SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS
University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor
Voyage: Fall 2014
Discipline: Architecture
SEMS 2500-103: Experiencing World Architecture
Division: Lower
Faculty Name: John Meunier
Credit Hours: 3; Contact Hours: 38
Pre-requisites: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Over fifty years ago the influential Danish architect and planner Steen Eiler Rasmussen argued
that architecture needs to be experienced through all the senses, not only that of sight. This
voyage offers an extraordinary opportunity for the students to visit and experience, directly and
personally, a very wide range of great, and ordinary, buildings and places. They will be able not
only to see, touch, smell, listen to, maybe taste, and most importantly move through, interior and
exterior spaces and places from a multiplicity of historic times and cultures. They will be able to
imagine more readily the rituals of both formal and informal life that these spaces and places
were built to frame and celebrate. The goal of this course will be to provide a structure of
understanding that will inform these experiences. That structure of understanding will include
both a discussion of the perennial issues that all built environments must engage, such as climate,
structure, acoustics, illumination, anthropometrics, order, etc., and an introductory chronology of
architectural history. Buildings and places worth the time and effort of the engagement of the
students will be identified in each visited city. Again, students will be tested on their
understanding of the content of the course but also on the quality of observation and perception
displayed in the Field Reports they will produce after each city visit.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Two major objectives: to introduce students to issues that all architecture throughout
history has had to address, and then to provide a chronological introduction of major world
architectural achievements from the earliest civilizations to the present.
The course will test the students’ grasp of the architectural implications of the issues
introduced and their ability to use them as critical tools as they experience and evaluate
works of architecture during stops on this voyage.
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REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
AUTHOR: Rasmussen, S.E.
TITLE: Experiencing Architecture
PUBLISHER: MIT Press
ISBN #: ISBN-10: 0262680025, ISBN-13: 978-0262680028
DATE/EDITION: 2nd edition
COST: $14.38
AUTHOR: Nuttgens, P.
TITLE: The Story of Architecture
PUBLISHER: Phaidon
ISBN#; ISBN-10: 0714836164, ISBN-13: 978-0714836164
DATE: 2nd Edition, 1997
COST: $16.65
AUTHOR: Fitch, James Marston
TITLE: American Building: The Environmental Forces That Shape It
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
ISBN #: ISBN-10: 0195110404, ISBN-13: 978-0195110401
DATE/EDITION: Revised edition 1999
COST: $63.03
TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE
Depart Southampton- August 23:
A1- August 25 – Introductions to each other and to the Syllabus
A2- August 27: Introduction – Understanding World Architecture
Rasmussen, S.E., Experiencing Architecture, “Basic Observations” 33-34
Vitruvius, M.P., The Ten Books on Architecture, “The Departments of Architecture 2.” 17
A3-August 29: From Theory to Design – How do we make Architecture
Le Corbusier, Towards a New Architecture, “The Lesson of Rome” 141
Vitruvius, M.P., The Ten Books on Architecture “ The Education of the Architect”, 5-21
St. Petersburg: August 28- 31
A4- September 3: Solids and Cavities – We see the Buildings but we inhabit the Spaces Inside
and Outside
Rasmussen, S.E., Experiencing Architecture, “Solids and Cavities in Architecture”, 35- 82
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Gdansk: September 5-7,
Rostock: 8-9
A5- September 10: Surface and Color – the Boundary between Solids and Cavities
Rasmussen, S.E., Experiencing Architecture, “Architecture Experienced as Color Planes” 83-103
“Color in Architecture”, 215-223
A6-September 12: Scale and Proportion – the Relationships between ourselves and our
buildings, and the parts of our buildings to each other.
Rasmussen, S.E., Experiencing Architecture, “Scale and Proportion”, 104-126
Antwerp: September 14-16
Le Havre: September 17-19
A7- September 20: Rhythm and Texture – the Musical analogy
Rasmussen, S.E., Experiencing Architecture, “ Rhythm in Architecture”, “Textural Effects”, 127185
A8-September 22: Light and Sound –Seeing and Hearing in our buildings
Rasmussen, S.E., Experiencing Architecture, “Daylight in Architecture”, 186-214,
“Hearing Architecture”, 224-237
Dublin: September 24-27
A9- September 28: Climate and building Form – How Buildings Modify Climate in our
Favor
Fitch, J.M., American Building: The Environmental Forces that Shape It, “Fair and Warmer”, 3767, “The Integration of Environmental Control Systems”, 257-298
Rapoport, A., House Form and Culture, “Climate as a modifying factor”, 83-103
A10- September 30: Construction and building Form
Rapoport, A., House Form and Culture, “Construction, materials, and technology as modifying
factors”, 104-125
Salvadori, M., Why Buildings Stand Up, “Structures” 17-42
Lisbon: October 1
Cadiz: October 4-5
A11- October 7: Structure and building Form
Salvadori, M., Why Buildings Stand Up, “Loads, Materials, Beams and Columns”, 43-89
Casablanca: October 8-11
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A12- October 13: Culture and building Form
Rapaport, A., House Form and Culture, “Chapters 1-3”, 1-82
Hall, E.T., The Hidden Dimension, 7-15, 42-65, 108-129
Takoradi: October 14-15
Tema: October 16-17
A13- October 15: Sustainability and The Environmental Showcase House
K. David Pijawka and Kim Shetter. The Environment Comes Home, XII-XIV, 91-98
A14- October 21: The Early Civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China and the
Americas
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “Barbaric Splendor, The Geometry of Immortality, Holy
Mountain and Sacred Womb, Puzzles and Modules, Ritual of Blood”, 16-85
A15- October 23: Greece and Rome
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “The Landscape of the Gods, The Authority of
Competence”, 86-115
Takoradi: October 25-26
Tema: October 27-28
A16- October 29: Romanesque to Late Gothic, Islam and the Medieval World
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “The Worshipping Community, The Order and the
Sanctuary, The Flowering of the Desert, The Metaphysics of Light”, 116-175
Summerson, J., Heavenly Mansions, “Heavenly Mansions; an Interpretation of Gothic” 1-28
A17-October 31: The Renaissance from Florence to Rome and beyond
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “The Scale of Human Perfection, Crossing the Alps, The
Drama of Shapes and Space”’ 176-217
Summerson, J., Heavenly Mansions, “Antitheses of the Quattrocento”, 29-50, “The Mind of
Wren”, 71-86
Study Day: November 2
A18-November 3: Neo-Classicism in France, Germany, Britain and the Americas
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “The Prophets of Elegance, From Pioneers to
Establishment”, 218-239
A19- November 5: 19th Century Technology, The Beaux Arts and the Gothic revival
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “The Triumph of the Iron Masters”, 240-251
Summerson, J., Heavenly Mansions, “Viollet le Duc and the Rational Point of View” 135-158
Rio de Janeiro: November 7-9
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Salvador: November 12-14
A20- November 15 : Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “A New Vision” 252-265
Curtis, W., Modern Architecture Since 1900, “The Search for New Forms and the Problem of
Ornament”, 52-71, “Arts and Crafts Ideals in Britain and the USA” 87-97
A21- November 17: Early Modernism and the Modern Masters: Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies
van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Oscar Niemeier
Summerson, J., Heavenly Mansions, “Architecture, Painting and Le Corbusier”, 177-194
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “Designing for a New Society”, 266-283
Banham, R., Age of the Masters, “Space and Power” 50-62, “Schroeder House Utrecht” 68-69
Curtis, W., Modern Architecture Since 1900, “Cubism, De Stijl and New Concepts of Space” 149159, “The Process of Absorption: Latin America, Australia and Japan” 491-511
Study Day November 19
A22- November 20: World War II and its Aftermath
Nuttgens. P., The Story of Architecture, “The Architecture of Pluralism”, 284-297
Banham, R., Age of the Masters, 122-153
Curtis, W., Modern Architecture Since 1900, “On Monuments and Monumentality: Louis I. Kahn”
513-527,
Bridgetown: November 22-24
A23- November 25: Late 20th Century Architecture, Post-Modernism and the New
Urbanism
Venturi, R. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, 22-30, 46-53
Curtis, W., Modern Architecture Since 1900, “Pluralism in the 1970’s” 589-613
Banham, R.,
A24- November 27: Late Modernism and Post-9/11
Curtis, W., Modern Architecture Since 1900, “Continuity and Change in the Late 20th Century”,
617-689
Havana, Cuba: December 1-4
A25-December 4 (A Day Finals):
Fort Lauderdale: December 15
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FIELD WORK
Field lab attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Please do not book
individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of our field lab. This lab is
planned on Friday, 7 November.
FIELD LAB (At least 20 percent of the contact hours for each course, to be led by the
instructor.)
The purpose of this Field Lab is to have the students fully experience, with all their
senses and their understanding some of the work of Brazil’s most talented designers,
particularly but not only Oscar Niemeyer, and Roberto Burle Marx. The two most famous
Brazilian designers often collaborated as in Rio de Janeiro on The Ministry of Education
Building of 1936, done together with Le Corbusier, that anticipated the United Nations
Secretariat in New York. Roberto Burle Marx also designed the waterfront promenade of
Copacabana Beach and the garden of the Museum of Modern Art in Flamingo Park by
Alfonso Reidy, another of the sites we will visit. Our tour will include the old center city
and its buildings, the old and new Cathedrals, and we will conclude with one of Niemeyer’s
last buildings, the beautifully sited Museum of Contemporary Art across the bay in Niteroi.
Academic Objectives:
1. Familiarity with the work of some of Brazil’s most noted designers
2. Critical assessment of the work using the criteria developed in the course.
3. Heightened sensibility of architecture and landscape architecture through all the
senses.
Students will be required to develop a presentation of annotated photographs and sketches
that illustrate a thoughtful and well-informed written critical analysis.
FIELD ASSIGNMENTS
All students will prepare a report on a building at each of our city destinations, chosen in
consultation with the instructor, identifying the architectural experiences that made the
most impact, and the lessons that can be learned, either positive or negative. This report
will be in the form of an illustrated journal. The work will be graded on the perceptiveness
and originality of the illustrations and the commentary. Reference back to the content of
this course will be valued
METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC
Participation and Attendance
Field Lab (Report)
Field Assignments (Journal)
Final Exam
10%
20%
30%
40%
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RESERVE LIBRARY LIST
*AUTHOR: Salvadori, Mario
TITLE: Why Buildings Stand Up: The Strength of Architecture
PUBLISHER: W.W. Norton
ISBN#: ISBN-10: 0393306763, ISBN-13: 978-0393306767
DATE/EDITION: Reissue 2002
COST: $12.12
*AUTHOR: Rapoport, Amos
TITLE: House Form and Culture
PUBLISHER: Prentice Hall
ISBN@: ISBN-10: 0133956733, ISBN-13: 978-0133956733
DATE/EDITION: 1969
COST: $47.17
*AUTHOR: Summerson, John
TITLE: Heavenly Mansions: and Other Essays
PUBLISHER: W.W. Norton & Company
ISBN#: ISBN-10: 0393318575, ISBN-13: 078-0393318579
DATE/EDITION: Reprint 1998
COST: $16.12
AUTHOR: Hall, Edward T.
TITLE: The Hidden Dimension
PUBLISHER: Anchor
ISBN#: ISBN-10: 0385084765, ISBN-13: 978-0385084765
DATE/EDITION: 1990
COST: $11.56
*AUTHOR: Venturi, Robert.,
TITLE: Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture
PUBLISHER: The Museum of Modern Art
ISBN#: ISBN-10: 870702823, ISBN-13: 978-0870702822
DATE/EDITION: 2nd edition 2002
COST: $14.50
AUTHOR: Philip Jodidio
TITLE: Oscar Niemeyer
PUBLISHER: Taschen
ISBN#: ISBN-10: 3836530644, ISBN-13: 978-3836530644
DATE/EDITION: 2013
COST: $8.99
AUTHOR: Curtis, W.
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TITLE: Modern Architecture Since 1900
PUBLISHER: Phaidon
ISBN#: ISBN-10: 074833568, ISBN-13: 978-0714833568
DATE/EDITION: 1996
COST: $28.77
AUTHOR: Banham, R.
TITLE: Age of the Masters: A Personal View of Modern Architecture
PUBLISHER: Harper and Row
ISBN#: ASIN:B000OF0VHS
DATE: 1975
COST:$24.69
AUTHOR: Heschong, L.
TITLE: Thermal Delight in Architecture
PUBLISHER: MIT Press
ISBN#: ISBN-10: 026258039X, ISBN-13: 978-0262580397
DATE/EDITION: 1979
COST: $14.49
AUTHORS: K. David Pijawka and Kim Shetter
TITLE: The Environment Come Home: Arizona Public Services Environmental Showcase Home
PUBLISHER: Herberger Center For Design Excellence
ISBN 1-884320-13-9
DATE: 1995
ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS
AUTHOR: Vitruvius Polio
BOOK TITLE: Ten Books on Architecture
PAGES: 5-21, 38-41
AUTHOR: Le Corbusier
BOOK TITLE: Towards a New Architecture
PAGE: 141
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
None
HONOR CODE
Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of
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Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University’s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of
lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager’s Handbook for further explanation of
what constitutes an honor offense.
Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: “On my honor
as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment.” The pledge
must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed “[signed].”
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