Histories of Architecture

Contributions from Kim Förster, Angela Connelly, Stephen Walker, José Hidalgo Arellano, Richard Brook, Richard Morton, Alan Lewis, Leandro Minuchin, Helen Iball.

This year saw the return of Histories of Architecture, our alternative to the traditional survey course which addresses multiple histories of our discipline. Each contribution addresses a significant theme, covering ‘an architectural history of…’ the vernacular; materials; climate; architectural history; spirituality; metaphor; the body; computing; futures; health; class; towers; and feminisms.

Students respond to these themes with their own research, producing essays which delve further into one of the topics. One aim of this is to develop core research methods in humanities which can be applied elsewhere in the programme. Critical thinking is essential to the discussion of architecture, and architectural histories are one of the key places to develop this.

Thinking Through Drawing

Thinking Through Drawing develops theories around architectural drawing and its conventions through a short lecture series. Each lecture discusses a group of drawings, beginning with orthographic before covering parallel projection, perspective, gestural drawings and ending with other forms of creative practice including photography and models. The course asks students to conduct a series of drawn investigations as a series of exercises gathered into a portfolio. This includes learning by copying, applying architectural drawing conventions to everyday objects, sequential drawings and experiments with materials.

The aim is to develop a critical position towards drawing, understanding that the form of representation has an impact on how architects design, the choices they make, and the understandings of spaces that are possible. By taking drawing - as one of the key skills of the discipline - seriously, we establish strong foundations for study in the humanities that is inherently architectural in nature