The primary goal of the course is for students to acquire new critical, theoretical, and historical tools that they can apply to their future professional and academic practice. Students will develop not only critical thinking but also the ability to construct their own discourse, grounded in historical and architectural contexts.
As a starting point, the course provides students with a deep understanding of spatial practices that emerged in the 20th century, situating them within their historical, social, political, and economic contexts.
The course also aims to stimulate the integration of knowledge from various disciplines?such as art, philosophy, sociology, and economics?to enrich the analysis and understanding of critical discourses surrounding architecture and urbanism.
Ultimately, the course seeks to broaden students? architectural culture by providing a solid theoretical foundation that enables them to critically address contemporary challenges in the discipline
The thematic selection is designed not only to understand the chronological development of critical thought in architecture but also to generate a networked understanding of the events, reflections, and works that have shaped recent architectural history.
1. A New World: The seed of abstract art and the break with the públic:
o The fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Vienna in 1913. The rupture with the public: E. Schiele, A. Schönberg, and A. Loos.
o Art as language from V. Kandinsky to H. af Klint.
2. Technique, Art, and Politics:
o Totalitarianism through the works of W. Benjamin and H. Arendt.
o Reproducibility, pluralism, and power.
3. Colonialism:
o Architectural projects in foreign territories.
o Decolonization proposals and their consequences for global urbanism.
o Gender, ethnicity, and space: From J. Butler to K. Easterling.
o Spatial instruments of control and oppression (e.g., Forensic Architecture).
4. Society and Spectacle:
o The premonitory utopias of 1968.
o From Situationism to the critiques of F. Guattari, G. Deleuze, and G. Debord.
o Commodification and consumption through Archigram and the Whole Earth Catalogue.
5. Everyday Urbanism:
o From anthropology to the free market of cities.
o Responses to destruction: From V. Woolf's pacifist writing to the urban revolution led by Le Corbusier, H. Lefebvre, and J. Jacobs.
o Absolute urban projects: P. V. Aureli?s critique of 19th-century urbanism.
6. The Rise of Economic Theory:
o Neoliberalism and architecture.
o From Venturi-Scott Brown?s analysis of the diffuse city to star architects and the commodification of architecture (e.g., Naomi Klein).
o Iconic architecture and urban transformations, from F. Fukuyama to the Guggenheim effect.
7. The Possibility of Criticism through Art:
o Artistic positions on reality, from minimalism (F. Stella, D. Judd) to political art (Banksy, M. Cattelan).
o Contemporary territorial discourses, from L. Almarcegui to D. Bestué.
The course combines theoretical classes, readings, debates, and continuous practical work to ensure active and progressive learning.
? Tuesdays (11:00?13:00):
Alternate Tuesdays will be devoted to theoretical classes, introducing and developing key course concepts.
On subsequent Tuesdays, students will prepare selected readings, which will be presented by different students and debated in class to foster critical thinking and dialogue.
? Thursdays (8:00?11:00):
Thursdays will focus on a continuous practical exercise developed throughout the course. This exercise will serve as a key tool for applying knowledge progressively and integratively. Each week, students will advance specific sections of the exercise during class, with guidance from faculty.
This methodology aims to actively involve students, making them central to their own learning process. Students will build their own theoretical discourse, transitioning from reading to writing and from collective to individual work. Through individual and group readings, in-class debates, and written text interpretation, students will acquire the tools and criteria needed to construct, communicate, and defend their own discourse.
The course grade will be based on the following components:
Written exam: 30% (highly important)
Thursday practical exercises: 30% (highly important)
Tuesday comments and readings: 30% (moderately important)
Transversal activity: 10%
The use of AI tools is limited or forbidden in the different activities of the course.
Capacity for Critical Analysis
? Students must demonstrate a deep and well-argued understanding of the concepts, theories, and historical contexts presented in the course.
? Particular emphasis will be placed on the ability to connect readings and debates with practical content and the contemporary context.
Active Participation and Quality in Debates
? Regular, thoughtful, and well-founded participation in reading and debate sessions.
? Clarity in oral presentations and the ability to formulate critical questions and responses.
Quality of Practical Work
? Conceptual clarity and structural coherence of the practical exercise developed throughout the course.
? Ability to integrate readings, visual references, and personal positions into the constructed discourse.
? Argumentative rigor, creativity, and critical depth.
Written Communication Skills
? Clarity and precision in the writing of submitted texts.
? Proper use of academic language and correct use of citations and bibliographic references.
Commitment to the Learning Process
? Regular attendance, meeting deadlines, proactive attitude, and progression throughout the course.
? Lack of involvement or absence of progress in results will be penalized.
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WEIZMAN, Eyal, Forensic Architecture: Violence at the Threshold of Detectability, 2017.