Theory of Architecture : contemporary issues

Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.

3 credits

30.0 h

Teacher(s)

Chanvillard Cécile;

Language

French

Main themes

Critical review of recent theories
Demonstration and testing of sequencing and materiality for conceptual ideas relating to architectural procedures
Siting contemporary work in relation to the classical tradition, modern and post-modern approaches

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Specific learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to

recall the concepts covered during the first years of study and deepen their thinking on architecture in relation to current society.
analyse the theoretical and spatial issued raised by contemporary architecture since 1950.
place this analysis in the framework of different schools of thinking which have contributed, since the post war period, to a critical reinterpretation of modern language and its theoretical foundation.
develop architectural criticism and self criticism to understand architectural works, particularly contemporary ones.

Contribution to the learning outcomes reference network:
Build knowledge of architecture

Be familiar with and analyse the discipline's basic references
Develop knowledge and become an active participant in the learning process

Make use of other subjects

Seek out other approaches, exchanges of views and ways of enhancing thinking about architecture
Bring all this back to the original discipline

Use the technical dimension

Observe and assess the main construction principles that give architecture a formal, material and temporal dimension

Make committed choices

Make links between different methodological and epistemological perspectives

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Content

This course outlines the double nature of dwelling, made out of physical structures (house) and uses (home). Architecture cannot be separated from this dual character.
Over the course of humanity, the reality of dwelling is disrupted by a series of historical breaks. During these times of uncertainty, imagination addresses the shortcomings of the real world by producing utopias.
The concept of utopia is used for two different purposes.
On the one hand, it is used as a knowledge tool. The double nature of dwelling is analysed in various historical breaks through the critical lens of utopia.
On the other hand, it is used as a prospective tool. In this latter case, students are asked to depict our contemporary reality and to produce an utopian counterpart.

Faculty or entity

LOCI

Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme

Sigle

Credits

Prerequisites

Aims

Master [120] in Architecture (Bruxelles)

ARCB2M