Dissecting the 20th Century: Ten Unconventional Bodies of Architecture / Part Two

Architecture history is generally considered a collection of buildings that are products of social, political, or economic transformations of specific historical periods. In this approach, the key to understanding architectural works lies in comprehending the transformations that occurred outside of architecture. However, for architecture to be a radical response to a social or political transformation, it must also be a radical response to its own history. In other words, architectural history is shaped at moments when a building, in reacting to something in society or politics, radically distances itself from conventional architectural forms and, by breaking away from traditional space-making mechanisms, creates new possibilities for expressing its stance outwardly.

In this approach, the key to understanding architecture is reading the simultaneous dialogue between architecture and the transformations of its time, as well as the dialogue between architecture and its own history.

This course will be conducted in two six-session parts, with each part focusing on a detailed analysis of five buildings. From each analysis, important ideas about engaging with cities, society, and politics in the 20th century will be narrated. These ideas and buildings continue to cast their shadows into the 21st century.