ARCH 441: History of Architectural Theory: Renaissance to Modern Professor Vittoria Di Palma Fall 2013, 2 units Tuesday 12:30-2:30 This seminar focuses on the texts of architecture, or the relationship between buildings and books. It provides an overview of European architectural theory from the Renaissance to the beginnings of the Modern Movement, focusing in particular on the role of the architectural treatise. Through the close examination of selected key texts, we will investigate, evaluate, and interrogate some of the most important and influential theories of architecture in the Western tradition. Some of the questions we will consider include: What can theory do and what can it not do for architecture? What are the uses of a book, or a body of theory, and what are its limitations? How is the relationship between theory and architecture formulated at different times? Which concerns remain fundamental, which change, and why? Students will enlarge their knowledge of the key issues animating European architectural theory from classical times to the beginning of the twentieth century, develop facility in critically interpreting theoretical texts, and gain experience presenting an argument in both oral and written form. Course Requirements and Grading Grading: Attendance and Participation: 15% Reading Responses: 25% Class Presentation: 20% Final Paper: 40% As a seminar, this class depends on a willingness to read closely and critically, and a desire to engage in weekly discussion. Participation is critical. Students are required to attend each lecture and to complete the required reading assigned before each class session. Each week, students will be expected to submit electronically a brief response to the required readings. This may take the form of an opinion, a disagreement, a question, a comparison of two or more of the readings, a diagram, or a sketch. These are due by noon on the day before each class meeting. In addition, each student will be asked to give a 10-minute oral presentation on one of the theorists we have read for class. You will be asked to sign up for a presentation by the second week of class. The final paper (8-10 pages) will be due at the time of the final exam, and should be submitted online. It should be a development and augmentation of the oral presentation, providing a more fully developed critical evaluation and analysis of your chosen text.
Course Outline August 27 September 3 September 10 September 17 September 24 October 1 October 8 October 15 October 22 October 29 November 5 November 12 November 19 November 26 December 3 Introduction Utilitas, Firmitas, Venustas The Recovery of Antiquity Rules of Composition Architecture and Science The Origins of Architecture Unearthing the Past Printed Matter Domestic Seductions Character and Type Architecture and Morality The Book and the Building Ornament and Industry The Modern Manifesto Conclusion and Review Weekly Schedule August 27 Introduction: The Uses of Theory September 3 Utilitas, Firmitas, Venustas Vitruvius. On Architecture, translated by Richard Schofield, with an Introduction by Robert Tavernor. London: Penguin, 2009 September 10 The Recovery of Antiquity Leon Battista Alberti, On the Art of Building in Ten Books, translated by Joseph Rykwert, Neil Leach, Robert Tavernor. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1988: Prologue, 2-9, 23-28, 33-48, 61-71, 79-84, 92-97, 117-131, 145-153, 154-64, 189-95, 200-218, 268-277, 291-296. September 17 Rules of Composition Sebastiano Serlio, On Architecture, Books 1-V, translated by Vaughan Hart and Peter Hicks, 2 vols. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1996: pp. 3-4, 83-93, 97-106, 127-134, 250-270, 281-294, 320-7, 396-429 Andrea Palladio, The Four Books on Architecture, translated by Robert Tavernor
and Richard Schofield. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997: read Books 1 and II; look at Books III and IV September 24 Architecture and Science Claude Perrault, Ordonnance for the Five Kinds of Columns After the Method of the Ancients, translted by Indra Kagis McEwen, with an introduction by Alberto Pérez-Gómez. Santa Monica: Getty Publications: 1993: Preface, Part I (chaps 1-4); Part II (ch. 7-8) [pp. 47-77; 153-175] October 1 The Origins of Architecture Marc-Antoine Laugier, An Essay on Architecture. Translated and with an introduction by Wolfgang and Anni Hermann. Los Angeles: Hennessey and Ingalls, 1977: 1-145 October 8 Unearthing the Past Julien-David Le Roy, The Ruins of the Most Beautiful Monuments of Greece, introduction by Robin Middleton; translation by David Britt. Santa Monica: Getty Publications: 2004, pp. 205-208, 236-282, 367-386 Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Observations on the Letter of Monsieur Mariette, translated by Caroline Beamish and David Britt; introduction by John Wilton- Ely. Santa Monica: Getty Research Institute, 2002: 87-114 October 15 Printed Matter Class at the Getty (Date and Time TBA) **Regular Class will not be held** October 22 Domestic Seductions Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières, The Genius of Architecture: Or, the Analogy of that Art with our Sensations, translated by David Britt, introduction by Robin Middleton. Santa Monica: Getty Publications, 1992: 69-142 Jean-François de Bastide, The Little House: An Architectural Seduction (1758), translated and introduced by Rodolphe El-Khoury. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996: 57-110
October 29 Character and Type Etienne-Louis Boullée, "Architecture, Essay on Art," in Helen Rosenau, Boullée and Visionary Architecture. London: 1976: 82-116 J. N. L. Durand, Précis of the Lectures on Architecture, translated by David Britt, introduction by Antoine Picon. Santa Monica: Getty Publications, 2000: 73-88, 108-127, 131-181 November 5 Architecture and Morality Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, Contrasts [1836]. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1969 [available on Google Books]: 1-58, study plates John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture. New York: Dover, 1989: esp. 1-7, 29-198 November 12 The Book and the Building Victor Hugo, "A Bird's Eye View of Paris," and "This Will Kill That," Notre- Dame de Paris (1831) Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, Style, in The Foundations of Architecture: Selections from the Dictionnaire Raisonné. Introduction by Barry Bergdoll. New York: Braziller, 1990: 231-263 November 19 Ornament and Industry Owen Jones, Ornament of Savage Tribes, Moresque Ornament, and "Leaves and Flowers from Nature," The Grammar of Ornament. [London: 1856] (Paris: L'Aventurine, 2001): 15-18, 95-103, 225-228, look at plates Gottfried Semper, The Four Elements of Architecture, The Four Elements of Architecture and Other Writings. Translated by Harry Francis Mallgrave and Wolfgang Herrmann. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989: 74-129 Gottfried Semper, Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts; or, Practical Aesthetics, translated by Harry Francis Mallgrave and Michael Robinson, introduction by Harry Francis Mallgrave (Santa Monica: Getty Research Institute, 2004): 109-165
November 26 The Modern Manifesto Le Corbusier, Toward an Architecture, translated by John Goodman, introduction by Jean-Louis Cohen. Santa Monica: Getty Research Institute, 2007: 83-307 December 3 Conclusion and Review Statement for Students with Disabilities Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776. Statement on Academic Integrity USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another s work as one s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/scampus/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/sjacs/. Religious Holidays The University recognizes the diversity of our community and the potential for conflicts involving academic activities and personal religious observation. The university provides a guide to such observances for reference and suggests that any concerns about lack of attendance or inability to participate fully in the course activity be fully aired at the start of the term. As a general principle students should be excused from class for these events if properly documented and if provisions can be made to accommodate the absence and make up the lost work. Constraints on participation that conflict with adequate participation in the course and cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the faculty and the student need to be identified prior to the drop add date for registration. After the drop add date the University and the School of Architecture shall be the sole arbiter of what constitutes appropriate attendance and participation in a given course. Any student concerned about missing class for a recognized religious holiday should bring this matter up with your instructor at the start of the semester.
A list of recognized religious holidays may be found at: http://www.usc.edu/programs/religious_life/calendar/. Bibliography: Primary Texts: Leon Battista Alberti, On the Art of Building in Ten Books, translated by Joseph Rykwert, Neil Leach, Robert Tavernor. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1988 An Anthology of the Arts and Crafts Movement: Writings by Ashbee, Lethaby, Gimson and their Contemporaries. Edited by Mary Greensted. Ashgate: 2005 Bastide, Jean-François de. The Little House: An Architectural Seduction (1758). Translated by Rodolphe El-Khoury. (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996 Boullée, Etienne-Louis. "Essay on Architecture," in Helen Rosenau, Boullée and Visionary Architecture. London: 1976 Durand, J.N.L. Precis of the Lectures on Architecture. Translated by David Britt. Santa Monica: Getty Publications, 2000 Gilly, Friedrich. Essays on Architecture: 1796-1799. Translated by David Britt. Santa Monica: Getty Publications, 1994 Hearn, M.F., ed. The Architectural Theory of Viollet-le-Duc. Readings and Commentary. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990 Hubsch, H. et. al. In What Style Should We Build?: The German Debate on Architectural Style. Introduction and Translation by Wolfgang Herrmann. Santa Monica: Getty Publications, 1992 Hugo, Victor. Notre-Dame de Paris. Paris: 1831 Owen Jones, The Grammar of Ornament (London: 1856). Paris: L'Aventurine, 2001 Laugier, Marc-Antoine. An Essay on Architecture. Translated with an introduction by Wolfgang and Anni Hermann. Los Angeles: Hennessey and Ingalls, 1977 Le Camus de Mézières, Nicolas The Genius of Architecture: Or, the Analogy of that Art with our Sensations. Santa Monica: Getty Publications, 1992 Le Corbusier, Toward an Architecture, translated by John Goodman, introduction by Jean-Louis Cohen. Santa Monica: Getty Research Institute, 2007 Le Roy, Julien-David. The Ruins of the Most Beautiful Monuments of Greece, introduction by Robin Middleton; translation by David Britt. Santa Monica: Getty Publications: 2004 Andrea Palladio, The Four Books on Architecture, translated by Robert Tavernor and Richard Schofield. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997 Perrault, Claude. Ordonnance for the Five Kinds of Columns After the Method of the Ancients, translted by Indra Kagis McEwen, with an introduction by Alberto Pérez-Gómez. Santa Monica: Getty Publications: 1993 Piranesi, Giovanni Battista. Observations on the Letter of Monsieur Mariette, translated by Caroline Beamish and David Britt; introduction by John Wilton-Ely. Santa Monica: Getty Research Institute, 2002 Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. Contrasts. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1969. Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture. London: Academy Editions, 1973. Rosenau, Helen. Boullée and Visionary Architecture. London: 1976 Ruskin, John. The Seven Lamps of Architecture. New York: Dover, 1989
Semper, Gottfried. The Four Elements of Architecture, The Four Elements of Architecture and Other Writings. Translated by Harry Francis Mallgrave and Wolfgang Herrmann. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989 Semper, Gottfried. Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts; or, Practical Aesthetics, translated by Harry Francis Mallgrave and Michael Robinson, introduction by Harry Francis Mallgrave. Santa Monica: Getty Research Institute, 2004 Serlio, Sebastiano. On Architecture, Books 1-V, translated by Vaughan Hart and Peter Hicks, 2 vols. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1996 Viollet-le-Duc, Eugene Emmanuel. The Foundations of Architecture: Selections from the Dictionnaire Raisonné. Introduction by Barry Bergdoll. New York: Braziller, 1990 Vitruvius. On Architecture, translated by Richard Schofield, with an Introduction by Robert Tavernor. London: Penguin, 200 Wren, Christopher. "Tracts on Architecture," Lydia Soo, Wren's "Tracts" on Architecture and Other Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998