YEARBOOK 2018 - 2019 | XJTLU DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

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ARC407
Architectural Theory and Criticism
2018-2019 YEARBOOK Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Department of Architecture 西 交 利 物 浦 大 学 建 筑 系
Suzhou Picturesque, 2017.
Photographed by Tordis Berstrand.
Level 4
( Year 1 | Semester 1 )
Module Credits
5
Module Leader
Tordis Berstrand
Contributors
Yiping Dong
Teresa Hoskyns
Yaqin Zuo
Stewart Nield (LC)
Number of Students
23
(12 ARC students,
2 UoL exchange students,
9 UPD students)
The module introduces students to central themes in architectural
theory and criticism informed by current debates within and beyond
the discipline. Framed as challenges confronting contemporary society
on a global scale, these are issues that call upon architects to respond
and act. This is not simply an appeal to build and make, but rather
an invitation to think, again, about the critical potential of built and
imagined environments.
With an eye to the global context of XJTLU, the module pursues the
intersection of architectural thinking and practice as a space where
new ideas can be critically examined and discussed. Students read
key texts and practice theory through in-class exercises, weekly
coursework submissions, and a final essay. The ability to articulate
an informed theoretical argument and stand up for one’s position is
rehearsed and practised as an integral part of the architect’s task.
This year, the module focused on the notion of place – a term at the
heart of architectural debates in our time. What is a place? How to
design places? Have we lost our sense of place? In response to such
questions, students reflected on the local Suzhou garden as a particular
kind of place – gradually re-imagined, re-written, re-placed – a source
of continued thinking on conditions for living in the city and beyond.
Level 04 – Year 1
M Arch Des Programme