Maarten Delbeke: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2020

Name	Prof. Dr. Maarten Delbeke
Field	History and Theory of Architecture
Address	Geschichte und Theorie der Arch. ETH Zürich, HIL D 70.6 Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5 8093 Zürich SWITZERLAND
Telephone	+41 44 633 01 89
E-mail	maarten.delbeke@gta.arch.ethz.ch
URL	https://delbeke.arch.ethz.ch/
Department	Architecture
Relationship	Full Professor

Number	Title	ECTS	Hours	Lecturers
051-1209-20L	Integrated Discipline History of Art and Architecture	3 credits	2U	M. Delbeke
Abstract	Integrated discipline courses allow bachelor’s degree students in the 2011 program to work together with the Chair on a research project in architectural history that relates to their studio coursework.
Learning objective	The target is a profound examination of a topic of hisotry of art and architecture. The gained insights will be converted into the design process.
Content	The Chair Delbeke welcomes proposals for Integrierte Disziplin projects. We are interested in written projects (traditional research papers) as well as those that combine graphic and written work, although all studies should approach the topic of the studio course from the critical perspective of the history of art and architecture. The scope of work for each project will be determined individually. Interested students should first discuss the project with their studio adviser and then contact the Chair at the beginning of the semester to arrange a meeting (within the first three weeks barring special circumstances). During this initial meeting the specific scope of work for the individual project will be determined and a schedule set for additional meetings, submission of the final project, and the final oral examination.
Prerequisites / Notice	Students in the 2017 program should please see Focusworks (Vertiefungsarbeit). For inquiries about individual eligibility or course credit registration please contact the D-ARCH Study Administration Office.
052-0803-00L	History and Theory of Architecture I	2 credits	2V + 2U	T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, M. Charitonidou, L. Stalder, H. Teerds, P. Ursprung
Abstract	Introduction and overview of the history and theory of architecture from the Renaissance to the eighteenth century. (Prof. Dr. M. Delbeke) Introduction in the methods and instruments of the history of art and architecture. (Prof. Dr. M. Delbeke, Prof. Dr. L. Stalder, Prof. Dr. P. Unsprung, Prof. Dr. T. Avermaete)
Learning objective	Acquiring basic knowledge of the history of architecture and architectural theory, resp. of the methods and instruments of research into architecture. Being able to identify the main architectural issues and debates of the period and geography covered in the course. Acquiring the attitudes and tools to develop a historically informed reading of the built environment. Acquiring the tools to be able to draw on historical, theoretical and critical research to nourish one's architectural culture.
Content	The course History and Theory of Architecture I offers a chronological and thematic overview of the architecture and architectural theory produced in Europe from the 15th up to 19th century. Thematic lectures about key questions at play during the period will be combined with the in-depth analysis of historical buildings. Themes will cover the emergence and development of Vitruvian design theory and practice up to the 19th century, and related issues such as the emergence of the architect; the media of architectural design and practice (drawings, models, building materials); patterns and media of dissemination and influence (micro-architecture, imagery); building types (the palazzo and the villa); questions of beauty and ornament; questions of patronage (e.g. the Roman papacy); the relation of buildings to the city (e.g. the development of European capitals); attitudes towards history (origin myths, historicism); the question of the monument. The course Fundamentals of the History and Theory of Architecture I consists of different parts, each dealing with a particular area of research into the history of art and architecture (1) Architecture and the book (M. Delbeke) (2) Architectural media (L. Stalder). (3) Architecture and art (P. Ursprung) (4) Urbanism and the Commons (T. Avermaete)
Literature	Literature and handouts will be provided over the course of the term.
Prerequisites / Notice	For the course History and Theory of Architecture I students will rely on assisted self study to acquire basic knowledge of the canonical history of architecture in Europe. The exercise is taught in the hybrid mode (Bubbles of 24 students: 1st week: Bubbles 1-5 face-to-face teaching, bubbles 6-10 and 11 - 15 online in studio G41/G61; . 2nd week: Bubbles 6-10 face-to-face teaching, bubbles 11-15 and 1 - 5 online in studio G41/G61; 3. Woche: Bubbles 11-15 face-to-face teaching, bubbles 1-5 and 6 - 10online in studioG41/G61; 4th week equal to 1st week etc.
063-0313-20L	History of Art and Architecture V: Caractère (Character) The course is full. Please do not enroll after 4.9.2020. Thank you.	1 credit	1V	M. Delbeke, S. de Jong, E. Wegerhoff
Abstract	This course is a reading class in which the architectural category of "caractère" or character, stemming from the 18th century but of great relevance until today, will be examined by a close reading of several key texts.
Learning objective	Deepen basic knowledge, improve ability to critically analyze texts of architectural theory, and understand shifts in architectural thinking.
Content	"Caractère" or character is not only a quality applied to human beings. It is also a category of architectural discourse, developed in the 18th century when architects and theorists were seeking new ways to talk about and judge buildings, pushing architectural discourse beyond Vitruvian categories to which it had been tied for centuries before. This reading class will closely examine key texts that discuss the phenomenon of a building's "character" from the 1700s up until today. One text a week will be read at home and then discussed in class. Independent reading and vivid participation in class are a fundamental prerequisite. The course will combine various teaching methods ranging from playful hands-on methods via close reading to formats involving digital tools and communication.
Prerequisites / Notice	The course is full. Please do not enroll after 4.9.2020. Thank you.
063-0853-20L	Subject Semester HS20 in the Field of History and Theory of Architecture (gta Prof. Ursprung) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies!	14 credits	29A	P. Ursprung, T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke
Abstract	"Who Cares?" Architecture and Care: A collective Manifesto What is care? Therapy, prevention, maintenance, affection, empathy, monitoring, paying attention? Who takes care? Nurses, doctors, family members, scientists, shamans, architects? What is cared for? Children, melting glaciers, birds, decaying houses? Students are invited to give answers to these questions.
Learning objective	Our aim is to increase the knowledge and sensitivity of architecture students toward the issue of care, to make their voices heard and to develop a new teaching form for the history and theory of architecture. Students will be familiar with theories and practices of care, they will learn to take position in a field, they will practice argumentation and increase their writing skills.
Content	"Who Cares?" Architecture and Care: A collective Manifesto What is care? Therapy of disease, prevention of illness, maintenance of health, affection, empathy, monitoring ecological processes, paying attention to the built environment? Who takes care? Nurses, doctors, family members, scientists, shamans, architects? What is cared for? Children, melting glaciers, birds, decaying houses? Students are invited to give answers to these questions. Starting with three concrete sites - a grotto with esoteric healing qualities, a former santorium, and a monitoring site for climate change - students will develop during the semester an illustrated essay as part of a collective manifesto. Independent student work. Weekly meetings. Within the frame of the semester topic, the choice of topic is free. Students interested in participating please come to the first meeting, Thursday Sept 17th, 10am, HIL D-ArchENA (=gta exhibition space). For further information, please see: https://ursprung.arch.ethz.ch/courses/who-cares/information
Literature	Will be provided.
Prerequisites / Notice	A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! Accompanying courses: - 063-0803-00L History and Theory in Architecture IX. - 052-0825-20L Special Questions in History of Art and Architecture (optional, individual events). Self dependent work. Within the frame of the semester topic, the choice of topic is free. For further information, please see: https://ursprung.arch.ethz.ch/courses/who-cares/information
063-0855-20L	Subject Semester (Fachsemester) HS20 in the Field of History and Theory of Architecture gta(Delbeke) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies!	14 credits	29A	M. Delbeke, T. Avermaete, P. Ursprung
Abstract	In this subject semester titled ‘Building Local - Printing Global 1450-1850’ we examine the role locality plays in architecture and architectural theory in this period. Focussing on the relationship between books and architecture, we explore both local architecture in Switzerland and locality in buildings in major cities as Rome, Paris and London vs. the globality of early-modern print culture.
Learning objective	After this semester students will have the ability to write an academic paper, and develop an attitude of research, to find their own ways to approach architectural questions. All members of the chair will provide input, in both content and methodology. Weekly group meetings and individual supervision by the chair members will train the students in academic researching and writing. Exchanges with the researchers at the chair are also beneficial to further their research themes and teaching. The students are also trained in developing a critical outlook, following the idea of: ‘In more general terms, much of what happens in the built environment is only marginally concerned with architecture; looking at the history of the built environment through the lens of architecture, as we do here, leaves much unseen [...] Buildings do not express meaning on their own, but as elements of an environment, or in dialogue with images and texts found in books, plates or, indeed, buildings’.
Content	Focussing on ‘Building Local - Printing Global 1450-1850’ the courses and meetings will examine the role locality plays in architecture and architectural theory in this period. We will explore for example how locality is expressed in a building, what role materiality plays, the tensions between the vernacular and the classical, etc., with Rome, Paris, London and Switzerland as focus and locus points. Students propose their own topic within this theme. The concept of 'in situ' functions as a theoretical concept to think about these topics and the general theme. Students can choose to study books, buildings, cities, and sites to further explore this. The History Studio will teach the students to be both historically and critically competent. Far from being univocal, the relation between certain cities and specific media can be looked at as exemplary. Already one of the chair’s strengths, the built and the printed will be analysed in relation with their geographical contexts. Starting from Rome, Paris, London and Switzerland we look at the wider impact of architecture by means of printed media. Tracing the development of major cities in print, the course does not follow a chronology, but zooms in on specific examples. The dialogue between the printed and the built will take shape in the different seminars and meetings. A diversity of buildings and sites will be examined, within the context of the diversity of printed media. The treatise, the guidebook, the builder’s manual, the novel, the journal, the pamphlet, the travelogue, all offer entrances into the complex world of early modern print culture. Touching upon precise examples, the interventions search for, test and highlight the limits of historical narratives. On the one hand, the idea is to convey the necessity of a canonical history; on the other hand, it is to search and test approaches and methods of enquiry that challenge that canon and propose a different history. We will examine how books travel, and the impact of certain books and treatises on the places they travelled to. We study the movement of the book and its impact on architectural culture, or the dialogue it created with architectural culture in a variety of locales (eg. those considered ‘peripheral’ next to European contexts) to trace how ideas move. This puts the global movement of print at the front and centre.
Prerequisites / Notice	A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies!
063-0857-20L	Subject Semester (Fachsemester) HS20 in the Field of History and Theory in Architecture (Avermaete) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies!	14 credits	29A	T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, P. Ursprung
Abstract	Cities have always been places of common resources and practices. While designing and constructing the architecture of the city, architects, urban designers, builders, inhabitants have had to engage with a pool of common resources: inherited common-pool resources (water, nature, air); material common-pool resources (clay, brick, stone, wood) and immaterial common-pool resources (craft, knowledge).
Learning objective	The subject semester or "Ffachsemester" has two objectives. First, is to develop an ‘Archeology’ of Zürich Commons. In this part, the work of the urban historian or theoretician is understood as an archeological venture: the city will be regarded as an enigma that needs to be deciphered. The result will be a systematic, analytical account of how the architecture of the city has time-and-time-again provided a framework for commoning, how common resources manifest themselves, and how, as urban figures, they impact the fabric of cities. Second, is to develop an ‘Ecology’ of Zürich commons. In this part the question of how the commons are experienced, practiced and developed in the city of Zürich until today is scrutinized. Students will probe into the city to analyze the character and role of common pool resources (green space, open space, water, materials, typologies, etc…) and the way that the citizens of Zürich have engaged, and are engaging, with them.
Content	Cities have always been places of common resources and common practices. While designing and constructing the architecture of the city, architects, urban designers, builders, and inhabitants have had to engage with a pool of common resources in particular places and geographies: inherited common-pool resources (water, nature, air); material common-pool resources (clay, brick, stone, wood); and immaterial common-pool resources (craft, knowledge). This understanding of the city, as related to common resources and practices, has gained renewed attention, as neoliberalism replaces ever-shrinking welfare structures, and global urbanisation is accompanied by rising inequality. It is not only architects and urban designers who are again becoming interested in alternative principles of pooling common resources, but also political circles and society at large. Some of these issues – generally called ‘the commons’ – have also received growing academic attention in the last decades, in the fields of critical urban studies, urban history, urban geography and the social sciences. This fachsemester probes into the rich history of ‘the commons’ in the city of Zürich, understood from an architectural, spatial and material perspective. It will explore how common practices and resources have affected the architecture of the city, and conversely how the built environment has structured common practices and facilitated access to common resources. The research will unlock an alternative reading of the urban and architectural qualities of the built environment of the city.
Prerequisites / Notice	A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! Self-dependent work. Enrollment on agreement with the chair only. Meetings as required and after consultation with the chair (Wednesdays). The collective and individual projects together will offer an alternative reading, which retro-actively traces the urban territory and architectural quality of the city of Zurich back to the local common resources and common practices. The different materials – texts, drawings, models – will be combined in an atlas, which presents this alternative reading to a larger audience.
063-0953-20L	Subject Semester HS20 in the Field of Historic Building Research and Conservation (IDB, Prof Holzer) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies!	14 credits	29A	S. Holzer, T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, P. Ursprung
Abstract	The subject semester (to choose out of two topics) includes the individual, independent processing of a specific task, whereby the relevance of the respective discipline is examined with regard to the specific architectural and design aspects of the task.
Learning objective	The subject semester includes the individual, independent processing of a specific task, whereby the relevance of the respective discipline is examined with regard to the specific architectural and design aspects of the task.
Content	TOPIC 1 (to choose from): Baroque period alterations to late Gothic vaults in Bavaria and Upper Austria Analogous to the construction principle of a wedge arch, masonry vaults are only stable when they are finished and closed. Opening a vault - for example for renovations or repairs - is therefore a delicate operation in which the stability of the entire structure is at stake. Nevertheless, such interventions were carried out in earlier centuries with the technical means available at that time. Methods and techniques that were used in historical vault conversions can be examined using a group of late Gothic churches in southeastern Bavaria and neighboring Upper Austria. These churches, which were built in the 15th century, are characterized by a common architectural feature: a pillar arranged in the central axis of the nave forms the central support of the vaults. This central pillar, which stood in the line of sight in front of the choir room and the high altar, was perceived as disturbing in the Baroque period, so it was removed in some cases. The vaults were usually not completely replaced, but only around the pillar removed and then - with a significantly larger span - closed again. How exactly such an operation took place has not yet been clarified and will be investigated as part of the semester through building research at several churches. To do this, the geometry of the vault is first recorded using a 3D laser scan. Traces of the renovation are documented in drawings and photographs. Insightful Findings can be found mainly on the top of the vault, i.e. in the attic of the church, e.g. Iron slugs with which the newly inserted vault was suspended from the wooden roof. A comparison of the different vaults should clarify to what extent the methods of the baroque master builders differ from case to case. Explanation of the findings from the investigation in a written paper (approx. 20 pages, plans, illustrations). Building research on the vaults: approx. Three work campaigns, each lasting several days. Objects of investigation: Churches of Anger and Tacherting, Spitalkirche von Braunau, Church of Hochburg-Ach. Information: Clemens Voigts voigts@arch.ethz.ch. TOPIC 2: The roof structure of the parish church of St. John the Baptist in Bernhardzell SG The parish church in Bernhardzell SG, consecrated in 1779, is the main work of the Vorarlberg master builder Johann Ferdinand Beer (1731–1789). This church, consecrated to John the Baptist, stands out from the typical St. Gallen country churches of saddle-roofed hall buildings in two ways: firstly, it is a central building and secondly, it is covered by a mansard roof. The aim of the semester is to thoroughly examine and document the almost 17 m wide roof structure of the Berhandzell Church. This includes an outline of the planning and construction history based on the published research literature. The history of the restoration of the church in the 20th century is to be processed using the tangible files in the archives. In addition to a detailed description, a 3D model of the roof structure including the cross arms is created, which is to serve as the basis for cuts along the main trusses. For individual nodes, such as the head and foot zones of the mansard construction and the hanging columns, isometric exploded views are to be created, at which the hidden carpentry-like connections and the built-in iron elements can be seen. In addition to the system of symbols, the various traces of processing and manufacturing on the wood are meticulously documented. The aim of the work will also be to didactically process the complex construction using the 3D model, plans and photos in order to make the roof of the church in Bernhardzell familiar to a wider audience.
Prerequisites / Notice	A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! The requirements for this subject semester are interest in the material as well as experience with and knowledge of historical wooden structures and the methods of building research. Ideally, the student has heard Prof. Holzer's lectures on construction history or does so during the semester. It is also beneficial to have attended the case studies exercise.
064-0005-20L	Advanced Topics in History and Theory of Architecture For Architecture doctoral program only.	1 credit	1K	T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, L. Stalder, P. Ursprung
Abstract	Corrective historiographies for architectural research
Learning objective	Acquiring insight into advanced research methods available to PhD-researchers in the fields of the history and theory of art and architecture.
Content	In an era of postcolonial theory and reflection, architectural historiography is faced with a series of new challenges and ambitions, concerning its subjects and its methods. This course will reflect upon three of them: the death of the author, center and meta-theory. A first point investigates how recent scholarship seems to dissociate from histories of single and all-decisive authors, to make way for perspectives that render buildings and neighborhoods as a matter of negotiation between multiple agencies. Second, this course will dwell upon the Euro-American bias of our histories, as well as its implicit center-periphery model, and look at recent attempts to tell more cross-cultural historiographies of architecture. Third, the course will discuss the strong meta-theoretical bias of postcolonial historiography (using theories of power, alterity, gender) and question if this has not resulted in disqualification of the material and formal presence of architecture in our history writing. This threefold change in architectural historiography seems to coincide with a shift in the contemporary discourses on the changing role of the architect, the cooperative character of architectural practice and the renewed interest in the craft. The course will question the productiveness of these resonances between historiography and design practice.
Lecture notes	Scans of selected texts for discussion and exercises will be provided at the beginning of HS 2020 on the course website: https://doctoral-program.gta.arch.ethz.ch/courses/advanced-methods-in-the-history-and-theory-of-architecture
Literature	Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 2011. Smith, Linda T. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed Books, 2012 Williams, Patrick, and Laura Chrisman. Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader. London: Routledge, 2015
Prerequisites / Notice	The seminar addresses the fellows of the Doctoral Program in History and Theory of Architecture. All other doctoral students of the Faculty of Architecture are welcome.