ARCH-151L History and Theory of Architecture 1 Lecture

1 Credits

Arch 151, History and Theory of Architecture 1, is the first in a required four-semester sequence of history-theory courses for Architecture majors. Lectures introduce students to key concepts in architectural history, then examine the history of architecture from earliest known records until roughly 1300 CE. This course must be taken with ARCH 151 D, a discussion section, which follows each lecture. The first six of our lectures present an overview of why and how we study architectural history: we explore definitions of architecture and the role of the architect; the impact of materials and technologies on architectural history; the relationship between land, ground and cultural/urban context and architecture, and the roles of architectural theories and treatises in the long history of architecture. In the second half of the class, lectures consider the ways in which cultures, technologies, and belief systems shaped architecture in early cultures worldwide prior to 1400. In examining early architectures, students understand how architecture engages cultural, artistic, social, political, economic, material, and geophysical histories.