FA80 MODERN ARCHITECTURE, A GLOBAL HISTORY Professor: Jordan Kauffman e-mail: jsk1@brandeis.edu Class Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 11:00 11:50AM Room: G10 Course Description: This course provides a global survey of modern architecture, tracing major shifts in architectural thinking from the 18 th - 21st centuries. Initially, modern architecture was predominantly a European and Western phenomenon. However, due to an increasingly globalizing world, it was exported to or adopted in all populated continents on the globe. This course will explore the complexities of modern architecture in Europe and America, and how its ideas and ideals were adapted, or not, to different locations around the globe. Doing so, in a global perspective, reveals that modernism in architecture is not an easily classifiable, monolithic movement, but was extremely complex and multifaceted. While the course progresses through time and across geographies, the social, technological, theoretical, and aesthetic changes that effected architectural production during this period will be of primary importance. At the same time, the course will examine architecture as its own discipline, with its own internal dynamics and developments. It will, then, look at architecture as both a reflection of and a driver of change, and how architecture is bound up in certain ways of understanding the world at the same time as it contributes to that understanding. Questions that will be continuously evaluate include, how is modern architecture defined and what makes architecture modern? What meanings and values are fundamental to modern architecture? What influences modern architecture s developments? How is modern architecture appropriated for different needs? Who is the Modern architect? Students will investigate the architecture and design of the modern period to learn what the major developments were. They will consider why these developments occurred and what their importance was at the time, as well as what there importance is for today. Students will develop a visual literacy with which they will learn to identify and evaluate forms of modern architecture. 1
REQUIRED BOOKS Curtis, William J. Modern Architecture Since 1900. 3 rd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997). Conrads, Ulrich, ed. Programs and Manifestoes on 20 th Century Architecture. Trans. Michael Bullock. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1971). RECOMMENDED BOOKS Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture, 1750-1890 (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Kenneth Frampton, Modern Architecture: A Critical History, 4 th ed. (London: Thames & Hudson, 1992). : Western Histories of Modern Architecture Emile Kaufmann, Von Ledoux bis Le Corbusier (Vienna: Passer, 1933). Henry Russell Hitchcock, Modern Architecture: Romanticism and Reintegration (New York: De Capo Press, 1993 [1929]). Henry Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997 [1932]). Nicholas Pevsner, Pioneers of Modern Design, 4 th ed. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2011 [1936]). Siegfried Gideon, Space, Time, and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition, 5 th ed. (Cambridge: Harvard University, 2009 [1941]). Reyner Banham, Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (Cambridge, MIT Press, 1980 [1960]). Leonardo Benevolo, History of Modern Architecture, 2 vol. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1977 [1960]). Peter Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1998 [1965]). Manfredo Tafuri and Francesco Dal Co, Modern Architecture, 2 vol. (New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1991 [1976]). Bruno Zevi, The Modern Language of Architecture (New York: De Capo Press, 1994 [1978]). Alan Colquhoun, Modern Architecture (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002). 2
Requirements and Notes Exams Assignments Two exams - one midterm and one final are required. Exams must be taken when scheduled. Exams will consist of three parts: 1. Identification and Comparison, 2. Terminology, and 3. An essay. Building analysis (2 Pages, text) For this assignment you are required to visit a modern building in person. You must analyze and describe the building. Questions to think about are, what makes this building modern? How are the elements of the building organized? If possible to enter the building, think about its plan and its section how are the spaces organized? We will discuss this further in class closer to the due date. Model Project (Group Project) This assignment has two parts. You are required to both write a manifesto and build a model. The manifesto should relate to the goals of your architecture. During your presentation you will be asked to present the manifesto and the model together, explaining how the model you have built embodies the ideas you have singled out in your manifesto. The base of the model should be 20 X 20, the height is up to you. Materials are also your choice. A 1500 word paper needs to accompany the model, consisting of a 300 word manifesto, a summary of the program, an elaborations on the concepts, the site, the design, and the details of the project, and three drawings: a floor plan, an elevation, and a section drawing. Two class periods are dedicated to presentations. The first is to present a draft of your ideas. The second is to present your final projects. Languages and Writing Students with limited experience or difficulties writing in English are encouraged seek help at the writing center. The center offers one-on-one professional advice covering the full range of academic writing and oral presentations. The services they provide would help anyone develop their writing and speaking skills. http://www.brandeis.edu/writingprogram/writingcenter/ Attendance Attendance in class is mandatory and will factor in your term grade. Missing more than 3 classes will result in a reduction of your final class grade. Each class missed over 3 will reduce your final grade by at least 1/3 of a letter grade. From Brandeis s Student Handbook: All students are expected to attend classes regularly. Students on probation are compelled by university policy to attend every class meeting. In addition, an individual faculty member may establish attendance requirements for all students in the course, and may insist on the completion of all assignments even if a student was not in attendance for the period. In rare circumstances, a student may have to miss more than a week of class due to serious illness or to family emergencies. In these cases, a student should be in immediate contact with his or her class adviser to discuss what options may be available. Because class participation and peer learning are important aspects of the Brandeis educational experience, students who miss more than two weeks of class ordinarily withdraw from the semester. Sports: If you are on a sports team, you are required to give me a schedule of the days you will miss class within the first week of the semester. If you do not, those absences will not be excused, nor will you be allowed to make up the class time 3
that you miss. Also, if you do not, each day you miss for sports will automatically be a reduction of your final term grade by 1/3 rd of a letter grade. Grading Readings Office Hours Honor Code Plagiarism Grades are based on 10% participation, 25% each exam, 10% building analysis, 30% Model Project Readings are assigned for each class. You are required to complete the readings BEFORE each class for which they are assigned. You should come to class prepared to discuss the readings. See required books for the books you must purchase. All readings not in the two required books are available on LATTE. Office Hours require scheduling. I am available by appointment. Please e-mail me at jsk1@brandeis.edu to schedule. I also encourage you to speak with me before and after class if your question can be handled in a timely fashion. Students are expected to abide by the honor code. Your integrity, honesty, and hard work are what will make this class fun, interesting, and successful. Plagiarism is directly copying any text or using someone else s ideas in your writing without accurate attribution. If there is any confusion about what constitutes plagiarism, please contact me so we can review. Plagiarism will result at minimum in a 0 for the offending project. In the worst cases plagiarism can result in academic probation and expulsion. The following sites help to recognize and avoid plagiarism in your own work: https://lts.brandeis.edu/courses/instruction/academic-integrity/index.html http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/usemacadpol.html Computers Mobile Phones Disabilities Computers may NOT be used during class time. During discussions and presentations ONLY the person or team presenting can use their computers. If you are caught using your computer, you will receive a 0 for the day without warning. NO phones are allowed. All phones must be kept in your bags and on silent. Anyone with a phone outside of their bag will receive a 0 for the day without warning. If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately. 4
INTRODUCTION Unit 1 Introduction to Course and Understanding Architecture Unit 2 Discussion: Modernism, Modernity, Modern Curtis, Introduction, Modern Architecture, 11-19. C.A. Bayly, Introduction, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914, 1-21. Marshall Berman, Introduction, All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity, 15-36. Georg Simmel, The Metropolis and Mental Life, trans. Kurt Wolff, The Sociology of Georg Simmel (New York: Free Press, 1950), 409-424. Unit 3 Preludes of the Modern: Rationalism, Neoclassicism, Styles, and the search for Principles ; the 18 th and 19 th centuries. Curtis, The Idea of a Modern Architecture in the Nineteenth Century, Modern Architecture, 20-31. Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 1750-1950 (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1998 [1965]). EARLY MODERNISM Unit 4 Engineering, Mass Production, and the Industrial Revolution. Curtis, Industrialization and the City: The Skyscraper as Type and Symbol, Modern Architecture, 20-51. Barry Bergdoll, New Technology and Architectural Form, 1851-90, European Architecture, 1750-1890, 207-238. Unit 5 Arts and Crafts (1880-1910), Japan (1920s) Curtis, Arts and Crafts Ideals in Britain and the U.S.A, Modern Architecture, 87-97. Frank Lloyd Wright, Organic Architecture, (1910), Programs and Manifestoes, 25. 5
Karen Livingstone and Linda Parry, Eds., International Arts and Crafts (London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2005). Unit 6 Art Nouveau/Jugenstijl/Secession/Modern/Modernisme/Stile Liberty (1890-1910) Curtis, The Search for New Forms and the Problem of Ornament, Modern Architecture, 53-71. Adolf Loos, Ornament and Crime, (1908) Programs and Manifestoes, 19-24 Frank Russel, Ed., Art Nouveau Architecture (New York: Rizzoli, 1979) INTERWAR MODERNISM Unit 7 de Stijl in Holland (1917-1931) Curtis, Cubism, de Stijl, and New Conceptions of Space, Modern Architecture, 148-159. De Stijl, Manifesto 1, Programs and Manifestoes, 39-40. De Stijl, Manifesto V, Programs and Manifestoes, 66. Van Doesburg and van Eesteren, Towards Collective Building, Programs and Manifestoes, 67. Troy, Nancy J. The De Stijl Environment (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1983). Unit 8 Constructivism (1917-) from Russia to England and Latin America Curtis, Architecture and Revolution in Russia, Modern Architecture, 201-215. Naum Gabo, Antoine Pevsner, Basic Principles of Constructivism, Programs and Manifestoes, 56. Kasimir Malevich, Suprematist manifesto Unovis, Programs and Manifestoes, 87-88. El Lissitzky, Ideological Superstructure, Programs and Manifestoes, 121-122. Catherine Cooke, Architectural Design Profile: The Russian Avant-Garde: Art and Architecture (London: St. Martin s Press, 1984). Unit 9 Deutscher Werkbund, Futurism, and Expressionism in Germany, Holland, Denmark Curtis, Responses to Mechanization: The Deutscher Werkbund and Futurism, Modern Architecture, 99-111. Curtis, Walter Gropius, German Expressionism, and the Bauhaus, Modern Architecture, 183-200. Hermann Muthesius, Aims of the Werkbund, Programs and Manifestoes, 26-6
27. Unit 10 VKhUTEMAS in Russia and the Bauhaus, from Germany to the US, Israel, and Iraq Curtis, Walter Gropius, German Expressionism, and the Bauhaus, Modern Architecture, 183-200. Walter Gropius, Bruno Taut, Behne, New Ides on Architecture, Programs and Manifestoes, 46-48. Walter Gropius, Programme of the Saatliches Bauhaus in Weimar, Programs and Manifestoes, 49-53. Walter Gropius, Principles of Bauhaus Production [Dessau], 95-97. Oskar Schlemmer, Manifesto for the First Bauhaus Exhibition, Programs and Manifestoes, 69-70 Jean-Louis Cohen, The VKhUTEMAS in Moscow, The Future of Architecture Since 1889 (London and New York: Phaidon, 2012), 156-160. Unit 11 Art Deco / Stil Moderne / Streamline Modern, from France to the World (1925-1939) Curtis, The Continuity of Older Traditions, Modern Architecture, 290-291. Charlotte Benton, Tim Benton, and Ghislaine Wood, Art Deco 1910-1939 (London: Victoria and Albert, 2015). Unit 12 High Modernism and International Style 1 : Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier Curtis, The Architectural System of Frank Lloyd Wright, Modern Architecture, 113-130. Curtis, The International Style, the Individual Talent and the Myth of Functionalism, Modern Architecture, 257-274. Curtis, Nature and the Machine: Mies van der Rohe, Wright and Le Corbusier in the 1930s, Modern Architecture, 305-328. Frank Lloyd Wright, Organic Architecture (1910), Programs and Manifestoes, 25. Mies van der Rohe, Working Theses, Programs and Manifestoes, 74-75. Mies van der Rohe, Technology and Architecture, Programs and Manifestoes, 154. Henry Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style (New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966 [1932]). Unit 13 High Modernism and International Style 2 : Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier Curtis, Le Corbusier s Quest for Ideal Form, Modern Architecture, 163-182, 163-182. 7
Curtis, The image and Idea of Le Corbusier s Villa Savoye at Poissy, Modern Architecture, 275-286. Curtis, Form and Meaning in the Late Works of Le Corbusier, Modern Architecture, 417-436. Curtis, The Unité d habitation at Marseille as a Collective Housing Prototype. Modern Architecture, 437-470. Le Corbusier, Towards a New Architecture: Guiding Principles, Programs and Manifestoes, 59-62. Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, Five Points Towards a New Architecture, Programs and Manifestoes, 99-101. Unit 14 Interwar Modernism: Social Remedies. CIAM (1928-1959), Garden Cities Building Analysis due Curtis, Skyscraper and Suburb: The USA Between the Wars, The Continuity of Older Traditions, Modern Architecture, 217-240, 289-328. CIAM, Las Sarraz Declaration, Programs and Manifestoes, 109-114. CIAM, The Athens Charter: Tenets, Programs and Manifestoes, 137-145. Kenneth Frampton and Eric Mumford, The CIAM Discourse on Urbanism, 1928-1960 (Cambridge, The MIT Press, 2002). POSTWAR MODERNISM & GLOBALIZATION OF MODERNISM Unit 15 Modernism and Metabolism in Japan Curtis, The Process of Absorption: Latin America, Australia, Japan, Modern Architecture, 506-511. Zhongjie Lin, Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist Movement: Urban Utopias of Modern Japan (London: Routledge, 2010). Unit 16 Colonial Modernism: Algiers, Eritrea, Australia, Ghana ; Scandinavian Modernism Curtis, The Process of Absorption: Latin America, Australia, Japan, Modern Architecture, 503-506. Curtis, The Spread of Modern Architecture to Scandinavia, Modern Architecture, 329-350. Edwar Denison, Guang Yu Ren, Naizgy Gebremedhin, Asmara: Africa s Secret Modernist City Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, Modernism in Late Imperial British West Africa: The Work of Maxwell Fry and Jan Drew, 1946-56, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 65, No. 2 (June 2006); 188-215. Nils-Ole Lund, Nordic Architecture (Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2008). Jochen Eisenbrand and Mateo Kries, Eds., Alvar Aalto: Second Nature (Weil am Rhein: Vitra Design Museum, 2014) 8
Unit 17 Modernism and National Identity: Chandigarh, Tel Aviv, Brasilia, Ahmedabad, Dhaka Curtis, The Process of Absorption: Latin America, Australia, Japan, Modern Architecture, 491-503. Barry Bergdoll, Carlos Eduardo Comas, Jorge Francisco Liernur, and Patricio del Real, Latin America in Construction: Architecture, 1955-1980 (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2015) ADVANCING MODERNISM Unit 18 Brutalism, Monumentality, and High Tech (1970s - ) Curtis, Technology, Abstraction and Ideas of Nature, Modern Architecture, 657-672. Curtis, On Monuments and Monumentality: Louis I. Kahn, Modern Architecture, 512-527. Louis Kahn, Order Is (1960), Programs and Manifestoes (169-170) Reyner Banham, The New Brutalism, The Architectural Review (December 1955). John McKean, James Stirling, and Peter Gowan, Pioneering British High Tech (London: Phaidon, 1967). Unit 19 Postmodernism (1970s - ), Deconstruction (1990s - ), and Computation (1990s - ) Curtis, Extension and Critique in the 1960s, Modern Architecture, 547-566. Curtis, Pluralism in the 1970s. Modern Architecture, 589-616. Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley, Deconstructivist Architecture (New York: MoMA, 1988). 9
IMPORTANT DATES Aug. 30 Intro Aug. 31 Sept. 4 NO CLASS: Labor Day Sept. 6 Sept. 7 Sept. 11 Sept. 13 Sept. 14 Sept. 18 Sept. 20 Sept. 21 NO CLASS: Rosh Hashanah Sept. 25 Sept. 27 Sept. 28 Oct. 2 Oct. 3 BRANDEIS THURSDAY Oct. 4 Oct. 5 NO CLASS: Substituted for Oct 3 Oct. 9 Model Project, Phase 1 Manifesto Presentation (Draft) Oct. 11 Model Project, Phase 1 Manifesto Presentation (Draft) Oct. 12 NO CLASS: Shimini Atzerat Oct. 16 Oct. 18 Oct. 19 Oct. 23 Oct. 25 Midterm Exam Review Oct. 26 Midterm Oct. 30 Nov. 1 Nov. 2 Nov. 6 Building Analysis Due Nov. 8 Nov. 9 Nov. 13 Nov. 15 Nov. 16 Nov. 20 Nov. 22 NO CLASS: Professor Away Nov. 25 NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Nov. 27 Nov. 29 Model Presentations, Final In class display and presentations Nov. 30 Model Presentations, Final In class display and presentations Dec. 4 Model Presentations, Final In class display and presentations Dec. 6 Final Exam Review Dec. 7 Discussion TBD Final Exam 10