UNIVERSITY OF MALTA

FACULTY FOR THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Department of Architecture and Urban Design

COURSE AUD1201: History and Theory Studies 1

Lecture 1: INTRODUCTORY LECTURE: A bird’s eye view of the study-unit

The Study-Unit AUD1201

Course Outline

The first semester will focus on architectural movements which flourished from 1750 to-date.
The course of lectures will cover the main movements which flourished during this period. For
each movement identified, the significant salient characteristics are outlined through the
works of architects who are broadly classified to follow the architectural philosophy of a
given movement.

The scope of this course is not only to outline the developments of architectural movements
over the given period but to also provide a spectrum of various case studies which best
illustrate the architectural rational of the particular movement. Consequently, a significant
number of architects and their main works will be introduced during the course of the
lectures.

Reading List

Sharp, D., Twentieth Century Architecture: A Visual History

Frampton, K., Modern Architecture: A Critical History
Gössel, P., Architecture in the Twentieth Century
Watkin, D., A History of Western Architecture

Method of Assessment

Assignment: 25%
Examination (1.5 hours): 75%

How to Study History of Architecture

o Read architectural works within a broader context; note the works of an architect and/or
architectural movement within this context;
o Outline the main argument/philosophy of the architect and/or movement being studied;
o Read and understand case-studies through tracing/sketching of projects involved.
The Context of Modern History of Architecture

Definition

History of modern architecture “is as much about consciousness and polemical intent as it is
about buildings themselves” (Frampton)

Main revolutions which transformed world civilisation:

1. the agrarian revolution: leading to the first settlers, the first settlements, the onset of
urbanisation;
2. the industrial revolution: until then the east was more advanced that the west; this
revolution tipped the balance towards the latter; and
3. IT revolution: the times which we are living through; architecture is completely alienated
except for virtual designs. It is not addressing the new reality. Indeed, it is out of phase with
industrial developments by several decades!

1750
A convenient date to use as a bench mark for the beginning of ‘modern’ architecture; the
more one searches for the roots, the more one goes back in history.

By mid-18th century, there is the emergence of modern humanist disciples:

o Sociology: Montesquieu (1748), De l'esprit des loix (The Spirit of Laws)
o Aesthetics : Baumgarten (1750), Aesthetica (Aesthetics)
o History : Voltaire (1751), Le Siѐcle de Louis XIV (The Age of Louis XIV)
o Archaeology : Winckelmann (1764), Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums (History of
Ancient Art)

By mid-18th century, architects/theorists:

1. Questioned classical theory of Vitruvius exposed in his classical text The Ten Books of
Architecture; the main question asked: “What is the true architecture style?”; and
2. Started documenting remains of antiquity, including classical remains in Greece.

Development of modern architecture post enlightenment is characterized by the rational,

idealism of the new avant-garde (such as the planned utopian layout of Ledoux ideal city)
and the antirational, and utilitarian approach (such as the anticlassical mode of Pugin stated
in this text Contrasts).

Major transformations of the period 1750 to 1939

o Cultural transformations (led to the development of neoclassical architecture):

Neo-classical architecture 1750-1900
o Territorial transformations (urbanisation post industrial revolution):
Urban developments 1800-1909
o Industrial transformations (development is structural and civil such as railways, etc.)
engineering to address the emerging realities of the time):
Structural engineering 1775-1939

Lino Bianco
(09.10.2014)