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SEMINARS SPRING 2009

HONR 208J From Glass Boxes to Bunkers: Architecture, Power, and Public Policy
Monday/Wednesday 2 - 3:15 p.m.; Wednesday 3:30-4:20 p.m.
Dr. Jane C. Loeffler, Visiting Associate Professor

HONR 208J Syllabus

What makes a building inviting or forbidding? How does architecture reveal the political outlook and cultural character of a given era? When it comes to America's public buildings, recent architecture reveals a bitter conflict between the urge for openness and the necessity for protection. This seminar focuses on the historical evolution of that conflict and its implications in terms of design and public policy.

The scope of study includes key 20th-century landmarks, from capitols and embassies to city halls, courthouses, museums, and monuments, and also "vernacular" structures, such as shopping malls and schools—with special emphasis on the changing architecture of U.S. embassies from New Delhi to Ottawa. Case studies probe the production of civic and national identity and the amplification of authority through design. Key issues are the changing meaning of the word "public" as it applies to buildings and spaces and the trade-offs which occur when fear becomes a major design factor.

The seminar's goal is to enable students to think and write critically about what they see and read. For this reason, the class will visit selected embassies, including the new Embassy of Finland, and office buildings in the Washington area. Guest speakers will include professionals who actually work on such projects. Assignments will include two brief essays based on personal observation, one quiz, and a longer research paper. Students will make in-class presentations based upon their own research. Presentations may incorporate photography or other sorts of visual documentation. Grades will be based on written work and participation. The approach is interdisciplinary.

Readings include:
James O'Gorman, ABC of Architecture
Jane C. Loeffler, The Architecture of Diplomacy: Building America's Embassies
Selections from other books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and films.

CORE: History/Theory of the Arts