On Contemporary Architecture

Please note first class takes place on Tuesday, January 30.This lecture course will follow the latest episodes in contemporary architecture. The development of a critical perspective is, in my view, one of the ways of understanding the architect\’s initial goals, their immediate references, the particular cultural challenges, and the specific issues to be resolved. Our consideration of these conditions will allow us to establish a criticism from within the discipline of architecture.We will focus on specific buildings with a clear objective: to analyze how these buildings have been designed. In addition to the consideration of theoretical and cultural questions, I would like to revisit the architect\’s intentions and the architectural design process. While it is very difficult to make general considerations about methodology, I do believe it is feasible with specific buildings and so we will focus on buildings that I have visited and that allow me to talk of both the results and the intentions. We will judge how the architects\’ resolved their stated objectives and the tools they employed. Once more we will base our research on individuals, and even moreso on specific buildings, instead of analyzing a style or a school.We will examine the following buildings in an effort to establish the architect\’s intent for them and how the design was developed. The proposed buildings would be:Class Schedule:Tuesday, January 30: The roles of critics: an exam of the new criticism vis-a-vis the modernist criticsWednesday, January 31: ALVARO SIZA – Church at Marco de Canaveces Tuesday, February 27 : FRANK GEHRY – Guggenheim Musuem in BilbaoWednesday, February 28 : PETER EISENMAN – City of Culture of GaliciaThursday, March 1 : RAFAEL MONEO – Kursaal in San SebastianTuesday, April 3 : STEVEN HOLL – Simmons Hall at MITWednesday, April 4 : KAZUYO SEJIMA/RYUE NISHIZAWA – Novartis Pharma WSJ-157 in BaselThursday, April 5 : HERZOG & DE MEURON – Schaulager Building in BaselTuesday, May 1: JEAN NOUVEL – Agbar Tower in BarcelonaWednesday, May 2 : THOM MAYNE – CalTrans District 7 Headquarters in Los AngelesThursday, May 3 : REM KOOLHAAS – Casa da Musica Oporto