AR H 3704/7704 20^th-21st Century American Architecture

Fall 2017 Architectural History, University of Virginia

Location and time: Campbell Hall 158 Tuesday 3:30-6:00PM

Richard Guy Wilson 

Email-rgw4h@virginia.edu                  

Office: Campbell 231                                                 

Office hours: Tuesday 2:00-3:00 pm and by appointment, if I am around, please stop by

TA:  One may be assigned.

 

_______________________________________________________________

Description

A survey of American Architecture from approximately World War One to 2018 is the course’s time span. The course will stress the multi-dimensional nature of architecture in the United States over this 100 year period. Themes to be considered include the rise of modernism (in its several varieties), the continuity of traditional design, and alternatives such as Postmodernism, Decon, new wave modern, along with Levittown, and Disney.  Attention will be paid to foreign influences, social and cultural issues, landscape and city planning, and the rise of the automobile and related developments in furniture, industrial design, and painting. Among the figures to be considered include Frank Lloyd Wright, Paul Cret, Bertram Goodhue, Mies, SOM, Robert Venturi, Frank Gehry, and others.

 

Prerequisites

Open to all students. Prior acquaintance with art/architectural history is beneficial but not necessary, I will try and lead you through the issues.  Graduate students should sign up for ARH 7704.

 

Honor System: I trust every student in this course to fully comply with all of the provisions of the UVA honor system.

 

Intentions

This course is designed to bring an understanding to American architecture and related developments in cities, landscape, interiors, art, and culture in the period, 1914-2015.  Elements will include developing skills to deal with visual data, the relationship of architecture to social and cultural issues and improvement of research and writing skills.

 

Methods

Lectures, discussions, readings, and a term paper.  Discussion will be held in class. Please read materials prior to class and come with a question or discussion issue in mind. There will be a short break to stretch and etc…about 4:30 with each class

 

Handouts

For most classes I will have a one page handout that will contain the important names and also a selective bibliography of the subject. Please keep these handouts for study purposes and also if you are interested in doing a paper on the topic this will provide you with a beginning point for research.

 

Bibliography

The literature on the subjects for this course is huge. I do have a small bibliography for background materials that is posted on the COLLAB resources web site.

 

Evaluation (Requirements)

Attendance at lectures is mandatory. You must attend class. Two examinations: a mid-term Oct  17 (25%) and a final Dec. 9 (25%), and a paper (prospectus due Oct 24), final paper due Nov. 28 (25%)  and discussion contrbutions, (25%) (See term research paper). The exams will be composed of slides, short answer and longer essay questions.  The final will cover the entire course.  The final grade will be composed of the above and 25% discussion contibutions. Please talk to me about the class, and the papers.  I am fully responsible for all grades, and I will also read all the undergrad tests and papers and all graduate work.

 

Class Attendance

This class meets Tuesday 3:30-6:00PM  Attendance at lectures is mandatory. There are no excused absences. I need to know who you are and do want to try and put names with faces! I will pass around a seating chart the second period, please try and take a seat you will occupy for the entire class.  As noted above, will be a short break with each class.

 

Meeting I would like to meet each of you and ask that you come by to my office hours early in the term so I can meet you and also discuss your interests in architecture. If can’t make office hours, email or talk after class and can set up a time.

 

Class Etiquette

Please try and be on time; latecomers and those who leave early are disruptive to both the lecturer and the class. I realize that some people frequently become sleepy when the lights go out (as they must if we are to show images). I do not mind that in order to stay awake some of you might want to stand up and stretch, or stand in the aisle during lectures if that will help.  I do allow computers, but ask that you not do your email, face book, etc during class. Also, please turn off your phones.

 

Films

I will try and schedule the showing of several films, in particular:  The City, and My Father the Architect.

 

Lectures in A-School

I encourage you to attend some of the Architecture School lectures offered on Mondays and the Art History Dept. Lectures.

 

Materials Assigned for Purchase 3704 (All students)

Eco, Umberto, Travels in Hyperreality (HBJ paper, 1983)

Ghirardo, Diane, Architecture After Modernism (Thames & Hudson, paper, 1996)

Handlin, David, American Architecture (Thames & Hudson, paper, 2005)

 

Graduate students in AR H 7704 also purchase the Following.

Hitchcock and Johnson, International Style (Norton paper, 1932).

 

Reserve—all of the above will be on reserve in the Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library. Also on reserve will be the following books:

Jordy, William, American Buildings and Their Architects: The Impact of European Modernism           vol. 5. (Oxford paperback, 1974)

Mumford, Lewis, ed Roots of Contemporary American Architecture

Johnson and Wigley, Deconstructivist Architecture

Koolhaas, Rem, Delirious New York: a retroactive manifesto for Manhattan (1978)

Roth, Leland, ed., America Builds: Source Documents... (Harper paper, 1983)

Rowe, Colin Introduction" to Five Architects   1972/1975, 3-7

Wright, Frank Lloyd, “The Disappearing City,” 1932, in Frank Lloyd Wright Collected Writings,

            vol. 3, pp.70-112

 

Collab I have placed on collab a variety of readings…some come from Roth America Builds: Source Documents and Mumford, Roots of Contemporary.  I also have added many others such as articles from newspapers and magazines.   Also images from lectures will be available.

 

 

ARH 3704/7704

Fall 2018

Class Schedule

 

I hope to follow this schedule but some adjustments might occur. Reading assignments are to be done before to the class.  I may add a few readings.

 

1. Aug 22   Introduction and Traditionalist Continuations

Reading assn.:  Handlin, chap. 6. (If you did not take ARH 3703/77703, then read Handlin, Chps. 3-5.) ,

               Eco, Travels, 3-58. on collab

               Cheek, Lawrence” American Architects in China” Jan 16, 2011. on collab

               “How to Rebuild Arch.” New York Times, Dec 15, 2014 on collab

                Optional: Huxtable, Ada Louise, “Sometimes We Do It Right,” New York Times, March 31,

1968, also in Huxtable, Will They Ever Finish Bruckner Boulevard? (1970), p114+ on collab

            On  Traditionalism

               Reading: Kimball, Fiske, “Chapter XV The Present”  in American

                Architecture (Indianapolis and New York: Bobbs Merrill,1928) 203-228

                Call Number: NA710 .A46 1989 on Collab

 

 

 

2. Aug 29 Conservative Modernism: Gothic;Goodhue, Stripped: Creat

            Reading: Ralph Adams Cram, “The Philosophy of the Gothic Restoration,”

                Kimball, Fiske"Goodhue's Architecture: A Critical Estimate”

                               Architectural Record Vol. 62 december 1927, 537-540 on Collab

                 Cunningham, Harry F: "Goodhue, The First True Modern"

                               Journal of the AIA Vol. 15 July 1928, 246-248 on collab

                 Hamlin, Talbot “A contemporary American Style” Pencil 

Points(Progressive Architecture) Vol. 19 February,1938 P 99-107 On Collab

               Wilson, Richard “Modernized Classicism and Washington DC” from

                                American Public Architecture: European Roots and Native 

                               Expressions  Vol. 5 1989, p 271-303 On Collab

 

3. Sept 5 Art Deco and Machine Age Modern

            Reading: Handlin, chap. 7;

               Jordy, on ‘Rockefeller Center” on collab

               “Chicago Tribune Building Competition, Program and Jury ..” on collab

“Chrysler Airflow” On Collab

               “Design Loves a Depression” New York Times, Jan 4, 2009 on collab

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Sept 12 The International Style and American Individualism, the California Crew: Neutra and

            Schindler

Reading: Jordy, chap. on PSFS, is listed as Jordy, “The American Acceptance of the International Style”;

Hitchcock, Johnson, Barr The International Style, pp. 11-39, is listed as Hitchcock Johnson, Barr Preface and Introduction;

             RM Schindler, “Space Architecture,” 1934, published inLionel March and Judith 

             Shein RM Schindler composition and construction, 53-57

 Optional reading: Wilson, “Schindler’s Metaphysics” from Michael Darling, Kurt G. F. Helfrich, … and Richard Guy Wilson The Architecture of R. M. Schindler (Abrams, MOCA Los Angeles, 2001),116-143.

             Optional Reading  Wilson, "International Style:  The MOMA Exhibition", Progressive

                                    Architecture, LXIII (February 1982), pp. 92-105

            all on Collab

                                                           

5. Sept 19,   Depression and Large Constructions of the 1930s and Detroit: Saarinen & Kahn

            Reading: Life in the Ruins, 2013 collab

            Optional Reading: Wilson, “The Machine Age in the West: Hoover Dam” on Collab

 

6. Sept 26, American housing of the 1920s (Kits and Green Belt Towns) and  Colonial Revival continuations

            Reading: Stein, Clarence, "Indications of the Form of the Future" in Clarence Stein, Towards

            New Towns for America;  and also article on Greenbelt on Collab

               Rhodes, William, “The long and Unsuccesful Effort to Kill off the Colonial 

               Revival, in Wilson, Richard Guy, Shaun Eyring and Kenny Marrota, Re-Creating the

                American Past: Essays on the Colonial Revival (Charlottesville: UVA Press, 2006)13-26.

               Optional Reading: Wilson, “Why Colonial Revival” on collab

            Also I will see about scheduling a showing of the movie, “the City” around this date

Oct 3^rd. Reading days..no class

 

7. Oct 10  Frank Lloyd Wright 1920s -1959 I

            Reading: Frank Lloyd Wright, “The Disappearing City,” 1932, in

            Frank Lloyd Wright Collected Writings, vol. 3, pp.70-112  on Collab

            Jordy, chap. on Guggenheim  on Collab

 

8. Oct 17  Midterm  bring blue books

           

Paper prospecus due Oct 24th

 

9.  Oct 24. Triumph of American Modernism: Mies van der Rohe and Corporations, Government

            and Education,

            Reading: Jordy, Chap. on Mies; collab

 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, “Inaugural Address, 1938,” and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,”Address to the Illinois Institute of Technology, 1950,” both in Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe 196-200, 203-204; on collab as Johnson, “Mies van der Rohe” All on Collab

            Reading : Lewis Mumford, “Monumentality, Symbolism and Style,”

Matthew Nowicki,  "Origins and Trends in Modern Architecture" and “Function and Form;” Eero Saarinen, “the Trans World Airlines Terminal,” All on Collab

 

 

10. Oct 31 Modern House –Mass Production Case Study and Hollin Hills

            Reading: Handlin, Chap. 8,

            Salant, Eames House

Charles Eames, “On Design” from  Eames design : the office of Charles and Ray Eames,

               1941-1978 ed by John and Marilyn Neuhart with Ray Eames.1989

               All on collab

 

11. Nov 7  Varieites of  Modernism 1950s-70:  Ballet Style , Kahn SOM, Saarinen, Pei, Johnson, Stone

            etc)

Reading: Philip Johnson, “the Seven Crutches of Modern Architecture,” and “Letter to Jurgen Joedicke;” on Collab

Charles Jencks, “Post-Modern Architecture” (several parts all on collab)

             Jordy, Chap. on Kahn;

 Louis I. Kahn, “Order is…” Perspecta 3 (1955), 59. and “Discussion in Kahn’s Office,” 1961.

All on Collab

            Will try and schedule “my Father the Architect” this week

 

12. Nov 14  The American Roadside and Robert Venturi

            Readings: J. F. Harbison, “The Automobile and the ‘Home of the

Future,’”; J. Ihlder, “The Automobile and Community Planning,” Annuals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 116 (Nov. 1924),58-60,  199-205; “The Federal Highway Act of 1958,” Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1958 Public Law 85-787, Statues at Large, 72 (1958) and Lewis Mumford, “The Highway and the City,” in his Highway and the City, 234-246.  All on Collab

Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture 18-32; and, Learning from Las Vegas, 3-35  Collab

Brown, “At Home with—Neon”  Collab

 

13. Nov 21  POMO, DECON and  the New York Whites

            Reading: Handlin, Chp. 9,

            Ghirardo, “Introduction”

            "Introduction" by Colin Rowe Five Architects   1972/1975, 3-7 on Collab

            Robert A. M. Stern, “The Doubles of Post-Modernism,” Harvard Architectural Review vol. 1

                         (1980), 173-87 Collab

            Jencks, Postmodernism part III, Collab

            Johnson and Wigley, Deconstructivist Architecture pp.10-20; Collab

Koolhaas, Rem. Delirious New York : a retroactive manifesto for Manhattan (1978), section appendix A Collab

            Pogrebin, Wexner Center New York Times, Sept 18, 2005 Collab

Ghirardo, Chp. 1, 2, 3;

           

Term papers due Nov. 28

 

14.  Life is but a Theme Park

            Reading: Colman, “Mid-18^th Century Modern;”

            Ouroussoff “Last Exit to Los Angeles” and  “Classicists Strike Back”

            “Kentlands” Washington Post article

            “Who Designs America” Wall Street Journal

Lewis Mumford, “The Disappearance of Pennsylvania Station;”

A. L. Huxtable, “The Art of Expediency” and “Rediscovering the Beaux-Arts,” Kicked a Building Lately (1975), 58-66;

            Huxtable, “Setting the Record Straight”

            All on Collab

 

15.  Today and Tomorrow, Frank Gehry and the New Wave

            Reading: “Architecture in the Age of Gehry”    Vanity Fair

            Kennicott, “Gehry Complex Legacy”

            Forgey “Gehry”

            Ouroussoff, “Reinventing American Cities”

            Mckee, “To Restore or Reinvent”        

            Muschamp: Columbus Circle,

            Ouroussoff, “on the Miss-Nouvel, Gutherie

            Ouroussoff, “Star Architects”

            Rybczynski, “When Buildings Try too Hard”

            Kennicott “Eisenhour Memorial”

            Lubove “Face Value” New York Times

            “House Lust”

            “Mega Mansions, Wall Street Journal

            All on Collab

 

Final Examination: Dec. 9, Saturday, 9:00-12:00  Bring blue books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AR H 3704-7704 20th-21^st Century American Architecture

Fall 2017

 

Term Research Paper

The term paper should be an interpretation of a building(s) that is related in some way to this course. Subjects could include houses, train stations, airport terminals skyscrapers, government structures, monuments, or even additions to a building. In some cases and with prior approval you can add another building, such as two houses by an architect such as Frank Lloyd Wright, or consider a complex of buildings, such as Rockefeller Center. Or it can be a piece of furniture, or perhaps an interior of some note. You can do a project, such as a design for a house that was never built. Although it is not required, it is nice if can actually see what you are writing about and can examine it first hand.  Hence, buildings in Virginia and nearby areas should be considered. If you are unsure about your topic, please check with me. Most important, you should choose something that you find interesting, and also, that is significant and demonstrates an important theme(s) in American architecture.

 

Procedure

            1. A one-page description of your topic that includes a brief paragraph and three items of relevant bibliography are due on Oct. 24.

            2. Paper is due Nov. 28. Late papers will be penalized.

            3. Format:

                        a. Typed, double spaced, length 8-10 pages, plus  endnotes, bibliography and illustrations.  Students enrolled in ARH 7704 length is 10-14 pages, plus etc.

                        b. Follow the MLA or some other style manual as to endnotes format, and etc.

                        c. Illustrations will probably be necessary; xeroxs if clear are fine.  DO NOT CUT OUT OF BOOKS OR MAGAZINES

            4. Content: this paper unless otherwise approved should be on one building, or as explained above, furniture, an addition, or and interior. While the building need not be a major monument, just choosing some old house is not very impressive, unless you do something with it.  Remember, this is to be interpretative, not just a recitation of facts.

            5. Sources: you are expected to do adequate research which means looking at printed sources in journals, magazines and books.  Internet sources are fine, but you must have at least 3 print sources for your paper. With the internet, make sure you check the creditability of the source.

            6. Grading: papers will be graded according to the following criteria:

                        a. Brilliance of the choice and interpretation.

                        b. Adequacy of research as shown in paper, endnotes and bibliography.

                        c. Spelling, grammar, typing, and following above procedures.

 

The following was developed a few years ago to assist students in analyzing buildings; you are not expected to rigidly follow these guidelines, but they do indicate some of the information that might be included in your paper (Please note, you can’t do it all, be selective).

Basic Facts

--architect (or designer), location, date

--where does it stand in relation to the architect/designer's career

--this should include basic biographical facts about the architect

--what is its place in the history of American architecture/design

--what have the standard works said about the building and the architect

--how has this changed from one period to another

The Building as an object

--size, describe in terms of mass, height, etc.

--material, use of different materials to create texture/express structure

AR H 3704/7704 20^th-21st Century American Architecture

Fall 2017

Richard Guy Wilson  Architectural History, University of Virginia

Email   rgw4h@virginia.edu                

Office: Campbell 128                                     

Location and time: Campbell Hall 158 Tuesdays 3:30-6PM

_______________________________________________________________

Description

A survey of American Architecture from approximately World War One to 2015 is the course’s time span. The course will stress the multi-dimensional nature of architecture in the United States over this 90+ year period. Themes to be considered include the rise of modernism (in its several varieties), the continuity of traditional design, and alternatives such as Postmodernism, Decon, new wave modern, along with Levittown, and Disney.  Attention will be paid to foreign influences, social and cultural issues, landscape and city planning, and the rise of the automobile and where possible related developments in furniture, industrial design, and painting. Among the figures to be considered include Frank Lloyd Wright, Paul Cret, Bertram Goodhue, Mies, SOM, Venturi, Gehry, and others.

Prerequisites

Open to all students in all schools in University.  Graduate students should sign up for ARH 7704

Intentions

This course is designed to help in understanding American architecture and related developments in cities, landscape, interiors, art, and culture in the period, 1918-2017.  Elements will include developing skills to deal with visual data, the relationship of architecture to social and cultural issues and improvement of research and writing skills.

Methods

Lectures, discussions, readings, and a term paper. 

Evaluation (Requirements)

Attendance  is mandatory. There will be lectures and  discussions. two examinations, a mid-term, a final, and a paper. The exams will be composed of slides, short answer and longer essay questions.  The final will cover the entire course. 

Materials Assigned for Purchase (All students)

Eco, Umberto, Travels in Hyperreality (HBJ paper, 1983)

Ghirardo, Diane, Architecture After Modernism (Thames & Hudson, paper, 1996)

Handlin, David, American Architecture (Thames & Hudson, paper, 2005)

Jordy, William, American Buildings and Their Architects: The Impact of European Modernism

            Vol. 5. (Oxford paperback, 1974)

Graduate students in AR H 7704 also purchase the Following.

Hitchcock and Johnson, International Style (Norton paper, 1932).

(Other readings will be available on collab)