Selected Topics in Architectural History and Theory: Architecture as Environmental Media
ARC3320H S
Instructors: Jason Nguyen
Meeting Section: LEC0101
Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Architecture has often been understood as something that must resist the forces of nature, whether they be dirt, rain, wind, and fire or the intrusion of plants, animals, and other non-human life. Yet, the very real threats of climate change as well as discourses on “resilience” are prompting many people to reconceive and even discard the longstanding nature-culture divide.
This course considers how architecture has mediated, interacted with, and mobilized the elements and ecologies of the natural world. The aim is to conceive architecture—and design more broadly—not as a fixed composition but instead as an adaptable infrastructure that unites cultural and ecological forces to support different forms of life and society. How might we theorize architecture as a kind of environmental media, and what are the ethical and political consequences of this orientation?
The seminar covers a range of designed things (buildings, landscapes, and cities as well as tools and instruments, ships, planes, and other technologies) from across diverse geographies and historical periods. We begin by studying different philosophies of the natural world as they concern the conception and construction of architecture. We then examine instances in which architecture engaged the elements and forces in the natural world: earth, water, air, and fire as well as plants, animals, and other forms of biotic life. We conclude by ruminating on the ethics and politics of architecture and design in the age of the Anthropocene. Readings, discussions, and writing exercises will lead to a final project of each student’s choosing.
Diller Scofidio, Blur Building (2002), Swiss Expo, Verdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
Image: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fatmospherics3.wordpre…