ARC 342R / ARC 388R
Tues/Thurs 12:30pm – 2:00 pm, SUT 2.110
Open to all ARC students
Dora Epstein-Jones: dora.epstein@austin.utexas.edu
Tectonics are EXPRESSIVE. Tectonics tell us about buildings in a narrative of details, and in doing so, tectonics provide us with architectural understanding. This course studies a range of tectonic expressions in Ancient, Traditional, Classicist, Modern and Contemporary architectures worldwide. In doing so, it opens various historical tectonic pathways for students interested in architecture and design.
Students will create taxonomies of specific tectonic expressions in order to assemble various tectonic timelines and territories. Readings will come from primary sources in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including close readings of tectonic theories by Gottfried Semper, Karl Botticher, Viollet-le-Duc, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Kenneth Frampton. While attentive to the history, this class is also intended to inspire engagement through enjoyable activities, such as group puzzles (corner problems!), tectonic scavenger hunts, playdough tectonics, historic fashion and clothing tectonics, and futuristic gaming and AI environment design.