Most contemporary ideas in architecture can be traced to the debates of the nineteenth century: the idea that there should be a modern style appropriate to the present, that the form of a building should express its construction, and that architecture has a social dimension. In this tutorial students will closely read some of the period's principal theoretical manifestos, including works by Pugin, Heinrich Huebsch, Viollet-le-Duc and Eidlitz. Regular writing assignments will stress close reading of texts, the problem of translating theoretical ideas into built architecture, and larger issues of how one writes about architecture.
Knowledge of German or French helpful, but not necessary. Consent of the instructor required.