Program

The course addresses the most significant chapters of XIX and XX centuries National and International architectural history, providing students with a brief introduction on late XVIII century architecture and urbanism.

Moving from the general overview of theoretical problems and perspectives emerging in the shaping of modern Architecture (in the shift between XVIII and XIX centuries), the course will dedicate close attention to the study of examples and critical issues that point out the specific characters of contemporary architecture between the early 1850s and the postwar period.

The aim of the course is the study and understanding of architecture as a critical feature in a broader social and cultural context. Events, buildings, protagonists, major interpretations of that period will be analyzed from the standpoint of engagement between project, history, architecture, technology, urban development and landscape.

Weekly lessons will provide the framework of the course, making students proficient in the use of the fundamental methodological and historiographical tools necessary to develop critical and theoretical positions. However, visits, discussions and other activities will be held in order to explore the reception of the built (and written) work in the context of the intellectual, political, technological, cultural, social, and natural events that made it possible.

 A good preliminary knowledge of historical, political and social features of XIX and XX centuries is strongly recommended. The slides for each lecture will be available on the course website.

Two midterms, a research essay and the final oral exam will constitute the major components of the students' overall grade. The two midterms and the oral exam will be based on a number of open theoretical questions aimed also at evaluating the ability of the students to understand the connections between the different topics of the course.

As part of their course requirements, students will be asked to write (in groups of three-four students) a final research paper following the guidelines and respecting the deadlines provided  at the beginning of the course. 

3rd revised edition

3rd edition