The Faculty of Architecture / Architecture (English taught)
3rd Year, sem 1, 2025-2026

IT-11E | Modern and Contemporary Architectural Theories (1)

Compulsory Course | Hours/Week: 2C | ECTS Credits: 3

Syllabus

Department:

History & Theory of Architecture and Heritage Conservation

Course Leader:

prof.dr.habil.arh. Celia Ghyka

Teaching language:

English

Learning outcomes:

The course examines architectural thinking and practice from the perspective of "theory in action" — that is, the direct and reciprocal relationship between theoretical discourse and architectural production. Starting from the premise that the 20th century marked "the end of certainties" (the collapse of grand modernist narratives, the crisis of functionalism, the fragmentation of architectural discourse), the course explores the diverse theoretical and practical strategies through which architects have responded to these crises: from the refinement of the concept of function into program, from the radical utopias of the 1960s to the recovery of memory and context, from the exploration of scale (bigness) to the return to typology and popular culture. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to recognize and analyze these strategies in concrete discourses and projects, articulate the reciprocal relationship between theory and practice, comparatively discuss major theoretical positions (Italian neo-rationalism, 1960s utopias, contextualism, postmodernism), and apply critical tools to evaluate architectural products in their historical, social, and cultural context. The aim is to form professionals capable of thinking critically, formulating analytical ideas using specialized language, and judging architecture as a cultural practice and profession of public interest.

Content:

Topics and authors:

— Introduction: the crises of the 20th century and the end of certainties. Theory after World War II: books, publications, exhibitions. Post-certainty strategies
— Function #1: concept and expression (Lodoli, Viollet-le-Duc, Boullée, Ledoux, Soane)
— Function #2: ideology and collapse (Sullivan, Le Corbusier, Meyer, CIAM, Team X)
— Program: the refinement of function (Stirling, Nouvel, Koolhaas, Perrault)
— Event and Utopia (Tschumi, Archigram, Superstudio, Friedman, Price) — Scale/Bigness (Ungers, Koolhaas)
— Typomorphology (Muratori, Caniggia)
— Type and memory: Italian neo-rationalism (Rogers, Rossi)
— Memory and the city (Rossi)
— Memory and context (Rogers, Rowe, Schumacher)
— Postmodernism: history and popular culture (Venturi, Scott Brown, Jencks)

Teaching Method:

The course is organized in lectures that examine images, videos, and texts. The course is dense and requires active participation and consistent reading. Students are asked to attend lectures and take notes. The course reader consists of a series of selected texts by established authors, grouped thematically and available on the course website. Some of these texts are in English, so good knowledge of English is desirable. The course includes a pedagogical tool called the "Detective Journal" — short weekly responses that encourage active reading and critical thinking.

Assessment:

Written exam (90%) + weekly Detective Journal (10%). To pass, a minimum grade of 5.00 on the written exam is required. The Detective Journal is evaluated based on completion (minimum 6 out of 10 entries) and quality (specific concept, concrete example, genuine question).

Bibliography:

Adrien Forty, On Words and Buildings. A Vocabulary of Modern Architecture, Thames & Hudson
Harry Francis Mallgrave & David Goodman, An Introduction to Architectural Theory: 1968 to the Present, 2011
Kate Nesbitt, Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press,1996
Jean-Louis Cohen, L'Architecture au futur depuis 1889, Phaidon.
Colin Rowe & Fred Koetter, Collage City, MIT Press, 1978
Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the City, MIT Press, 1982
Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, Steven Izenour, Learning from Las Vegas, MIT Press, 1972 / Lecția Las Vegas, Ed. UAUIM