Fnar 394 / Rost 390 Special Topics: Architecture in rome
Summer 2009
Professor Debora White, Registered Architect
Cell phone: 340-219-2859
Home phone: 06-3630-7785
Class meeting times: Tuesday /Thursday 9:00 AM - 12:20 PM
Office hours: TBD Rm. 104
ALL CLASSES ARE ON-SITE. Proposed site visits and readings described below are subject to change. Students should anticipate needing approximately €60 to cover bus tickets and entrance fees to monuments and museums during this course.
Course Description:
Was the Emperor Hadrian, designer of the Pantheon, also an architect? How did he reward the architect who he asked to comment on his drawings? How did Michelangelo’s training as a sculptor and painter revolutionize town planning in his design of the Piazza Campidoglio? In this introduction to the profession of architecture from the Roman Empire to the present, we will explore the relationship between the architect and society throughout the history of Rome by learning what it was like to be the designer of the piazzas, monuments and churches we visit throughout the city. We will also investigate the challenges current architects face in developing plans for Rome of the 21st century by visiting significant contemporary Roman buildings. Finally, we will learn about the current practice of architecture, including the education and daily work of an architect by visiting a working architect’s office.
Learning Outcomes:
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To understand the social and economic context in which architects described in your history classes created the Rome of today.
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To see how the social trends, technologies, and political structures that exist when important civilizations are created influence the design of buildings and cities.
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To learn about the daily work of an architect, then and now, and how design professionals view and understand the city.
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To use drawing as a method of recording the essence of our observations, with no need for artistic skill.
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To possibly be inspired to pursue a career that draws on your Rome experience, as the instructor was based on her studies at Loyola University Rome Center in 1978-79 (see attached photos of instructor’s work).
Course Requirements and Grading:
Class attendance and participation 15% You are expected to attend each class, to read the assigned material prior to class, and to be prepared with questions and comments for discussion. The quality of this discussion-based course depends on students’ preparation.
Student led class discussions 15% Each student will lead a discussion of one week of reading assignments during the semester. Specific assignments will be given in advance of each class.
Sketchbook 20% A sketchbook of drawing and writing will graphically document what we visit. Instruction in drawing as a way of seeing and recording information will help you use the sketchbook as a tool to understand the architecture of Rome. Documenting what we see by annotated drawing forces us to learn about essential physical patterns and relationships in our environment in a way that photography and writing alone cannot. The sketchbook will be evaluated three times during the semester for the depth of descriptive content, not beauty or artistic skill.
Final Paper: 20% The final paper will allow you to investigate one of the topics of the course in more detail through reading and internet research. Topics will be pre-discussed with the instructor.
Final exam: 30%
Required text:
The following text can be purchased at the bookstore and is also on reserve in the JFRC library. Class discussion topics, final paper topics and exam topics are found in this text and others on reserve. All reading assignments described are in this text, as well as additional handouts and internet links, unless otherwise noted.
Architecture in Rome: History & Practice – Selected Readings. This reader has been compiled for your convenience. Full versions of the included texts are available as noted in the reader’s table of contents. All texts noted in the JFRC library are on reserve.
COURSE TOPICS, SITE VISIT SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
The following plan represents my best prediction as to how class will proceed:
Introduction to the Profession of Architecture
#1 – May 19 - Location: Loyola Rome Center
· Summary of course goals and expectations
· The definition of architecture, role of an architect
· The determinants and tools of architectural design
· The architectural design process
· Sketching lessons
Architecture of Ancient Rome: Theory, Technology and Practice
#2 – May 21 - Proposed locations: Roman Forum, Colosseum (€12 fee), Trajan’s Markets (€5 fee), Piazza del Campidogio
Read for this class:
- Ching. Design Drawing pp. 1-12 Introduction
- Ching. A Global History of Architecture pp. 154-163 Forum & Colosseum
- Nicholson Art in Rome Manual pp. 1-8 The Main Periods, The Visual Arts: Architecture
- Roam. The Back of the Napkin
- Waldrep. Becoming An Architect pp. 1-10 The Definition of an Architect: What Do Architects Do?
- Nicolaides. The Natural Way to Draw pp.1-22 How to Use this Book, Section 1: Contour and Gesture
Architecture of Ancient Rome: Innovation, Preservation and Re-use
#3 – May 26 – Proposed locations: Pantheon, Ara Pacis (€6.50 fee) and Piazza Augusto Imperatore
Submit sketchbooks for review
Read for this class:
- Ching. A Global History… pp. 192-194 Pantheon
- Kostof. The Architect: Chapters in the History of the Profession pp. 28-58 Roman Architects
- Vitruvious. The Ten Books of Architecture Table of Contents and pp. 1-32
- http://en.arapacis.it watch video interview with Richard Meier and English description of the Meier Ara Pacis Museum project
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/aug/13/architecture.art article about the politics of building in Rome today
Early Christian Architecture
#4 – May 28 – Proposed locations: Santa Costanza, Sant’Agnese fuori le Mura and catacombs (€3 fee)
Read for this class:
- Ching. A Global History… pp. 237-239 Emergence of Christianity
- Kostof. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals pp. 2-18 The Study of What We Built (in reader), pp. 245-260 The Triumph of Christ (on reserve)
- Kostof. The Architect: Chapters in the History of the Profession pp. 59-95 The Architect in the Middle Ages, East and West
- Yarwood, Doreen. The Architecture of Europe – 14 pages of drawings of Rome
- www.santagnese.org/catacombe.htm
Architectural Practice in the High Renaissance
#5 – June 2 – Proposed locations: Saint Peter’s Basilica and Piazza
Read for this class:
- Ching. A Global History… pp. 458-459 St. Peter’s Basilica
- Kostof. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals pp. 485-509 Popes as Planners (on reserve)
- Kostof. The Architect: Chapters in the History of the Profession pp. 124-160 The New Professionalism in the Renaissance
- Wittkower, Rudolf. Architectural Principals in the Age of Humanism Introduction and Contents
The Renaissance Architect in Search of the Ideal
#6 – June 4 – Proposed locations: Tempietto and Villa Farnesina (€4 fee)
Submit sketchbooks for review
Read for this class:
- Alberti, Leone Battista. On the Art of Building in Ten Books pp. v-vi Editor’s Forward and xvii-xx Table of Contents
- Ching. A Global History… p. 457 Tempietto Ching & pp. 485-487 Italian High Renaissance
- Kostof. The Architect: Chapters in the History of the Profession pp. 96-123 The Emergence of the Italian Architect during the Fifteenth Century
- http://www.lincei.it/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=27 Villa Farnesina
Baroque Architecture and the Integration of Complexity
#7 – June 9 – Proposed locations: Santa Maria degli Angeli, Santa Maria della Vittoria, San Carlino alle Quattro Fontagne and Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale
Read for this class:
- Ching. A Global History… pp. 502-506 Baroque Italy
- Ching. A Global History… pp. 638 Ecole Des Beaux-Arts
- http://vasi.uoregon.edu/ Review this interactive site comparing 18th century cartography with perspective prints of Rome (also compare to Yarwood drawings)
A Modern Interpretation of Roman Baroque
#8 – June 11 – Proposed location: Jubilee Church
Final Paper due
Read for this class:
- Architectural Record magazine - articles # 2, 5 & 6 in reader on Meier and the politics of Modern Architecture in Rome
- Ching A Global History… p. 690 Modernism, p.715 Italian Fascist Architecture, p.746 Postmodernism
- Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead 1948 - watch movie available from instructor (optional reading: novel is in LURC library)
- Yarwood, Doreen. The Architecture of Europe pp. 525-528 20th Century Architecture in Italy
- http://www.richardmeier.com/ review office website, especially Jubilee church description by clicking on: projects – type – civic – Jubilee Church
- http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4168 - interview with Richard Meier re: Jubilee church
- http://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/exhibition/en/62184.html - Venice Biennale 9/14-11/23/08 – Rome Exhibit: “The Uneternal City”
- http://www.mimoa.eu/browse/projects/Italy/Rome/ Survey of modern architecture of Rome
The Challenge of Modern Architecture in Rome
#9 – June 16 – Proposed locations: Palazzetto dello Sport, City of Music, Museum of the Arts of the 21st Century (MAXXI)
Submit sketchbooks for review
Read for this class:
- Architectural Record magazine - articles #1 & 3 in reader on Astra Zarina & Zaha Hadid
- http://www.mimoa.eu/projects/Italy/Rome/Palazzetto%20dello%20Sport Palazzetto dello Sport by Pier Luigi Nervi
- http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2002/05/52597 City of Music by Renzo Piano
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E6D6133FF930A3575AC0A96E958260 City of Music by Renzo Piano
- http://rpbw.r.ui-pro.com/ review Renzo Piano office website
- http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10075- MAXXI museum by Zaha Hadid
- http://www.maxxi.darc.beniculturali.it/english/progettoarchitettonico.htm video interview of Zaha Hadid on MAXXI Museum
- http://www.zaha-hadid.com/ review Zaha Hadid office website
The Current Practice of Architecture in Rome and the U.S.
#10 – June 18 – Proposed locations: Architectural office of ma0, with Cornell Professor of Architecture Alberto Iacovoni OR Architectural Office of Massimiliano Fuksas
Read for this class:
- www.ma0.it review office website
- http://howdesignworks.aia.org/casestudy-house.cfm watch American Institute of Architects (AIA) video on design process
- AIA contract documents for DWA projects (handout)
- Kidder, Tracy. House 1985
- www.fuksas.it review office website and watch Fuksas interview on “the cloud” building by clicking on English/Projects/Conference Hall/Congress Center Roma EUR/Video
- http://www.wantedinrome.com/articles/complete_articles.php?id_art=833 re: the cloud
- http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/architecture/interviews/fuksas-looks-to-the-future,215,AR.html
- Architectural Record magazine - articles #4 & 7 in reader on Fuksas
Note: Topics, class locations, specific readings, and dates are subject to change.
