ARTH 192 — An Introduction to Architectural Principles
Spring
Thursday
7:00—8:50 pm
Date(s)
Mar 31—Jun 2
10 weeks
Drop By
Apr 13
2 Units
Fees
$405
Format
On-campus course
Open
This course explores themes that are essential to
understanding architecture, and it introduces
students to key architectural concepts such as function,
materials, decoration, structure, formal relationships,
and classicism. Although not a linear survey, this course
will nonetheless cover many historically remarkable
buildings and structures. Lectures will focus on the best
examples of how basic architectural elements have been
interpreted and developed to create beauty and meaning.
As one example, we will see how the ancient Egyptians, in order to achieve permanence, used their dry climate, easy access to stone and labor, religious views, and mummification techniques to develop the burial pyramids at Giza. Then we will discover a possibly more sublime and complex expression of permanence in Japan, which has a hot, humid climate, abundant timber, and frequent seismic activity: The Ise Grand Shrine has been in continuous existence since around 400 ce because an exact replica has been rebuilt on an adjacent footprint, and the former temple dismantled, every twenty years. The course will also cover the Parthenon, Chartres Cathedral, Fallingwater, Chicago and New York skyscrapers, the Alhambra, St. Peter’s Cathedral, and the Salk Institute.
As one example, we will see how the ancient Egyptians, in order to achieve permanence, used their dry climate, easy access to stone and labor, religious views, and mummification techniques to develop the burial pyramids at Giza. Then we will discover a possibly more sublime and complex expression of permanence in Japan, which has a hot, humid climate, abundant timber, and frequent seismic activity: The Ise Grand Shrine has been in continuous existence since around 400 ce because an exact replica has been rebuilt on an adjacent footprint, and the former temple dismantled, every twenty years. The course will also cover the Parthenon, Chartres Cathedral, Fallingwater, Chicago and New York skyscrapers, the Alhambra, St. Peter’s Cathedral, and the Salk Institute.
Stephen Atkinson, Founder and Principal, Atkinson Architecture
Stephen Atkinson is a residential architect whose firm has been operating in Palo Alto since 2000. He received a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard and has taught various courses and studios at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Maryland. He is at work on a book about the life and work of the French architect Le Corbusier.Textbooks for this course:
No required textbooks