67474 - Theories of Architecture

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module, students will be able to understand the main theories of architectural design relating to the topic under study; they will develop a critical awareness of architectural design theory and its fundamental role in the design process. From a methodological point of view, through specific exercises, they will be able to analyze, understand and transform a context through a conscious critical operation.

Course contents

In the crisis faced by architecture, against a backdrop of social, political and environmental upheaval, there is a need to reconsider, from the current point of view, some of the experiences that have taken place since the late 1960s to the present day, with a view to identify strategies or principles for a collective European habitat, for simple architecture, for composite construction. Rationalism, evident or latent throughout those decades, is taken as a paradigm and guide for the cultural trajectory of this exploration, no longer for its certainties but for its useful incompleteness. The module aims to outline some principles of the project for a Naturalis Civitatis Ædificium of the multitude.

Readings/Bibliography

Architettura Razionale. XV Triennale di Milano, Sezione Internazionale di Architettura, Milano, Franco Angeli Editore, Milano, 1973;

La Reconstruction de la ville européenne. Rational Architecture Rationnelle. The Reconstruction of the European City, Bruxelles, Archives d’Architecture Moderne, 1978;

R. Gargiani, Eretici italiani dell’architettura razionalista. Ossatura, spazio e rivestimento, da Sant’Elia a Rossi, vol. 3, Razionalismi esaltati, nostalgici, radicali, 1967-1973, Skira, Milano, 2021;

R. Gargiani, Archizoom Associati 1966-1974, dall'onda pop alla superficie neutra, Electa, Milano, 2007;

R. Gargiani, B. Lampariello, Il Monumento Continuo di Superstudio, eccesso del razionalismo e strategia del rifiuto, Sagep Editori, Genova, 2019;

B. Lampariello, Aldo Rossi e le forme del razionalismo esaltato, Macerata, Quodlibet, 2017;

Léon Krier, Architecture & Urban Design, 1967-1992, London, Academy Editions, New York, St Martin’s Press, 1992;

R. Gargiani, The Incomplete Rationalism of OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, Walther König, Berlin, 2023;

R. Gargiani, Architetture & Teoremi di OFFICE. Angoli bramanteschi e vedute per angolo del XXI secolo, Campisano Editore, Roma, 2023

A. Rosellini, La tavola degli egualitari: note sull’architettura di Sophie Delhay, in “Piano B. Arti E Culture Visive”, 8 (2), pp. 224–250. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2531-9876/19624

A. Rosellini, Processi creativi di AFF Architekten per una architettura sociale, in “Archistor", 2020, VII, pp. 202-251. https://doi.org/10.14633/AHR205 ;

R. Gargiani, Atelier Kempe Thill, Soziale Fassade e Atrium Collettivo: Per un Razionalismo Antagonista Europeo, Skira, Milano, 2024.

Teaching methods

The course is organized through lectures and seminars.

Assessment methods

The teaching module exam will be taken jointly with the degree laboratory modules, and the assessment for suitability will consider the results achieved in the various laboratory activities. Suitability will combine the assessment of the exercises developed within the individual modules and an oral discussion on the content of the activities carried out during the course.

The exam assessment will depend on the quality of the discussion, with reference to the bibliography of each module. Importance will be given to the ability to use appropriate and correct disciplinary terminology.

Further details will be provided as the course progresses.

Teaching tools

Each student should have the tools needed to work on the project, both for hand drawing and digital drawing. All drawings and documents will be developed based on a layout that will be provided at the start of the course. Architectural models will be developed.

The relevant teaching materials will be made available to students in digital format on the UNIBO VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/).

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Gargiani