i. institutional support and commitment to continuous improvement

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects
Master of Architecture
Master of Architecture with emphasis in Interior Architecture
Course Number & Title:
ARTHI6118 Semper & Beyond: History of
Architecture and Tech (3)
Course Description:
This graduate seminar explores the historical inter-
actions of technology and architecture from the
middle of the nineteenth century to the close of the
20th century.
Course Goals & Objectives:
1) Design culture and practice: Course seeks to
advance and finalize students’ ability to create
the investigative and critical apparatus that is
paramount to contemporary architecture and
design practices.
Student Performance Criterion:
1) Best exemplifies the following criteria:
a) A.1. Speaking and Writing (ability)
2) Additional criteria
a) A.9. Historical and Global (understanding)
b) C.8. Ethics and Judgment (understanding)
Topical Outline:
1) Design culture: Through the study of the
practical and allegorical interaction of archi-
tecture and technology, students will gain not
only a more robust understanding of modern
architecture and its historical formations but also
a greater appreciation for the technological in
contemporary architectural practice. An exami-
nation of the historiography of architecture and
technology moves us closer to understanding the
history of architectural practice as both integra-
tion and index of complex assemblages. Topics
include Architecture and Technology, Cultural
Preparations, Historical Transmissions, Machine
Discourses, Technological Utopias, Object Ecolo-
gies, Media Convergence.
2) Design practice: The course emphasizes
creative ways of probing material sources for
writing and critiquing design history and current
design practices. Representative texts of cultural
theory supplement lectures for engaged forms of
material analysis. Students participate in reading
review, discussions and a collection of text based
analysis projects leading up to the production of
an academic paper.
Architecture Program Report | 174
Prerequisites:
All required second semester courses.
Textbooks/Learning Resources:
Various sources including:
• Theory and Design in the First Machine
Age by Reyner Banham
• Towards a New Architecture by Le Cor-
busier
• Space, Time, and Architecture by Sigfried
Giedion
• Architecture and Utopia: Design and Capi-
talist Development by Manfredo Tafuri
• Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Ventu-
ri and Denise Scott Brown
Offered (semester and year):
• Semester: FALL
• Year: TWO
Faculty assigned:
• 2009-2010 academic year:
Golec, Michael (F/T)
• 2010-2011 academic year:
Golec, Michael (F/T)