fall 2005
ARC 368R/388R:
History of Central European Architecture, 1650-Present
Prerequisites
Architecture students must have previously taken Surveys II and III; there are no prerequisites for students from other departments.
Description
This lecture/discussion course will explore the history of architecture in the lands that made up the Habsburg Empire and its successor states--Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, southern Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, northern Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the western Ukraine. The course will cover the period from era of the Baroque to the present, focusing on the rise of the modernism in the region. In addition to surveying the significant building and design trends, lectures will examine closely the works and ideas of a number of important architects, including J. B. Fischer von Erlach, Josef KornhŠusel, Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, Josef Hoffmann, Joze Plecnik, …dšn Lechner, Jan Kotera, Hans Hollein, and Coop Himmelblau. We will also investigate the development of the major cities of the region--Vienna, Prague, and Budapest--looking at how industrialization, rapid urbanization, and war shaped the distinctive face of each metropolis.
Readings
Assigned readings will include several books, including Damjan Prelovsek, Joze Plecnik, 1872-1957: Architectura Perennis. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997; Rostislav Sv‡cha, The Architecture of New Prague, 1895-1945. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1994; Adolf Loos, Ornament and Crime: Selected Essays. Riverside, Calif.: Ariadne Press, 1998; and a course packet of articles.
Educational Objectives
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the historical development of architecture in Central Europe; to introduce them to the basic trends and figures; and to acquaint them with the way in which historical change has shaped the built environment of the region.
Course Requirements
Grades will be based on one mid-term examination (worth 30% of the final grade), one short paper (8-10 pages for undergrads, 15-20 for graduate students; 30%), class participation (10%), and a comprehensive final examination (30%).