Critical review of the most important architectural works from the nineteenth century to the contemporary.
Chief aims: the Course aims to provide students with the methodological tools
necessary for reading and interpreting the architecture of the
contemporary age. The lessons will briefly illustrate the developments of
the architectural activity through an appropriate selection of architects
and works presented in the cultural, social and economic context,
historicizing the role of the client, design guidelines, executive
techniques. The final aim will be to allow students to acquire basic
cognitive and critical means related to a reasoned knowledge of the
historical evolution of architecture from the end of the 18th century to
the 21st century, according to the articulation of its different
components; secondly, to stimulate reflection and research with
reference to the concrete planning effort required in other Courses. Main subjects
Neoclassicism in architecture: the renewed interest in Greco-Roman
architecture and the study of the Ancient, the archaeological discoveries
and the theoretical debate. Architecture in the Age of Enlightenment:
Boullée, Ledoux and Durand.
Nineteenth century
Architecture in the first half of the nineteenth century in German area.
Prussia: the work of Karl Friedrich Schinkel (New Guard Corps, Prose
Theater, Altes Museum, Friedrichwerder Church, Academy of
Architecture, project for a department store). Bavaria: Leo von Klenze
(Propylaea, Gliptoteca, Ruhmeshalle, Post Office, Royal Palace, Walhalla),
Friedrich von Gärtner (Victory Gate, Marshals’ Loggia).
Urban renewal and architecture in European capitals in the second half of
the nineteenth century. Growth and evolution of the city. Second Empire
Paris; Vienna and the Ring; Florence, Rome.
Architecture and engineering. The use of iron and glass; reinforced
concrete. From the first typological experiments to the end of the
century.
Looking for a "new style". The crisis of historicist Ectettism. Art Nouveau:
the work of Victor Horta. The Liberty (Raimondo d'Aronco, Giuseppe
Sommaruga, Giovanni Michelazzi). The work of Antoni Gaudí (Park Güell,
Casa Batlló and Milà, Sagrada Familia).
Twentieth century
Towards the new architecture. Otto Wagner's work: from the historicist
debut to the Secession and to the protorationalism (Länderbank,
Majolikahaus, Post Bank, St. Leopold am Steinhof, first and second
Wagner villas). Ornament and crime: the architectural research by Adolf
Loos (Michaelerplatz palace, Steiner, Scheu and Müller houses, project
for Chicago Tribune building). Auguste Perret and reinforced concrete
architecture between innovation and tradition (palace in rue Franklin,
garage in rue de Ponthieu, church of Notre-Dame de Consolation in Le
Raincy, house Cassandre, Public Works museum). Architecture and
industry: the Deutscher Werkbund, Peter Behrens (AEG turbine factory).
The role of the Avant-gardes. Futurism: urban vision and architectural
innovation in the Manifesto of Futurist architecture and in the drawings of
Antonio Sant'Elia. De Stijl's poetics: Theo van Doesburg, Gerrit Thomas
Rietveld (Schröder house, red-blue chair). Architecture and revolution:
the Russian Constructivism (Konstantin Melnikov: the Pavilion of the
Soviet Union at the Paris Exposition, Rusakov workers circle).
The masters of twentieth century architecture in the first half of the
twentieth century. Walter Gropius: from the Fagus factory to Bauhaus. Le
Corbusier: Domino and Citrohan houses, the immeuble-villa; the 5 points
of the new architecture and Villa Savoye. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: the
five projects, the Weissenhof, the German pavilion at the Barcelona
Universal Exposition, Tugendhat house.
Expressionism: Erich Mendelsohn (Einstein Tower, Schocken warehouses
in Stuttgart). Frank Lloyd Wright and organic architecture: from the
Chicago School to the Prairie Houses and the Cascade House.
Italian architecture between the two wars. Fascism and architecture: the
Case del Fascio, the offices of the ONB. Group 7 and Miar. The Station of
Florence, the University City of Rome, the major competitions. The work
of Giuseppe Terragni in Como (Novocomum, Sant'Elia nursery, Casa del
Fascio). The Other Modernity: Giovanni Muzio, Marcello Piacentini. The
turning point: E 42.
Post-Second World War Architecture. Post-war reconstruction. The
activities of the Masters: Le Corbusier (the Housing Unit of Marseille,
convent de la Tourette, chapel of Ronchamp, Chandigarh), Ludwig Mies
van der Rohe (IIT Campus, Farnsworth House, Seagram Building, New
National Gallery of Berlin), Frank Lloyd Wright (David Wright house,
Guggenheim museum). Aalvar Alto (Baker House, Ravaniemi civic center,
church of the Three Crosses of Imatra).
Beyond the Modern Movement. Oscar Niemeyer (Pampulha complex,
Casa das Canoas, Brasilia, Niterói Museum of Contemporary Art), Eero
Saarinen (Jefferson Memorial, General Motors Technical Center, Yale
University Ice Palace, TWA Terminal, Dulles Airport, CBS Skyscraper),
Louis Kahn (buildings in Dhaka, Exeter library). The Italian lesson: from
the Velasca tower to the Teramo courthouse. Luigi Moretti. The Post
Modern in the architecture of the eighties.
Trends in contemporary architectural research among minimalism,
expressionist structuralism, deconstructivism, hi-tech and the revival of
architectural tradition (Tadao Ando, Felix Candela, Santiago Calatrava,
Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano, Daniel Libeskind, Mario Botta). Crisis and
eclecticism of contemporary architecture.
Birth, development and crisis of the urban planning of the Modern
Movement: from Le Corbusier to New Urbanism and the urban
Renaissance.
Student reception - Examination procedures
During the first cycle (September-December 2019) the teacher will be
available to students for any clarification on the topics and methods of
the Course according to the calendar posted on-line, at the Department
of Architecture, Section PAr (blue scale, II ° floor) or, limited to synthetic
communications, to the e-mail address: m.villani@unich.it
The exam is individual: the student must demonstrate the knowledge of
historical-critical framing of the works and the topics dealt, also through
the aid of synthetic graphic schemes (plans, elevations, sections). Further
information regarding the examination procedures will be provided
during the Course.
General bibliography
Below are the basic texts for exam preparation, to complement the
content of the lessons. More detailed bibliographic references, aimed at
deepening the specific topics addressed, will be provided during the
lessons and / or during the reception hours:
S. CIRANNA, G. DOTI, M. L. NERI, Architecture and city in the nineteenth
century, Rome 2011
W. J. R. CURTIS, Modern Architecture from 1900, London 2005.