B020824 - HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM

INGLESE

Basic Reading
Colin Davies, Thinking about Architecture. An Introduction to Architectural Theory, London 2011
Andrew Leach, What is Architectural History?, Cambridge 2010

John Summerson, The Classical Language of Architecture, London 1980
Spiro Kostof, The city shaped: urban patterns and meanings through history, London 1991
Spiro Kostof, The city assembled: the elements of urban form through history, London 1992

David Watkin, A History of Western Architecture, New York 2005
Marvin Trachtenberg, Isabelle Hyman, Architecture from Pre-History to Post-Modernism. The Western Tradition, New York 1986
Frank Ching, M. Jarzombek, V. Prakash, A Global History of Architecture, New York 2011
Richard Ingersoll, Spiro Kostoff, World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History, New York 2012

Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890, Oxford 2000
Alan Colquhoun, Modern Architecture, Oxford 2002


Further Reading (at least two chapters from the following books)
Rudolf Wittkower, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, London 1949
Henry Millon, V. Magnago Lampugnani, The Renaissance: From Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, Milano 1994 (selected essays)
Rudolf Wittkower, Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750, eds. J. Connors, J. Montagu, New Haven 1999 (selected chapters)

Jean Des Cars, Pierre Pinon (eds), Paris-Haussmann, Paris 2005
Daniel Bluestone, Contructing Chicago, New Haven-London 1991
Daniel Hudson Burnham, Edward Hudson Bennett, Plan of Chicago, ed. Charles Moore, New York 1993
Donald L. Miller, City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America, Chicago 1996

Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, Steven Izenour, Learning from Las Vegas, Cambridge/Mass. 1972
Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York. A retroactive manifesto for Manhattan, London 1978
Rem Koolhaas, Junkspace, 2001, http://lensbased.net/files/Reader2012/rem+koolhaas+-+junkspace.pdf
Yasser Elsheshtawy, Dubai: Behind an Urban Spectacle, London-New York 2010

Ugo Procacci, History of the Italians, Harmondsworth 1971
Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence, Oakland 1983
Andrew Wilton (ed), Grand Tour. The Lure of Italy in the Eighteenth Century, London 1996

www.architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr: Italian and Western architectural treateses and books published 16th-18th centuries
www.kubikat.org: collective catalogue of the leading research libraries in art and architectural history
www.jstor.org: free access to hundreds of scientific art and architectural history journals (access through unifi.it only)
oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252: Ancient Roman architecture, a series of lectures by prof. Diana Kleiner, Yale University
academia.edu: academics' sites with downloadable scholarly essays

A basic knowledge of the history of Western architecture and the language of classicism is required, as follows:

Antiquity and the Middle Ages
The Roman Empire: architecture, urbanism, technology
Pantheon, Baths of Diocletian, Villa Adriana, aqueducts
The birth of Christian architecture
Old St Peter's and early Christian basilicas
Florence metropolis of the Middle Ages
Palazzo Vecchio, S. Maria del Fiore, city walls, Orsanmichele

The Italian Renaissance
Florence from Brunelleschi to Alberti
S. Maria del Fiore, S. Maria Novella, Rucellai Palace
New models: urban and rural
Pienza, Urbino, Poggio a Caiano
Rome from Bramante to Michelangelo
New St Peter’s
Florence under the Medici: Michelangelo, Vasari, Ammannati, Buontalenti
Sagrestia Nuova and Laurentian Library, Uffizi, Pitti, Cappella dei Principi
Religious clashes: Counter-reformation and Baroque architecture
The Church of the Gesù, Rome; St Peter’s square; S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

Towards a Globalization of Classicism
Prints and books from Europe to the world (16th-19th centuries)
Palladio and Palladianism: Italy-Europe-America, and beyond

HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
THE WESTERN CONTRIBUTION (AND BEYOND...)

Prof. Mario Bevilacqua
Prof. Lorenzo Ciccarelli

2019-2020



The course outlines the development of Western architectural languages and urban forms from early modern Italy to the globalized 21th century, focusing on issues of cultural cross-relations, architects and monuments. Special attention is dedicated to the role of Italian and Western models in 19th and 20th century architecture and urban design.
A multidisciplinary approach emphasizes different interpretations of architecture, and their development over the centuries, from the birth of the discipline to our days.
A basic knowledge of the history of Western architecture and the language of classicism is required, as follows:

Antiquity and the Middle Ages
The Roman Empire: architecture, urbanism, technology
Pantheon, Baths of Diocletian, Villa Adriana, aqueducts
The birth of Christian architecture
Old St Peter's and early Christian basilicas
Florence metropolis of the Middle Ages
Palazzo Vecchio, S. Maria del Fiore, city walls, Orsanmichele

The Italian Renaissance
Florence from Brunelleschi to Alberti
S. Maria del Fiore, S. Maria Novella, Rucellai Palace
New models: urban and rural
Pienza, Urbino, Poggio a Caiano
Rome from Bramante to Michelangelo
New St Peter’s
Florence under the Medici: Michelangelo, Vasari, Ammannati, Buontalenti
Sagrestia Nuova and Laurentian Library, Uffizi, Pitti, Cappella dei Principi
Religious clashes: Counter-reformation and Baroque architecture
The Church of the Gesù, Rome; St Peter’s square; S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane








The course includes lectures, guided readings, on-site visits in Florence and other Italian centres.
Final examination: Four written papers, and interview on one the following topics:

Towards a Globalization of Classicism
Prints and books from Europe to the world (16th-19th centuries)
Palladio and Palladianism: Italy-Europe-America, and beyond

Architecture in the age of industrialism and colonialism
Athens vs Rome: neoclassicism and historicism in European architecture: Piranesi to Schinkel
European urbanism in the age of industrialism: Haussmann's Paris
Building America’s architectural tradition: from Jefferson to Modernism

Masters of the 20th Century
Gaudi, Wright, Le Corbusier, Michelucci, Bofil, Gehry, Hadid, Piano, Herzog & De Meuron

The Rise and Fall of the City of.
Las Vegas to Dubai, Celebration to Poundbury

Contexts in Western architecture and urbanism. Issues of method, interpretation, approach
Architecture and technology: domes from the Pantheon in Rome to the Reichstag in Berlin
Typologies, functions, symbols: triumphal arches 19th-21st century
Destructions: a political agenda in 20th century architecture
Architecture and dictatorship: Albert Speer’s Nazi Berlin
'I am a monument': Tour Eiffel, Guggenheim Bilbao, Burj Khalifa, pseudo-classicism in pop culture



Basic Reading
Colin Davies, Thinking about Architecture. An Introduction to Architectural Theory, London 2011
Andrew Leach, What is Architectural History?, Cambridge 2010

John Summerson, The Classical Language of Architecture, London 1980
Spiro Kostof, The city shaped: urban patterns and meanings through history, London 1991
Spiro Kostof, The city assembled: the elements of urban form through history, London 1992

David Watkin, A History of Western Architecture, New York 2005
Marvin Trachtenberg, Isabelle Hyman, Architecture from Pre-History to Post-Modernism. The Western Tradition, New York 1986
Frank Ching, M. Jarzombek, V. Prakash, A Global History of Architecture, New York 2011
Richard Ingersoll, Spiro Kostoff, World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History, New York 2012

Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890, Oxford 2000
Alan Colquhoun, Modern Architecture, Oxford 2002


Further Reading (at least two chapters from the following books)
Rudolf Wittkower, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, London 1949
Henry Millon, V. Magnago Lampugnani, The Renaissance: From Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, Milano 1994 (selected essays)
Rudolf Wittkower, Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750, eds. J. Connors, J. Montagu, New Haven 1999 (selected chapters)

Jean Des Cars, Pierre Pinon (eds), Paris-Haussmann, Paris 2005
Daniel Bluestone, Contructing Chicago, New Haven-London 1991
Daniel Hudson Burnham, Edward Hudson Bennett, Plan of Chicago, ed. Charles Moore, New York 1993
Donald L. Miller, City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America, Chicago 1996

Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, Steven Izenour, Learning from Las Vegas, Cambridge/Mass. 1972
Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York. A retroactive manifesto for Manhattan, London 1978
Rem Koolhaas, Junkspace, 2001, http://lensbased.net/files/Reader2012/rem+koolhaas+-+junkspace.pdf
Yasser Elsheshtawy, Dubai: Behind an Urban Spectacle, London-New York 2010

Ugo Procacci, History of the Italians, Harmondsworth 1971
Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence, Oakland 1983
Andrew Wilton (ed), Grand Tour. The Lure of Italy in the Eighteenth Century, London 1996

www.architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr: Italian and Western architectural treateses and books published 16th-18th centuries
www.kubikat.org: collective catalogue of the leading research libraries in art and architectural history
www.jstor.org: free access to hundreds of scientific art and architectural history journals (access through unifi.it only)
oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252: Ancient Roman architecture, a series of lectures by prof. Diana Kleiner, Yale University
academia.edu: academics' sites with downloadable scholarly essays

Further reading and websites will be indicated during lectures
Most books available at University Libraries: http://www.sba.unifi.it/

Prof. Mario Bevilacqua: bevilacqua@unifi.it
Prof. Lorenzo Ciccarelli: lorenzo.ciccarelli@unifi.it
Office hours for students: Tuesdays 2.30-4, or by appointment
Sezione di Storia dell'Architettura, via Micheli, 2 - 2nd floor