• Soft Skills

Construction History is the history of how we construct the world around us. It deals mainly with architecture, with a wide scope and without any stylistic prejudice. It is not restricted to buildings but also includes the construction of civil engineering and infrastructure, which have marked over time the changes in the human life, civilization and urbanization.

Materials, techniques, scientific or empiric know-how, design approaches and styles, social and economic factors and esthetic attitude: the study of all these factors rarely leads to simplistic conclusions or interpretation of evolution of construction history.

The main topics of the matter will be analyzed through a series of lectures.

Lectures and exercise sessions will allow the student to:

- know and understand the topics and issues of the matter, through the analysis of various cases;

- understand the techniques and the research methods which are specific to the matter: sources, methods, approaches, languages, codes, norms.

The student will learn how:

selecting the scientific literature more specific to the topics of her/his main interest;

using the sources, being aware of their characteristics and goals (papers, essays, books);

organizing autonomously a path of study based on various sources (literature, drawings, pictures, videos, mockups).

The aim of the course is to present the main phases of the development of building techniques in the Western world, from the Greek world to the XX century.

A selection of themes will be presented in lectures and seminars. Some of them will be organized with participation of scholars specialized on specific issues. 

To attend classes is strongly recommended

Laurea (equivalent to Bachelor of Science) in the classes provided for the admission to the MSc. 

The exam is oral and individual. 

Every students will have to prepare, besides the entire program of the course, a presentation on a topic previously discussed and approved. 

The bibliography here indicated is not complete. At the beginning of the semester a "dossier" with the detailed program of the lectures and the complete bibliography will be sent to alla students with a selection of texts and images among those of the program.

During the examination the student will have to:

-present the topics with an appropriate language and a proper terminology;

-demonstrate to know the topics of the lectures;

-be able to suggest links between subjects covered in the course.

Text available on line : https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/10977385