The course of History of Architecture has one privileged object of study: the application of the historical method and critical discourse, as developed between 19th and 21st century, to the analysis of architecture, the city and of built environment.
Two are the main goals. The first is the construction of a lexicon of keywords, which enables the understanding and interpretation of architectural and urban phenomena in modern and contemporary history. The second is the understanding of the complexity of the processes, the identity of the different actors and the multiplicity of cultural reasons (technological, economic, social, political) that have produced the architectures and cities in the West.

The course of History of Architecture develops a dual structure of inquiry and knowledge. On the one hand, the course focuses on a series of architectural and urban case studies, suitable to highlight some crucial themes, issues and concepts in the history of architecture. On the other hand, the course analyses and compares the different interpretations of these facts, as produced by a variety of social actors involved in the construction and/or reception of the built environment (architects, engineers and builders, clients and other users, critics and journalists).
At the end of the course, the students will ideally be able to manage two essential cultural qualities: the analytic knowledge of the architectural and urban facts, as well as the synthetic ability to distinguish the various interpretations, produced along a wide spectrum of time by a plurality of protagonists.

The course will build upon the basic knowledge and skills acquired in the courses of History of Contemporary and Modern Architecture, during the bachelor’s degree.
As the course of History of Architecture will be thoroughly held in English, a good competence in the language is an essential prerequisite.

As an essential component of the education in the humanities, the course of History of Architecture aims at fostering the students’ familiarity with the analytical, critical and speculative cultures, produced by and destined to the architectural domain.
The course will be organized partly through lectures and partly through seminars that will require the active participation of the students.
The first part of the course will be dedicated to a critical analysis of the historical evolution of architectural and urban vocabulary, as presented in Adrian Forty’s Words and Buildings.
The second part of the course will observe the interplay between architectural and urban change in four cities: New York, Paris, Berlin, and Tokyo. These cities will serve as observation points in order to test the cultural informations acquired in the first part of the course and to critically discuss some fundamental issues of global architectural and urban history from the early 19th century to the early 21st..

Students will be asked to actively take part in classroom activities and debates and to give at least one public presentation of a texts or a series of texts.
The course will also require each student to research and write a final paper, consisting in a original essay on a specific building or site in one of the selected cities.

General reference works:
Adrian Forty, Words and Buildings: A Vocabulary of Modern Architecture, London, Thames & Hudson, 2000
Jean-Louis Cohen, The Future of Architecture Since 1889, London, Phaidon, 2012
A specific bibliography will be provided and discussed during the course.
A detailed program will be published on the “portale della didattica” in coincidence with the beginning of the course.

The final grade will be based upon an evaluation of: a) the active participation to the course activities and the public presentation(s) given in class; b) the written paper, to be delivered not later than 15 days before the exam; c) an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the specific readings presented and commented during the two parts of the course.
Further details concerning these aspects will be given in class.