052-0806-00L History and Theory of Architecture IV
| Semester | Spring Semester 2021 |
| Lecturers | L. Stalder |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Language of instruction | German |
Courses
| Number | Title | Hours | Lecturers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 052-0806-00 V | Architekturgeschichte und -theorie IV Keine Lehrveranstaltung am 25.3. (Seminarwoche), am 8.4. (Osterferien) sowie an Feiertagen und in den letzten 2 Wochen des Semesters (s. Raumbelegungen). Im Anschluss an die Lehrveranstaltung wird ein Tutoring (15-16 Uhr) im Zeichensaal HIL angeboten. | 2 hrs |
| L. Stalder |
Catalogue data
| Abstract | This two-semester course is an introduction to the history of architecture from the Second Industrial Revolution in the 1850s to the Oil Crisis in the 1970s in Europe. Students will be able to identify the “things”—technical objects and ensembles—that transformed architecture, and to relate them to the technical, scientific, and cultural concerns that introduced them as key features of modernity. |
| Learning objective | To introduce students to the history and theory of architecture, the course has three objectives. First, students will be able to identify the “things” that transformed architecture in modernity, and the crucial events, buildings, theories, and actors that characterize their history. Second, students will be able to describe how these “things” operated at different scales, focusing less on the formal level, and naming instead the different forms of expertise that constituted them historically, as well as the processes within which they were embedded. Third, students will be able to reflect on a series of apparatuses, devices, and building parts that are in fact micro-architectures which have often been neglected, despite their pivotal role in shaping the daily lives of modern societies. |
| Content | The course proposes a new approach to the study of the history and theory of architecture in Europe during modernity. It focuses less on single architects or their buildings, and more on those “things” that have brought profound transformations in the built environment and daily life over the last 200 years, such as the revolving door, the clock, and the partition. The notion of “thing” includes both the concrete building parts and the concerns associated with them, such as material performance, social synchronization, and individual expression. To understand buildings as assemblages of “things,” therefore, does not mean to diminish their significance, but on the contrary to add reality to them, to understand them in terms of the complex, historically situated, and diverse concerns within which they were designed. Each lecture introduces one “thing” through a genealogy that shaped it, from patents and scientific discoveries and technological advancement, to cinema, the visual arts, and literature. A set of renowned projects as well as lesser-known buildings from all around Europe offer a variety of case studies to describe these “things,” to understand how they operated in relation with one another, and to identify the theories and tactics that architects mobilized to make sense of them. |
| Lecture notes | https://stalder.arch.ethz.ch/lectures |
| Prerequisites / Notice | Location: 1. hour: Lecture: https://ethz.zoom.us/j/97527521638 2./3. hour: Seminars in groups on Zoom |
Performance assessment
| Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again) | |
Performance assessment as a two-semester course together with 052-0805-00L History and Theory in Architecture III | |
| For programme regulations (Examination block) | Bachelor's Degree Programme in Architecture 2016 (Examination Block 1) |
| ECTS credits | 4 credits |
| Examiners | L. Stalder |
| Type | session examination |
| Language of examination | German |
| Repetition | The performance assessment is offered every session. Repetition possible without re-enrolling for the course unit. |
| Mode of examination | written 120 minutes |
| Written aids | None |
|
Performance assessment as a semester course
(other programmes)
| |
| ECTS credits | 2 credits |
| Examiners | L. Stalder |
| Type | end-of-semester examination |
| Language of examination | German |
| Repetition | A repetition date will be offered in the first two weeks of the semester immediately consecutive. |
| Additional information on mode of examination | Die Semesterendprüfung findet zwischen dem 24.5. und dem 18.6. statt. Das genaue Prüfungsdatum wird von der Professur mitgeteilt. |
| If the course unit is part of an examination block, the credits are allocated for the successful completion of the whole block. This information can be updated until the beginning of the semester; information on the examination timetable is binding. | |
Learning materials
| Main link | Information |
| Only public learning materials are listed. | |
Groups
| No information on groups available. |
Restrictions
| There are no additional restrictions for the registration. |
Offered in
| Programme | Section | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture Bachelor | Examination Block 1 | O |  |
| GESS Science in Perspective | History | W | |