Architectural Theory 3

Code:

400403

Acronym:

400403

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
CNAEF	Architecture and Urbanism

Instance: 2023/2024 - A

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Arquitectura (A)
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Master Degree in Architecture

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIARQ	161	MIARQ	4	-	6	-	162

Teaching language

Portuguese and english

Objectives

1. To present architectural theory as the transmissible and sharable knowledge, regarding all the scales of space organization, from landscape to the city forms that build our Common Home. It differs from history because in addresses the project, space transformation and citizen empowerment, towards a responsible production and innovation of architecture, inside the universal Sustainable Development Goals.


2. To relate work and thinking of present reference authors, through the selection and verifying of information more and more mediated by internet, in search of an awareness and endless confrontation between universal values and circumstances that explains the tireless will of expression into Spatial Forms of human needs, aspirations and availabilities.


3. To promote personal elaboration of theory, rooted in received and experimental data (in the second lies evidence and originality), through (1) choice and identification of an object; (2) delimitation and adequacy of the approach scales; (3) collection and systematization of relevant information in the field of architecture (4) critical reasoning; (5) personal and referred argumentation.


4. To place, through study cases, the theory of the public space in the field of architecture and urbanism, as the set of formal structures (design and construction) that holds a distinctive character of the city and depends on the factors that determined them.

Learning outcomes and competences

1. Autonomy in: a) Choice of the study case; b) selection, wideness and actuality of references; c) presentation in class of intermediate results.


2. Articulation between references and personal experience through accurate writing, drawing and image (context, implantation, scale, volumetry, distribution, construction systems).


3. Accuracy of information, originality and economy in the communication of individual and team research results.

Working method

Presencial

Program

PUBLIC SPACE AND COLLECTIVE EQUIPMENTS

1. The space of the human institutions, significative forms. Existence, values and the space categories . Architecture as a social phenomenon represented by art, technic and monumentality.
2. The history of architectural theory. Updates of “principles”, "constants", ideals, programs and manifestoes. Distinction between Theory, critic, opinion and proect strategy. Writings and interviews of reference authors. The role of work, publication, prize and event for the development of contemporary architecture.
3. The history of the city and urbanism facing the present political and technical challenges such as the urban concentration, spread and regeneration, the recognition between received heritage and patrimony to be constructed.
4. The city as project. Rule and utopia towards city construction. Recognition of natural and architectonic elements that integrate the urban form. The public space as a built tridimensionality that integrates intentions, structures and infrastructures, and as an architectonic category that requires plan design, proportion and construction systems.
5. Architectural program, scale, layout, proportion, beauty and character, as the compromises of each building with the public space. Shape reasoning, constructive and management coherence, economy of means by design and perfect execution, are the contributions for the duration of the work.

 

Mandatory literature

Denise Scott-Brown; Having Words, Architecture Words 4, Architectural Association, Londres, 2009
Lina Bo Bardi; Stones Against Diamonds, Architecture Words 12, Architectural Association, Londres, 2013
Lina Bo Bardi; Lina por escrito. ISBN: 978-85-7503-764-5
Beatriz Colomina; X-Ray Architecture, Lars Müller Publishers, Zurique, 2019

Complementary Bibliography

Goran Schildt; Alvar Aalto in his own words. ISBN: 0-8478-2080-7
Alessandra Latour; Louis I. Kahn. ISBN: 0-8478-1331-2
Robert Venturi; Iconography and electronics upon a generic architecture. ISBN: 0-262-22051-2

Teaching methods and learning activities

Teaching methods serve the theoretical nature of this course, through (1) experimental case studies freely chosen by the students but mandatorily visited, among the widest geographic contexts that will obey only to the personal research interests in the field of architecture, and to the weighting of resources to access them; (2) written papers on subjects dictated by the case studies previously developed, or literature review and critical issues proposed during the lectures.

Contact time will be offered in a minimum of 24 sessions that serve work proposals, stimulating the formation of groups, work in progress or first results presentations that will create debate environment addressed to methods, instruments, sources (primary and secondary) document and personal work validation regarding both the study subject and the communication practice.

 

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Trabalho de campo	50,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	40,00
Frequência das aulas	42,00
Trabalho de campo	20,00
Trabalho de investigação	20,00
Trabalho escrito	40,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

The evaluation will be weighted with information from (1) Report of experimental case studiy (group) in the end of the first semester (2) A written paper, also in team work, in the end of second semester.

Works will be submitted through the Moodle platform of the UP and evaluated in the scale 1/20. Final evaluation will be the average of the two works.

Calculation formula of final grade

Field work and case study repport (50%) Written Paper (50%) 

Evaluation criteria

• Program: Comprehension of Public space as an architectonic fact, that expresses the collective values of society.
• Method: Pertinence of choice and delimitation of case, diversity and accuracy of data and its analysis, objectivity of interpretation, originality of critical arguments, quality of results, economy of media.

Classification improvement

Improvement of distributed classification may be required by students with minimum  of 8 in the average of the two works in the results exhibited before the 30th of June. A new and reviewed submission ofone of the works may be demanded to the professor to be presented no further than three working days previous of the publication of final results regulated by academic schedule.

Observations

Works by foreign students will be accepted in Spanish, English, French and Italian Languages, but an abstract in Portuguese is mandatory in the case study final submission.

According to the development of COVID-19 and dispositions that may be demanded by the Health Authorities, changes may occur in face-to-face classes.