Academic Year:
2025/26
470 - Bachelor's Degree in Architecture Studies
30722 - Architectural Composition 3
Teaching Plan Information
Academic year:
2025/26
Subject:
30722 - Architectural Composition 3
Faculty / School:
110 - Escuela de Ingeniería y Arquitectura
Degree:
470 - Bachelor's Degree in Architecture Studies
ECTS:
6.0
Year:
3
Semester:
First semester
Subject type:
Compulsory
Module:
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1. General information
This course studies western architecture in the first half of the twentieth century. It analyzes basic concepts of modern and contemporary philosophy and their impact on architectural design and urban planning, as well as on the social positions of architects from a gender perspective.
This subject is English Language Friendly (ELF) in at least one group. The study and class material is available in English and the teachers will attend office hours and prepare and evaluate students in English if they don't speak Spanish.
2. Learning results
- Clear, diachronic and sequential vision of the History of Architecture, as well as mastery of the mechanisms of architectural composition present in the architectural project.
- Synthesize, by means of examples, the typological, technical, constructive and formal characteristics that are being established in the period of the history of architecture studied.
- Ability to identify the works of architecture studied, placing them in an argued way in the period to which they belong, justifying their relationship with the history of the place where they are built.
- Aptitude to position oneself in a committed way, from the knowledge of the Theory and History of Architecture, to the architectural project, providing a critical and informed vision.
- Fluency in the commentary of the architectural work in an argued and convincing manner, using the knowledge acquired during the subject as a tool to develop the ability to interpret the most relevant projects in history, understanding these in direct relation to the materials, construction systems and techniques with which they were carried out and as a product of a particular cultural moment.
- Ability to understand, interpret and analyze specialized texts (on Theory, History and Architectural Composition), as well as the elaboration of properly structured and argued contents.
- Rigorous and adjusted use of the specific language and terminology of the architectural discipline.
- To manage specific bibliography in Spanish and in English.
3. Syllabus
Section 1: Debates on ornament and the new architecture.
- Art Nouveau, Moderne Architektur and the DWB, 1890s-1910s.
- The «new architecture» in the USA, 1890s-1910s.
- Debates on «ornament», 1900s-1930s.
Section 2: Modernity, canon, and modern architecture
- Avant-garde in art and architecture, 1910s-1930s. Expressionism and Futurism.
- Avant-garde in art and architecture, 1910s-1930s. Neoplasticism, Rationalism, and Constructivism.
- The Bauhaus School, 1920s-1930s. Pedagogy, functionalism, canon, and gender relations.
- Nordic architecture and "welfare state," 1910s-1960s.
Section 3: Continuity and Crisis of the Modern Movement
- Rationalism and revisionism in Italy, 1920s-1960s.
- "Modernity" in Franco's Spain, 1930s-1960s.
- From Le Corbusier to Mega-structures. Urban visions and the CIAM, 1930s-1960s.
- North American architecture after World War II, 1940s-1960s.
4. Academic activities
Lectures on History of Architecture (Lecture T1).
According to the class schedule, there will be two hours of lectures on the history of architecture. The professors will present the specific content of each topic in the program during these lectures.
Seminars on Theory of Architecture and Case Studies (Practical T3A).
According to the class schedule, there will be two hours of seminars in four working groups. Eight sessions will be devoted to reading and discussing architectural theory texts, three to analyzing specific architectural projects, and the rest to reviewing the development of the student's final paper.
Seminars on Research Tools and Critical Academic Writing (Prácticas T3A).
Throughout the course, three two-hour sessions will be taught on research tools and critical writing in the history and theory of architecture, according to the center's calendar.
Visits (T4).
Throughout the course, students will visit significant works of architecture. The date of the trip will be provided to them at the beginning of the course.
5. Assessment system
In the first evaluation period, the student can choose between:
- Option A: The learning of the subject by continuous assessment consists of the following parts: Questionnaire 1 (30%), Questionnaire 2 (30%), Oral Presentations (15%), Final Paper (25%).
- Questionnaire 1: Students must answer a questionnaire on the first half of the subject.
- Questionnaire 2: Students must answer a questionnaire in the second half of the subject
- Oral presentations: Each student must deliver a series of oral presentations throughout the course that correspond to the readings and analysis of projects, as outlined in the guide provided at the beginning of class.
- Final Paper: Each student must complete a final paper (between 2,500 and 3,000 words) following the guidelines provided at the beginning of the course.
- Option B: The subject may also be passed through a unique evaluation that will consist of a final written exam, as scheduled by the center (100%).
In the second evaluation period, the course may also be passed through a unique evaluation consisting of a final written exam, as scheduled by the center (100%).
6. Sustainable Development Goals
5 - Gender Equality
10 - Reduced Inequalities
11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities