Problems By Design: Studies in the Theory and Practice of Contemporary Architecture

This course grounds analysis of contemporary architectural practice in theory and individual responses to evolving media and methods of design from 1960 to the present. The emphasis will be on North American, Asian, and European architectural practitioners, institutional and intellectual frameworks, and explorations of global urbanism as reflexive elements. A survey of attitudes in the immediate postwar period will be juxtaposed with post-9/11 issues. Readings will involve works in philosophy, theory, criticism, politics, and social analysis. Topics covered will touch on: careers of architects such as Aldo Rossi, Jean Nouvel, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Rem Koolhaas, Lebbeus Woods, Santiago Calatrava, Rural and Urban Studio, Future Systems, MVRDV, West 8, Zaha Hadid, Kenneth Yeang, Foreign Office; movements such as Rationalism, New Brutalism/Team 10, Situationalism, Postmodernism, Deconstructivism, New Urbanism/Townscape; design strategies such as blobs, dots and folds, fractal form, fractured landscapes, datatowns and metacities, ascetic aesthetic/minimalist consumption, megastructures, themed urbanism, transformational design grammars, economic and informational models for sustainable growth/development/design. Three assignments will involve analytical and critical papers on new works—such as Diller and Scofidio’s High Line, Brian Tolle’s Irish Famine Museum, SANAA’s New Museum, and Frank Gehry’s Beekman Tower—or design problems inspired by various typologies and modernities. An artists’ notebook is an option for a final class project.