Florida International University
Design
Theories 2009
ARC 3243 &
5249
Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays 9:00-9:50
Ziff Education Building 120
Professor Gray Read, PCA376 Website: http://www.fiu.edu/~readg
Email: readg@fiu.edu (Office Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays:
10:00-12:00)
Turnitin
Course Number for ARC 3243: 2789428 Password: theory
Turnitin
Course Number for ARC 5249: 2789430 Password:
theory
Course Description: Course is an introduction to the intellectual tradition of architectural practice. We will discuss topics such as: the architectÕs role, design ethics, the architectÕs tools: scale, geometry, and drawing, how an architect considers site and materials in ecological and urbane design. Readings are drawn from original sources such as architectural treatises and contemporary theoretical essays. Coursework will center on critical analysis of readings, research and writing.
Course Objectives: To develop critical thinking in both written and graphic format, to foster discussion of architecture as an intellectual pursuit, and to develop reading and writing skills.
Learning Outcomes: Students should develop skill in both graphic and written building analysis. Students should become familiar with the major figures and ideas in the theory of architecture.
Graduate Students - ARC 5243: Differential assignments for graduate students are noted in the schedule.
Structure of Course: Lecture and discussion. Students will discuss readings and topics in small groups. Required readings must be completed for each class, the quality of discussion depends on your participation.
Text: Reader of selected articles. All readings are available on the course website, linked to on-line syllabus.
Quizzes: We will have a quiz in most classes. In lecture classes, the quiz will be in the first 10 minutes of class-time and will be based on the reading and lectures. In discussion classes, generally Wednesdays, you will receive a question at the beginning of class, discuss it with your group, then write an individual answer. All quizzes will be a single question requiring a well-articulated written answer that demonstrates a cumulative understanding of topics. Quizzes are graded on a scale of 0-4. Students may make up a quiz if professor is notified before the quiz date.
Essay : One research essay is required, which will include both graphic analysis and text. A second short essay articulating an informed answer to a question is also required Written work will be due at the beginning of class. Writing counts. All papers will be handed in to turnitin.com.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism
is not tolerated, please read explanation on my website.
Computers: Please take notes in class by hand, not on your computer.
Grading Scheme: Quizzes and Exams 60
Essay 1 30
Essay 2 10
Total 100 points
To get an A: Do a good job on everything; put extra ideas/effort into it.
To get a B: Do a good job on everything
To get a lower grade: Do less
Absences: University policy states if you have three absences, you fail the course. You may be excused for religious holidays, if you let me know ahead of time.
Policy on Academic Integrity
Florida International University is a community
dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and
research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas, and community service.
All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable
opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning.
Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic
conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and
the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the
University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic
misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and
sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.
Policies on academic misconduct, sexual harassment, and
religious holidays, and information on services for students with disabilities
Please refer to University
policies in the FIU Student Handbook.
Tips:
Keep up. Do the reading, Do the reading, Do the reading
Take notes. Keep a dedicated notebook for this course. Take notes on both the reading and discussion. Sketches help.
Come to lectures;
You are required to attend all school lectures.
Schedule
Please note that reading is due on the day under which it appears. Daily quiz is based on reading
Reading: William McDonough ÒDesign, Ecology, Ethics, and the Making of
ThingsÓ in Nesbitt Theorizing a New
Agenda for Architecture (MIT Press, 1996)
Additional reading for Graduate students: Vitruvius, Òthe Education of the ArchitectÓ in Ten Books of Architecture, tr. Morris Hinky Morgan (Dover, 1960)
Reading: Aldo Rossi, excerpt from the Architecture of the City and Tadeo Ando,
ÒToward New Horizons in ArchitectureÓ and the Koshino
House
Grad: Vittorio Gregotti ÒOn ModificationÓ in Inside Architecture (MIT Press, 1996)
Recommended: Bruno Latour, We Have never Been Modern (Harvard University, 1993)
Grad: Leatherbarrow, ÒSite ProjectsÓ
Recommended: Bernard Cache, Earth Moves (MIT Press, 1995)
Due: Building Research
Reading: Stan Allen, ÒFrom Object to FieldÓ
Recommended: Denis Cosgrove, ÒLiminal Geometry and Elemental Landscape: Construction and RepresentationÓ in James Corner ed. Recovering Landscape (Princeton Architectural Press, 1999)
E. Baldwin Smith, The Dome: A Study in the History of Ideas (Princeton Univ. Press) 1950
Reread Allen (you need to read it at least
twice to understand the ideas)
Recommended: Greg Lynn, Animate Form (Princeton Univ. Press, 1999)
Due: Analytical Sketches
Reading: Gray Read,
ÒMonticelloÕs DumbwaitersÓ Journal
of Architectural Education (1995)
Recommended: Michel de Certeau, "Walking in the City" in The Practice of Everyday Life (Univ of California Press, 1984)
Rosalind Krauss, The Optical Unconscious (MIT Press, 1994)
Reading: Excerpts from Jonathan Swift, GulliverÕs Travels,,
p. 1-6
Grad: Robert Venturi and Denise Scott-Brown, ÒA Significance for A&P Parking Lots or Learning from Las VegasÓ in Nesbitt
Recommended: Susan Stewart, On Longing (Duke Univ. Press, 1993)
Due: Draft of Research Essay
Reading: Bernard Tschumi. ÒPleasure of ArchitectureÓ
Recommended: Rem Koolhaas Delerious New York (Monacelli, 1994)
Due: Research Essay
Grad: Francis Ponge The Voice of Things (McGraw-Hill, 1972) excerpt
Recommended: Davis Leatherbarrow On Weathering (MIT Press, 1993)
Reading: Lisa Heshong, Thermal Delight in Architecture (MIT, 1979) excerpt
Grad: Adolf Loos, ÒPlumbersÓ (1900) in Spoken Into the Void (MIT, 1987)
Recommended: Plumbing: Sounding Modern Architecture edited by Daniel Friedman
Reading: Italo Calvino, ÒThe Call of the WaterÓ and ÒThe Petrol
PumpÓ Assignment: Essay #2
Grad: Finish article
Recommended: McDonnough, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (North Point Press. 2002)
Jason McLennan The Philosophy of Sustainable Design (Ecotone Publishing, 2004)
Finish Article
Recommended: Beatriz Colomina, ed. Sexuality & Space (Princeton, 1992)
Diana Agrest ed. The Sex of
Architecture (Abrams, 1996)
Reading: Denise Scott-Brown, Ò Through the Looking Glass: Reply to Joan OckmanÓ
Grad: Roland Barthes, ÒThe Eiffel TowerÓ
Recommended: Umberto Eco, ÒFunction and Sigh: The Semiotics of ArchitectureÓ in Rethinking Architecture Neil Leach editor (MIT, 1997) and Anthony Vidler The Architectural Uncanny (MIT, 1994)
Reading: Bernard Tschumi, ÒEvents: The Turning PointÓ
Recommended: Guy Debord Theory of the Derive and other Writings on the City (Museu dÕArt Contemporani, Barcelona, 1996) or search web for Debord.
Paul Virilio A Landscape of Events (MIT, 2000)