93641 - Construction History Workshop T-2

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student has a historical-critical knowledge of the main experiences of architecture from the origins of modern architecture to present architecture and knows the fundamental episodes of the artistic production of the twentieth century.

Course contents

The course aims to introduce students to the knowledge of contemporary Italian and international architecture through the study of significant works, personalities and issues. A chronological span from the mid-18th century to the present will be studied, taking into consideration both urban and architectural design, privileging the analysis of certain main themes such as the truth and nature of materials, the role and forms of structure and its relationship to space and ornament. The experiences of the masters of architecture will be also presented, examining, in addition to architectural images and drawings, theoretical texts and references, including those outside the specifics of the discipline, that help to reconstruct the history of architecture in the chronological span considered.

The main tools of historical research will be illustrated, presented to the students in a simplified form, in order to let them know how to use and eventually dispose of them.

The study of different architectural experiences will enable the student to compare a range of issues that may suggest possible personal research projects. The student will thus possess a basic knowledge of the main themes, architects, architectural languages and architectures that have characterized the history of contemporary architecture. The student will also be able to apply the methods of the historical-critical analysis of architecture to specific contexts, giving evidence of the results of such analyses through the identification of the structuring features of the contexts on the basis of their physical, socio-cultural and aesthetic-perceptual connotations, as well as their preservation needs and enhancement potential.

 

MODULE 1 (Prof. Ilaria Cattabriga)

PART 1 - The use of historicized languages

Neoclassic architecture (1750-1900); Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Neoclassicism in Italy: Valadier in Rome and Piermarini in Milan

Technical transformations: structural engineering (1775-1939)

Ecclectism and Historicism

The idea of a modern architecture for the XIX century

PART 2 – History, project and restoration

Structural Rationalism: from Viollet Le Duc to Art Nouveau

John Ruskin

Italy: Camillo Boito and Gustavo Giovannoni

PART 3 – Architecture and Techniques, structure and ornament

Gottfried Semper and the principle of coating architecture

Crystal Palace and Tour Eiffel

Chicago School and the origin of the skyscraper

Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus

German Expressionism

PART 4: Applied arts and domestic architecture

Joseph Maria Olbrich and Joseph Hoffmann

“Arts and Crafts”, William Morris e John Ruskin

Antoni Gaudì

Vanguards

Deutsche Werkbund

PART 5: The Masters

Le Corbusier

Mies van der Rohe;

Frank Lloyd Wright

Louis I. Kahn;

PART 6: The XX century from Italy to the International scene

Italian Rationalism;

The Italian Reconstruction

“Community”: Adriano Olivetti, Danilo Dolci, Carlo Doglio

Carlo Scarpa

Gio Ponti

“Mega-year” (1964) and the visions of the future city: definition of megastructure, Metabolism, Archigram

Radicals in Italy: Superstudio and Archizoom

Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhas, Herzog and De Meuron.

 

MODULE 2 (Prof. Matteo Cassani Simonetti)

History of Bologna (1945-1985)

 

MODULE 3 (Prof. Giovanni Leoni)

Fernando Távora and the School of Porto

 

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliographic references and related materials will be provided lecture by lecture on VIRTUALE.

Teaching methods

Ex-cathedra lectures.

Exercise in reading the architectural factory in its formal and constructive components.

Guided tours on sites of Bologna.

Monographic seminars on topics chosen by the lecturer and related to the course content.

Assessment methods

The exercises will be evaluated throughout the year and will contribute to the final grade.

The final exam will consist of an interview designed to test knowledge of what is presented in the classroom and what is contained in the bibliographic materials collected on VIRTUALE.

Teaching tools

virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Leoni

See the website of Matteo Cassani Simonetti

See the website of Ilaria Cattabriga