Barcelona ( ), Anglo-Catalan Society Occasional Publications, 1980, pp Montaner, Josep Maria, Arquitectura Contemporania a Catalunya, Edicions 62, 2005 Verlag, Jonas. Barcelona: Tradition und Moderne. Studien zur kunstlerischen Inszenierung einer Metropole. Kunst und Literatur, Woodward, Christopher. Barcelona, Manchester University Press, 1992, pp Barcelona: Architecture & Design, DAAB, 2007 URBANISM Bacon, Design of Cities Hall, Thomas. Planning Europe's Capital Cities: Aspects of Nineteenth-Century Urban Development; E & FN Spon, 1997, pp Kostof: The City Shaped, Bullfinch, 1993 Rowe, Colin & Koetter, Fred, Collage City, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1984 Sola-Morales. Ten Lessons on Barcelona (1985), COAC, Barcelona, 2007 Zucker, Paul. Town and Square: From the Agora to the Village Green, 1970 CULTURE Hooper, John. The New Spaniards: A Portrait of the New Spain, Penguin, 2006 Menocal, Maria Rosa. The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. Back Bay Books, 2003 Tremlett, Giles. Ghosts of Spain: Travels through Spain and its Silent Past, Walker & Co., 2008