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Architecture, Theory & Criticism_Summary

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Course
Architecture, theory and criticism (AM0004)

Institution
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)

This summary includes: - Summary of the syllabus, powerpoints (Veronique) and texts (Gideon) - Lesson notes incorporated into the summary as well as the examples given in class - Texts with highlights and comments (Gideon) 1st semester, 2023, lesson 1 - 6 Veronique Patteuw and lesson 7 - 12 G...

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Uploaded on January 25, 2024
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Type Summary

architecture
theory
criticism
english
philosophy
master
first semester

Institution
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
Education
Architectuur
Course
Architecture, theory and criticism (AM0004)

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Architecture, theory and
criticism
01_Acceleration
Architecture theory as a tool
What is architecture theory?
• “The architect is a mason who learned Latin” – Adolf Loos
• What is architecture theory
o Thinking, discussing and writing about architecture
o Architecture as a theoretical construction
o There is no architecture without saying what architecture is.
• Why is it interesting to know something about theory or history?
o Architecture theory and history provide us with positions
• What will we do?
o Reading and writing about architecture
o Provide terminology, concepts, schemes to talk about architecture
o The slow medium of text wil be central
• Towards a multiple definition
o Concepts
 Architectural theory is the body of ideas and concepts
• Provides the architect with a basis for developing a responsible practice
 Concerned with the specific components of architecture, its constructive, formal and spatial means
o Positioning
 Architecture theory defines what architecture is
• It provides insight into its essential characteristics
 Reflects on the role of architecture in society
• It describes its cultural and social significance
o Quality standards
 Architecture theory also develops quality standards that architecture worthy of its name must meet.
• In doing so, it also implies standards by which projects and buildings can be evaluated
o Why is something interesting?
Theory vs history
• History
o Facts, year, name, …
o How are these facts following each other in time?
 Search for precedents
• Theory
o Concepts
 How do different architects think of architecture in a certain time period?
 Coherence within one moment in time

, • Three major Challenges of architectural theory
o Design methodology
o A vision of architecture and society
 References and priorities
o A socio-professional position
 Role
The spaces of architecture theory
• Treaties
o De Architecttura - Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
o I Quattro Libri Dell’ Architecttura - Andrea Palladio
o De re aedificatoria - Leon Battista Alberti
o The seven books on architecture - Sebastiano Serlio
o  books to explain how architecture should be made
 First form of architectural theory
• Avant-garde magazines
o L’Esprit Nouveau
o De Stijl
o DasAndere
o G
 Unrealised project + why it didn’t come true
o  made by architects themselves
• Periodicals
o Architectural Design, 1973
o Archithese, 1975
o Casabella, 1975
o L’architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 1976
o Oppositions, 1973
o Assemblage, 1986
o Perspecta, 2010
o AA files, 2013
o OASE, 1981
o  Magazines publish texts of architects
• Anthologies
o Theorie de la’architecture
o Architecture culture
o Theorizing a new agenda for architecture theory
o Constructing a new agenda
o Dat is architectuur
 Hilde Heynen
 Series of texts from end 19th century to begin 20th century0
o The SAGE handbook of architectural theory
o Architectural theory
o  books that have been made, collecting all voices of architects
 Series of texts by architects and thinkers of architecture theory
Aims and limitations
• Aims and attitudes
o Increase your awareness of the history of architecture in the late twentieth century
 Better understand contemporary practice in the light of recent history

, o Develop critical and analytical skil s needed to understand the sociopolitical context in which architectural practice
operates.
o Develop research, writing and speaking skil s, and the ability to write a paper academically or non-academically, to
construct an argument, and to initiate and support group discussion
• Four theoretical attitudes
o Descriptive attitude
 Describes a state of affairs in the present or in the past
 Offers points of view, explanations of phenomena by linking different elements of history to society
o Prescriptive attitude
 Contains new proposals
• Proposals for new solutions or reconsidered answers for a specific problem
 The tone is often controversial
• How architecture should be made
 Vb. Vitruvius, Palladio, …
o Proscriptive attitude
 Is controversial
 Difference with prescriptive
• It proclaims: Not what should be done, but what should be avoided
o Critical attitude or critical architectural theory
 Evaluates architecture or the built environment in its relationship to society
• What does it mean to make a building today?
 Often politically or ethically oriented
 Is often intended to stimulate change
• Limits of the definition
o Normative
 This vision excludes certain forms of architecture or building or, at least, it is difficult to find a place for them
 If theory prescribes a certain quality then invariably some structures are not ‘architecture’, minor or
experimental architecture
 The same applies to design tools
• Ex. Distinction between structure and ornament is based on a distinction between essential and less
essential aspects of architecture.
 Architecture results from a precise design method with an author
• What about architecture without an author, with multiple authors, with an unknown author?
o Conversely, a number of problems or questions about architecture find difficult their place in this definition
 How is architecture seen, experienced, interpreted?
• It is very difficult to talk about experience of atmosphere
 This definition thinks from the author's perspective
• This seems to imply that there is a direct link between the author’s intention and the way in which
his/her work is seen or experienced or given meaning.
 Very relevant when historizing architectural theory
• Early modern architecture
o Driven by the ambition to stage or enhance spatial experiences
o Finally the close mutual determination of architecture and theory excludes a number of questions about the statute
itself from theory
 Who is talking and to whom and why?
 Architectural theory is formed by texts with diverse purposes, authors, agendas.
• This multiformity is very well visible in contemporary architectural theory
o What is the context in which the author is writing or designing?
  anyone who delves further into the architectural-theoretical discourse must be aware of the position
he/she occupies
  there is a specific judgement

,The focus of this course
• 6 words in 6 weeks
o Acceleration
o Commons
o Participation
o Critical Regionalism
o Transformation
o Resilience/memory
• Through different figures
o Jane Jacobs
o Gian Carlo de Carlo : architecture is too important to be left to architects
o Kenneth Frampton : The local
o Herman Czech : Transformation of existing situation
o Aldo Rossi

,A world in transition
Acceleration
• Thank you for being late - Thomas L. Friedman
o Friedman argues that there is a reason to describe the past decades as an “age of acceleration”
 The world is being changed by three interacting and accelerating forces
• Environmental change
o Driven by population growth, global warming and biodiversity loss in the developing world
o Climate change
 Characteristic of our society now
• Economic change
o Change of the market’s mechanisms is driven by globalisation
 More particularly by digital globalisation
• Technological change
o Driven by Moore’s law
 Co-founder of Intel
 Predicted that the speed and power of microchips would double every two years,
though their size and cost would be halved.
•  3 forces
 2007
• One of the greatest technological inflection points
o Introducing iPhone
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Beginning of big data algorithms
o Global expansion of open-source software
o Google bought YouTube
o Microsoft started android
o Kindle launched its first e-book
o Air bnb
o Netflix
• Change became dominated by these
 2008
• Acceleration stopped
• Economic crash
• Lot of people get dislocated
o Confused as to whether they believed in the potential of acceleration or started to
critically question it
 After: series of crisis’s
 “ if one virus can wipe out the entire economy in a matter of weeks and shut down societies, then that is
proof that our societies are not very resilient. It also shows that once we are in an emergency, we can act
and we can change our behaviour quickly.
• Climate = emergency
o Much more important than covid
• In a moment of transition, we should change the way we behave
• What is transition precisely?

,The limits of growth, 1972
• 1968
o Earthrise, Apollo 8
 First picture of the earth alone in space
• 1972
o Blue Marble, Apollo 17
 First complete image of the earth
• Shows the system (oceans, land,…)
• Fragile planet
• The club of Rome
o Publishes limits of growth
o Aurelio Peccei (1908 – 1984)
 Italian industrialist
 Worked many years for Fiat S.p.A.
 Saw how the earth was impacted bc of industrialisation
• The impact of growth
o Alexander King (1909 – 2007)
 Economic conservation and development
o Make a club
 To discuss the footprint of humans
 Started in Rome during dinner
• Invited 17 researchers from MIT to research the project
o Graphics
 What do you think when you think about the future?
• Most people - this weekend, next week - family
• Some people - next year - neighbourhood
• Not many people - lifetime - world
• Very very few people - beyond their life - elsewhere
o State of the world
 5 criteria
• Population growth : rising
• Food production
• Industrial output : rising
• Resources : same
• Pollution : rising
• Conclusions
o Around today is a tipping point, the hight of rising
o If no changes to historical growth trends would appear ‘the limits of growth on earth would become evident by 2072,
leading to sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity’
o Growth trends existing in 1972 could be altered so that sustainable ecological and economic stability could be achieved
o The sooner the world’s population started striving for the second outcome above, the better the chance of achieving it.
Environmental awareness
• Wat we toen al wisten - Geert Buelens
• We waren gewaarschuwd - Jaap Tielbeke
• 1962: Early forms of awareness
o Silent spring - Rachel Carson
 At a certain moment, the gas we use to kil insects are damaging the environment and humans
 At the end of the year, the government changed the law bc of the book

,• 1968
o The population bomb - Paul R. Ehrlich
 We’re with too many
o Seeing earth as a whole
o Whole earth catalog - Steward Brand
 We can invent moments on the planet
 We need to learn how to survive
• 1970: Save our planet
o Foundation of Greenpeace
 First earth day
 People decided to stand up, they started to believe in saving the planet
 Tried to stop nuclear testing
• 1972 – 73
o Soylent Green - Richard Fleischer
o Silent running - Douglas Trumbull
• 1973
o De Kat
 Youth serie
• Person who dresses up as a cat and tries to save the planet
o Oil crisis
 Import of oil
o Inflatable architecture
 An architecture of lightweight construction and low carbon footprint
 Balloon house – Lode Janssens
• PVC balloon
• Different capsules
• Zones between outside and inside
o What is (interesting) architecture?


• 1974
o Autonomous Architecture
 Creates own living conditions


• 1979
o Solar Architecture
o President Jimmy Carter, 1979
 Made budget available to act on climate change
 "A generation from now, this solar water heater may be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road
not taken, or it may be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken
by the American people."

,• 1983
o High-Tech Architecture
 Hardened Glass House - Benthem Crouwel
• Foundations in concrete + steel trusses + glass house

•
o Low-Tech Architecture
 Maison Serre - Gil es Perraudin & Francoise-Hélène Jourda
• All the budget went to the terrain
• Agricultural greenhouse
o Architecture in relationship with its environment
• 1986
o Critique et Méfiance
 "Il n'y a pas de limites à la croissance et au progress humain lorsque les hommes et les femmes sont libres de
poursuivre leurs rêves.” - Ronald Reagan
• 1987
o Reaching almost a political agreement
 1987 : The Brundtland report
 1987 : Montreal protocol
• Signed by 46 countries to stop producing and using CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbon)
 1988 : IPCC intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
 1989 : Ministerial conference on Atmospheric Pollution and Climate
o “The environmental challenge which confronts the whole world demands an equivalent response from the 1989 whole
world.” - Margaret Thatcher
• 1992
o Skepticism and Denial
o “20 years ago, some spoke of the Limits to Growth. Today we realise that growth is the engine of things and is the
friend of the environment” - George Bush
• 1993
o Climate Zones
 Maison Latapie - Lacaton & Vassal Architects


• 2000
o Experimentation
o “Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-
support system.”
• 2001
o Doing with nature
 Mildam – Louis Le Roy
• 2005
o Materials and Labour
 Rauch House - Martin Rauch
• Build with the earth we can find

, • 2006
o Searching for carbon neutrality
 Huge solar pannels
 Failed experiments
• 2015
o International Agreement of Paris
 Binding contract between different nations
 To lower the emissions
• 2017
o The US withdraws from the Paris Agreement under Trump
• 2018
o Greta Thunberg initiates climate strikes
 Younger generations should speak out
• 2020
o Short term crises
 Covid
 Floodings
 Ukraine
o Crisis vs catastrophe
 Crisis
• A potential for change
 Catastrophe
• Everything goes wrong and nothing changes

Welcome in the antropocene
What is the Anthropocene
• 2011, The economist
o Humans have changed the way the world works
o Anthropocene = new geological era
 Defines the geological epoch defined by the human impact on the Earth’s geology and ecosystems


o Defined by
 Population growth
• Architects need to find home for more people
 Food production
 Industrial output
 Resource depletion
 Pollution
 Turbulence and crisis
• “ The world must now either accept long-term chaos for the sake of short-term comfort, or make
short-term sacrifices for the sake of long-term comfort. ” - Jorgen Randers

,  Transition
• Optimisation
o Happens in history
o Cars  faster cars  hybrid cars  electric cars
 But
• We stil continue to be in traffic jams
o In the end WE need to change our habits
• Experimentation
o There might be an acceleration of these experiments
o Vb. Balloon house, high tech, low tech
• Today
o Chaos
 We don’t know anymore where to go
o Hope
 Experiments become institutionalised
•  stabilisation
o New ways of building (climate neutral)
 We have to let go of some of our habits
• Ex. Low emission zones  do we need a car?

•
The project of Modernity
• The origins of our age acceleration can be associated with the beginnings of modernity
o We need to distinguish between modernisation, modernity and modernism
• Modernisation
o Social development process
 Characterised by
• technological progress and industrialisation
• urbanisation and demographic explosions
• strengthening of the nation-state
• growth of communication facilities
• democratisation and expansion of the global market
o underway in the Western world since the 18th century
o is developing with such tremendous momentum that it has reached unprecedented proportions
• Modernity
o Way of being
o based on the idea of human emancipation
 we are no longer dependent on nature or god, we can decide as individuals
o = the belief in the utopia of a better world
 It is belief that innovation allows us to build a better world and can lead to the progress of humanity
o Associated with the ideas of innovation and progress as opposed to classical and tradition
 A focus on the new, in a break with the past

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