Course Title: 01:082:101 Building the Future: An Introduction to Architecture
Academic Credits: 3 credits
CREDIT NOT GIVEN FOR THIS COURSE AND 01:082:392.
Mode of Instruction: Lecture
Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: None
Core Curriculum: CC, AHp; Non-majors welcome
Course Description:
The contemporary global issue (Core CC b) that will be analyzed in this class is the paradox presented by architecture. All architects imagine that they are building for the future; but past architecture often seems wrong-headed or impossibly short-sighted. Architecture is a science, an art, and a business. In the twenty-first century, we live in buildings and we are surrounded by designed (and accidental) spaces. Some of the buildings we inhabit are old, some are new, but all of them carry meaning and influence behavior. Occupants of buildings push back against the intentions of architects. Green buildings contribute to environmental recuperation, while other buildings damage the environment. Real estate developers and local communities are at odds. Building new works of architecture is a powerful tool of political propaganda, as is the destruction of cultural heritage. We will explore architecture as an essential part of global artistic exchange. In the face of extreme population growth, environmental degradation, ideological divisions, and resource inequality, how should architects and urban planners construct for the next generation? How can historically subjected people use architecture to reassert their political and cultural agency? To explore these issues, this course will analyze buildings in their social historical contexts.
Learning Goals:
Students will learn to see the built environment through new eyes, to think about their individual interactions with architecture, and to think about how designers, business people, and consumers of architecture can together create ethically sound buildings for the future.
Course Materials:
There is no text book. All readings will be posted on the Sakai site. A copy of the syllabus may be found on Sakai. I will post the PowerPoint slides after each lecture, not before.
Exams:
FINAL EXAM TO BE HELD DURING FINALS WEEK. Please go to: http://finalexams.rutgers.edu/
Grading:
Grading scale A = 90 and up; B+ = 89 to 85; B = 85 to 80; C+ = 79 to 76; C = 75 to 70; D =70 to 60; F = 60 and below
Attendance:
Instructor:
Professor Dora Vanette
Disclaimer: These course descriptions/synopses pages have been provided as samples and the information should not be considered accurate or current. For actual course information, refer to the course site hosted by a Rutgers Learning Management System (Sakai, Canvas, etc) as of the first day of class.
