11212 Architectural History and Theory: Orientations
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2024 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
This survey course introduces key themes in the history and theory of architecture by tracing (dis)continuities in the production, habitation, and transformation of the built environment up to the 1800s. It follows a structure that grows in concentric circles from the sub-national to the national, regional and global scales. The course takes a relational approach and connected understanding towards the 'non-Western' architectural histories that are often neglected by introducing different architectural moments and its contexts in various places around the world.
We begin with the emergence of the first urban societies from various localities and gradually expand to examine how different societies translated each other’s ideas and appropriated foreign objects and forms. Hence, the course aims to explores how the history of the built environment is constituted through its connections and overlaps with other geographical configurations that will help produce a more global perspective of history. In that sense, although the course is broad in scope, it is not an encyclopaedia. Rather it tries to provide a framework for learning and discussion which includes the context in which these architectures are built, how they are situated in the landscape, as well as understanding the socio-political structures in which these works were designed and created.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Acquire a knowledge base of the different types of historical built environment in various parts of the world. |
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| 2. | Gain an understanding of the requisite theories and concepts to describe, analyse, and debate particular architectural transformation arising from a dynamic social and cultural situation. |
| 3. | Draw connections between architecture and the expanded fields including but not limited to: philosophy, literature, anthropology, social sciences, and/or current issues. |
| 4. | Earn a preliminary understanding of how historical changes in the built environment take place in relation to certain structures and agencies. |
| 5. | Demonstrate basic competency in formulating formal written arguments, interpretations of texts and visuals for meaning, academic referencing and research. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Work cooperatively and professionally as part of a team (C.1)
- Communicate ideas professionally and effectively through a variety of mediums: oral, written, visual, physical and digital (C.2)
- Produce inspirational responses that demonstrate the successful integration of sub-disciplinary areas of knowledge: history, theory, tectonics and/or practice (I.1)
- Respond to a comprehensive brief within the disciplinary context (P.3)
- Integrate an understanding of a relationship between form, materiality, structure and construction within design thinking (P.5)
- Position work within an extended and critically reasoned context through the identification, evaluation and application of relevant academic references and architectural case studies (R.1)
- Independently analyse, synthesise and formulate complex ideas, arguments and rationales and use initiative to explore alternatives (R.3)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
The term CAPRI is used for the five Design, Architecture and Building faculty graduate attribute categories where:
C = communication and groupwork
A = attitudes and values
P = practical and professional
R = research and critique
I = innovation and creativity.
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) are linked to these categories using codes (e.g. C-1, A-3, P-4, etc.).
Teaching and learning strategies
Weekly on campus: 2 hrs lecture, 1 hr tutorial
The subject will be delivered through a combination of lectures and small group discussions and tasks. The lectures will be a place of engagement with topics and case studies. Each week you will be expected to prepare for the lectures and tutorials by reviewing reading and visual materials as noted in the Subject Outline. You will attend lectures where you must be prepared to interact, ask questions and address the discussion points in order to optimize the group’s transmission and retention of knowledge. The small group tutorials are offered to assist you through individual and group investigation of topics and to encourage debate. Student participation and understanding in lectures and tutorials will rely on a degree of individual reading and research. In the weekly pattern outlined below the contact hours will usually comprise two hours of lectures followed by a one-hour tutorial. This pattern may be varied to accommodate site visits, workshops, guest lectures, group work, or other topical events as they occur.
Collaborative Learning
UTS staff believe that collaborative peer learning enhances learning. You are encouraged to work in design clusters throughout the whole semester. You will be encouraged at all times to work in small teams for your initial investigation of tasks and as peer support throughout your development.
Online Coursework
There are a number of online resources used to support the learning objectives of this subject. A detailed overview of the pedagogy and associated tasks and assessment items are included in the DAB Generic Information Handbook. There is also online resource of essential and recommended readings and viewings.
All documents are accessible from UTS Online or through the e-reading facilities of UTS Library.
Feedback
The subject provides a range of formative feedback strategies.
1. All assessments will be graded in Canvas.
2. The subject is designed around the progressive development of three distinctive assessment tasks. In this sense weekly tutorial sessions aim to help you progressively to develop your project tasks and respond to your questions about the subject. It is therefore vital you complete the work outlined in the Subject Outline to receive useful formative feedback.
An aim of this subject is to help you develop academic and professional language and communication skills in order to succeed at university and in the workplace. To determine your current academic language proficiency, you are required to complete an online language screening task, OPELA (information available at https://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/learning-and-teaching/enhancing/language-and-learning/about-opela-students) [or a written diagnostic task]. If you receive a Basic grade for OPELA [or the written diagnostic task], you must attend additional Language Development Tutorials (each week from week [3/4] to week [11/12] in order to pass the subject. These tutorials are designed to support you to develop your language and communication skills. Students who do not complete the OPELA and/or do not attend 80% of the Language Development Tutorials will receive a Fail X grade.
Content (topics)
Topics of the lecture will cover the history and theory of the built environment from the first urban settlements until the 1800s. The course aims to provide a more global view by introducing different architectural moments and transformations arising from various socio-cultural interactions between different nations and regions as outlined below (program).
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Presentation
| Intent: | This task is aimed to develop your analytical and communication skills as researchers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 3 and 5 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): C.1, C.2, I.1, P.3 and R.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Presentation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Group, group assessed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 20% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 10 minute presentation, 5 min Q&A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria: | In groups of three or four, select two buildings to compare and analyse by breaking them down into any of the four following themes: 1) context, 2) plan and section, 3) materials and light quality, and 4) use. The number of themes must coincide with the size of each group (i.e. groups of three will choose three themes to compare and analyse; groups of four will explore all four themes). The research will be presented during the assigned tutorial time (10-12 min) and will be evaluated in terms of 1) richness and specificity of observations, and your ability to 2) use images in relation to your argument. Please refer to Assignment #1 Handout (to be distributed in lecture) for more detail. A softcopy of the presentation material is to be submitted to your tutorial group’s folder in Canvas. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Research Note
| Intent: | This task is aimed to develop your basic research skills in preparation for fomulating an illustrated essay of a chosen building. Students are to choose one buildings and produce a research note (500-600 words) with images, footnotes, and a bibliography, which develops one of the four following themes: 1) context, 2) plan and section, 3) materials and light quality, and 4) use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 2, 3 and 5 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): I.1, P.5, R.1 and R.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Literature review | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 30% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 500-600 words excluding footnotes and bibliography | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria: | Students are to choose one buildings and produce a research note (500-600 words) with images, footnotes, and a bibliography, which develops one of the four following themes: 1) context, 2) plan and section, 3) materials and light quality, and 4) use. The research note should also examine two resources (i.e. an online resource to a section in A Global History of Architecture, or between journals, books etc.) and describe the differences in the organisation of information, point of view, analysis, emphasis, visualisation, and use of sources between them. Please include any footnotes and bibliography. An example of this comparison will be provided in the lecture. To be submitted to your tutorial group's folder in Canvas. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Illustrated Essay
| Intent: | This milestone task is aimed to develop your analytical and written skills as researchers. Students are to submit a written essay (1,500 words, double-spaced) with an abstract (200-300 words) and a bibliography on a building of their choice. This assessment will be assessed for English language proficiency. You will be directed to further language support after the completion of this subject if your language is below the required standard. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 2, 4 and 5 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): C.2, I.1, P.3, R.1 and R.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Essay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 50% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1,500 words essay (excluding footnotes and bibliography) with 250-300 word abstract | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria: | Using the research note from the previous excercise, students are to write an essay (1500 words, double spaced) which develops one of the four following themes: 1) context, 2) plan and section, 3) materials and light quality, and 4) use. The essay should have a title, supported by images (diagrams, plans, sections, sketches etc), and at least five references (including but not limited to journal articles, books, chapters, newspaper articles, online articles, archival documents etc.) with an abstract (200-300 words). To be submitted to your tutorial group's folder in Canvas. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment. Pursuant to “UTS Rule 3.8.2”, students who do not satisfy the attendance requirements may be refused permission by the Responsible Academic Officer to be considered for assessment for this subject. Students can make themselves familiar with all University rules here: https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-governance/rules/uts-student-rules
Students are expected to come to tutorials adequately prepared having read weekly reading materials
It is a requirement of this subject that all students complete OPELA [or a written diagnostic task]. Students who received a Basic grade in the OPELA [or the written diagnostic task] are required to attend 80% of the Language Development Tutorials in order to pass the subject. Students who do not complete the OPELA and/or do not attend 80% of the Language Development Tutorials will receive a Fail X grade.
Required texts
This subject does not require specific text books to be purchased. However, students are expected to have read the 'background readings' prior to attending each lecture. Full details of all readings required for the lecture and/or tutorial discussions is provided in the subject outline. Such readings is made available either from the library or digitally in e-Readings. In addition, individual students will need to find for themselves academic papers and books for the research tasks.
Recommended texts
Ching, F. D.K., Jarzombek, M., and Prakash, V. 2010. A Global History of Architecture (2nd edition). London: Wiley.
References
Ching, F. D.K., Jarzombek, M., and Prakash, V. 2006. A Global History of Architecture. London: Wiley.
Dixon Hunt, J. 1994. Gardens and the Picturesque: Studies in the History of Landscape Architecture. Cambridge, Mass: MIT.
Dixon Hunt, J. and Willis, P., eds. 1988. The Genius of the Place: The English Landscape Garden 1620-1820. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Doxiadis, C., 1972. Architectural Space in Ancient Greece. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dumbarton Oaks: http://www.doaks.org/resources
Etlin, R., 1994. Symbolic Spcae: French Enlightenment Architecture and its Legacy. Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press.
Evans, R. 1995. The Projective Cast: Architecture and Its Three Geometries. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Farhat, G., 2013, André Le Nôtre in perspective, Paris : Hazan ; New Haven : distributed by Yale University Press.
Fletcher, R., 2013, Infinite Measure, Learning Design in Geometric Harmony with Art, Architecture and Nature, Staunton, VA., Thompson.
Gerbino, A., 2014. Geometrical Objects, Architecture and the Mathematical Sciences 1400-1800, London, Springer.
Girot C., 2016. The Course of Landscape Architecture: A History of Our Designs on the Natural World, from Pre-history to the Present. London: Thames and Hudson.
Hersey, G. 1988. The Lost Meaning of Classical Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
James, J. 1982. Chartres: The Masons who built a Legend. London: Routledge.
Jellicoe, G. A., and S. Jellicoe. 1987. The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present Day. London: Thames and Hudson.
Kostof, S. 1995. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kruft, H.W. 1994. A History of Architectural Theory from Vitruvius to the Present. London: Zwemmer.
Mallgrave, H.F., ed. 2006. Architectural Theory. Volume 1: An Anthology from Vitruvius to 1870. London: Blackwell
Publishing.
Middleton, R., ed. 1982. The Beaux-Arts and Nineteenth-Century French Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Onians, J. 1988. Bearers of Meaning: The Classical Orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Princeton: PUP.
Padovan, R., 1999. Proportion: Science, Philosophy, Architecture. London: Spon Press.
Rabinow, P., French Modern: Norms and Forms of the Social Environment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rykwert, J. 1980. The First Moderns: The Architects of the Eighteenth Century. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Sennett, R. 2002. Flesh and Stone: The Body and the City in Western Civilization. London: Penguin.
Steinberg, Leo., 1977. Borromini’s San Carlo alla Quattro Fontane: a Study in Multiple Form and Architectural Symbolism. NY: Garland.
Summerson, J. 1995. The Classical Language of Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Tzonis, A. & Lefaivre, L. 1986. Classical Architecture: The Poetics of Order. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Watkin, D. 2005. A History of Western Architecture (4th Edn), New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.
Weiss, A., Mirrors of Infinity: the French Formal Garden and Seventeenth-Century Metaphysics. NY: Princeton Architectural Press.
Williams, K., and Ostwald, M. J., 2015, Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future, London, Springer.
Wittkower, R., 1949. Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, London: Academy Editions.
Wölfflin, H., 1966. Renaissance and Baroque. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.