ARCH 576 / LA 587 Graduate Seminar Fall 2020 Semester Syllabus

GLOBAL DESIGN PRACTICE: Themes, Critiques, and Radical Alternatives

Illinois School of Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MW 9:00-10:20 AM Online: http://aneeshadharwadker.com/arch-576-la-587 CRN: 74037 Credits: 3

Professor Aneesha Dharwadker Email: [email protected] Office Hours: By appointment

OVERVIEW This graduate seminar surveys contemporary design practice on six continents, introducing students to a wide variety of scales, methods, questions, and positions that are emerging in the 21st century. We will examine the global contexts for practices creating the built environment through lectures, discussions, and case studies. Special focus will be given to organizations staking out new political, cultural, and ethical positions in design.

Deliverables will include short weekly exercises in both visual and written formats. For the final project, students will create their own hypothetical design firms, reinterpreting what it means to practice in design today. This course is open to graduate students in Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Understand the principles of design practice, from creative process to business development • Gain exposure to how different practices are carried out across the globe • Develop a unique voice and position when analyzing existing practices, through writing and diagramming • Explore methods of expressing and representing your own hypothetical practice • Practice clear communication in multiple media: writing, speaking, visualizing

COURSE WEBSITE & BOX FOLDER All course materials and assignment instructions will be available on the course website (http://aneeshadharwadker.com/arch-576-la-587). The website is divided into separate pages for each week, which are password protected. You will receive the passwords during class meetings on Zoom.

Assignments will be due on Box at designated times each week. Weekly reading responses will be due in MS Word format, and images/presentations in PDF format.

ATTENDANCE During the first week, we will meet at 9AM on Monday 8/24 and Wednesday 8/26 at 9AM on Zoom. After the first week, we will meet on Wednesdays only at 9AM on Zoom for group discussions. Pre-recorded lectures will be available on the course website that I encourage you to watch during class time on Mondays (asynchronously).

The link for our first Monday meeting is here: https://illinois.zoom.us/j/93539240480

The link for our subsequent Wednesday meetings is here: https://illinois.zoom.us/j/91584300399

Attendance will be taken promptly at the beginning of class each Wednesday. Three unexcused absences will result in the reduction of one letter grade from the final semester grade. Every two subsequent unexcused absences will result in another letter grade reduction. Since we are only meeting once per week, it’s very important that you keep up attendance throughout the term.

You are expected to participate fully in reading discussions and submit written/visual work on time as directed by the instructor.

GRADE DISTRIBUTION AND EVALUATION Grades will be given for reading responses, class discussion participation, and completion of the final project. Detailed point distributions are outlined in the “Assignments” section. Grades will be posted at intervals throughout the semester on Compass.

In compliance with Article 3-102 of the University Student Code, letter grades should be interpreted as follows: Excellent (100-90): A+, A, A- Good (89-80): B+, B, B- Fair (79-70): C+, C, C- Poor (69-60): D+, D, D- Failure (below 60): F (not acceptable for degree credit) Incomplete: I (only allowed in extenuating circumstances, with instructor approval)

See the student code at http://studentcode.illinois.edu/article3_part1_3-102.html for more information.

POLICIES AND RESOURCES Academic Integrity You are expected to complete your own work unless otherwise indicated by the instructor(s). Plagiarism in any form is not tolerated and will result in immediate failure of the course.

See Article 1 of the Student Code at http://studentcode.illinois.edu/article1_part4_1-401.html for more information and university policy.

Research, Writing, and English Language Resources You have access to different services across campus to assist you with synthesizing and processing course materials, as well as with English language comprehension and writing. Visit the following for more information on workshops and one-on-one sessions.

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Academic Services Center: http://www.omsa.illinois.edu/academics/tutoring.html Linguistics Department: http://www.linguistics.illinois.edu/students/esl/academic-conversation-skills.html Center for Writing Studies: http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/about/

Disability Resources and Educational Services To obtain disability-related academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the course instructor and the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as soon as possible. To contact DRES, you may visit 1207 S. Oak St., Champaign, call 333-4603, e-mail [email protected] or go to the DRES website at http://disability.illinois.edu/.

If you are concerned you have a disability-related condition that is impacting your academic progress, there are academic screening appointments available on campus that can help diagnosis a previously undiagnosed disability by visiting the DRES website and selecting “Sign-Up for an Academic Screening” at the bottom of the page.

Counseling and Mental Health Support Counseling Center Information: 217-333-3704 Location: Room 206, Student Services Building 610 East John Street, Champaign, IL Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday Appointment: Scheduled for same day, recommend calling at 7:50 a.m. Website: https://counselingcenter.illinois.edu/

McKinley Mental Health Information: 217-333-2705 Location: 3rd Floor McKinley Health Center 1109 South Lincoln, Urbana, IL Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday Appointment: Scheduled in advance Website: https://mckinley.illinois.edu/medical-services/mental-health

CITATIONS Sources used in written work or visual presentations should be cited using the Chicago Manual of Style. Please see http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html for the “Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide.”

ASSIGNMENTS Reading Responses (25%) Reading responses should not summarize the readings. Rather, you should synthesize ideas, provide your own position, and develop a voice regarding the issues we cover in lectures and readings. Think of these as short philosophical statements crafted from your unique perspective. Critiques, questions, and working through contradictions are encouraged.

Written response should be 300-400 words, 11 point Times New Roman font, double spaced. MS Word files should be uploaded to Box by 9AM prior to each Wednesday discussion. You should use your response as a guide for participating in the discussion.

Some responses will be visual (i.e., you will create a diagram or image to respond to a question posed in class). You will receive further guidelines about these throughout the term.

Discussion Participation (25%) You are expected to participate fully in group discussions. Feedback on your participation will be provided midway through the semester.

Final Project, Workshops, and Presentation (50%) The final project will ask you to propose your own design firm through a series of written and visual exercises, synthesized into a final presentation. Components of this project will include a mission statement, a design process diagram, proposed collaborators, sample project types, and mockups of a website and other digital media. A full set of guidelines will be made available during Week 8.

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WEEKLY SCHEDULE AND READINGS Class meetings will consist of lectures, discussions, and informal workshops for developing your final projects. Any changes to the schedule or readings will be announced in class and via email.

Week 1 Design Practice: Overview and Assessments Aug. 24 & 26

Monday Course introduction + class survey Lecture 1 online: “Defining Practice”

Required Readings: “Architectural Practice Now,” Harvard Design Magazine Vol. 32 (Spring/Summer 2010): 28-43.

James Corner, “Recovering Landscape as a Critical Cultural Practice,” Recovering Landscape, ed. James Corner (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999), 1-26.

Jay Wickersham, “Learning from Burnham: The Origins of Modern Architectural Practice,” Harvard Design Magazine Vol. 32 (Spring/Summer 2010): 18-27.

Stan Allen, “Introduction: Practice vs. Project,” Practice: Architecture Technique + Representation (Abingdon: Routledge, 2009), xi-xxiii.

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 1 reading response due (9AM)

Week 2 Design Practice: Methods and Critiques Aug. 31 & Sept. 2

Monday Lecture 2 Online: “Design Practice: Methods and Critiques”

Required Readings: Ines Weizman, “Dissidence Through Architecture,” Perspecta Vol. 45 (2012): 27-38

Keefer Dunn, “Against Employability,” RM 1000 Iss. 6 (2018): 117-124.

Michael Rock, “The Accidental Power of Design,” T Magazine, 15 Sept. 2016.

Reinier de Graaf, “Charisma Allows the Architect to Speak with Authority, Even When He Has No Clue,” Dezeen, 29 Sept. 2015. https://www.dezeen.com/2015/09/29/renier-de-graaf-amo-oma-opinion-architects-charisma-eisenman-rossi-van-eyck/

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 2 reading response due (9AM)

Week 3 Practice as Ethical Imperative Sept. 7 & 9

Monday (Labor Day) Lecture 3 Online: “Ethical Imperatives in Global Design Contexts”

Practices/Organizations: Elemental (Chile); Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico); Borderless Studio (US/Mexico); Rural Studio (US); SCAPE (US); f-architecture (US); Orkidstudio (Kenya); Mohamed Amine Siana (Morocco); Forensic Architecture (UK); Ross Langdon (Australia)

Required Readings:

Mohsen Mostafavi, “Agonistic Urbanism,” in Ethics of the Urban: The City and the Spaces of the Political (Harvard Graduate School of Design: Lars Muller Publishers, 2017), 9-16.

—. “Why Ecological Urbanism? Why Now?” Harvard Design Magazine Iss. 32 (Spring/Summer 2010): 124-135.

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Marci Webster-Mannison, “Rethinking Practice: Architecture, Ecology, and Ethics,” Design and Ethics: Reflections on Practice (Abingdon: Routledge, 2012), 159-175.

Tom Spector, The Ethical Architect: The Dilemma of Contemporary Practice (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001), viii-xi and 3-31.

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 3 reading response due (9AM)

Week 4 Practice as For-Profit Business/Service Sept. 14 & 16

Monday Lecture 4 Online: “Capitalism, Design, and Practice”

Practices: Skidmore Owings and Merrill (Global); Perkins + Will (Global); Field Operations (US); Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (US); Diller Scofidio + Renfro (US); SWA (US); Kieran Timberlake (US); Thomas Phifer and Partners (US); Zaha Hadid Architects (UK); Turenscape (China); Snøhetta (Norway/US); Balkrishna Doshi (India); Atelier KOÉ (Senegal); Openbox Architects (Thailand)

Required Readings/Videos: Aleksandr Bierig, “The High Line and Other Myths,” Log 18 (Winter 2010): 129-134.

Ashley Shafer and Amanda Reeser, “After-Thoughts,” Praxis 5 (2003): 4-5.

Craig Dykers, IIT Dean’s Lecture Series (Spring 2016), 1h 40m. https://vimeo.com/160148973

Patrik Schumacher, “Only Capitalism Can Solve the Housing Crisis,” Adam Smith Institute, 25 April 2018. https://www.adamsmith.org/capitalismcansolvethehousingcrisis/

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 4 reading response due (9AM)

Week 5 Practice as Non-Profit Enterprise Sept. 21 & 23

Monday Lecture 5 Online: “Capitalism + Non-Profit Design in the 21st Century”

Practices: MASS Design Group (US/Rwanda); Habitat for Humanity (US); Project H Design (US); Atlas Lab (US); Chicago Mobile Makers (US); Shigeru Ban/Voluntary Architects Network (Japan); Architecture Sans Frontiers (Spain); Kéré Architecture + Foundation (Germany); Assemble (UK)

Required Readings: No readings Select one project by a for-profit or non-profit firm and diagram its financial flow (one 11x17 sheet)

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 5 diagram due (9AM)

Week 6 Practice as Technological Avant-Garde Sept. 28 & 30

Monday Lecture 6 Online: “Technology in Practice: Methods and Implications”

Practices: Gehry Technologies (US); Eric Owen Moss (US); Olson Kundig (US); Tesla (US); Zaha Hadid Architects (UK); Farshid Moussavi Architecture (UK); Thomas Heatherwick (UK); Coop Himmelblau (Austria); Giorgi Khmaladze Architects (Georgia); Herzog & de Meuron (Switzerland); UNStudio (Netherlands/China); PT Bambu/IBUKU (Indonesia)

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Required Readings: Patrik Schumacher, “The Historical Pertinence of Parametricism and the Prospect of a Free Market Urban Order,” in The Politics of Parametricism: Digital Technologies in Architecture, ed. Matthew Poole and Manuel Shvartzberg ( London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), 19-44.

Peggy Deamer, “The Changing Nature of Architectural Work,” Harvard Design Magazine Iss. 33 ((Fall/Winter 2010-2011): 70-75.

Teddy Cruz, “The Architecture of Neoliberalism,” in The Politics of Parametricism: Digital Technologies in Architecture, ed. Matthew Poole and Manuel Shvartzberg (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), 189-199.

Tom Vanderbilt, “The School Prepping for the Apocalypse,” The New York Times, 13 Nov. 2017.

Suggested Readings: Ingeborg Rocker, “When Code Matters,” in Programming Cultures: Art and Architecture in the Age of Software (London: Wiley Academy, 2006).

Matthew Poole and Manuel Shvartzberg, “Introduction,” in The Politics of Parametricism: Digital Technologies in Architecture, ed. Matthew Poole and Manuel Shvartzberg ( London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), 1-18.

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 6 reading response due (9AM)

Week 7 Practice as Philosophical Avant-Garde Oct. 5 & 7

Monday Lecture 7 Online: “Design Philosophy and Guiding Principles”

Practices: Ballistic Architecture Machine/BAM (China); BIG/Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark/US); MOS (US); R EX (US); Kanye West/Yeezy Home (US); Philippe Barriere Collective (Tunisia); Biotope (Norway); Atelier Bow Wow (Japan)

Required Readings/Videos: Ballistic Architecture Machine/BAM About Page and Intro Video: http://bam-usa.com/about

Bjarke Ingels, Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution (Koln: Evergreen, 2010). Excerpts.

Additional Readings TBD

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 7 philosophy statement due (9AM)

Week 8 Final Project Introduction Oct. 12 & 14

Monday Final Project Introduction

Wednesday Zoom Workshop 1 (9AM)

Week 9 Practice as Urbanism Oct. 19 & 21

Monday Lecture 9 Online: “Architectural Urbanism and Landscape Urbanism”

Practices: Bernard Tschumi Architects (US/France); OMA (Netherlands/US); Safdie Architects (US/Canada/Israel/Singapore/China); West 8 (Netherlands); Studio Gang (US); Weiss/Manfredi (US); SAOTA (South Africa); Bureau Architecture Méditerranée (France/Algeria/Tunisia)

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Required Readings: Alexandra Lange, “Play Ground,” The New Yorker, 16 May 2016.

Bernard Tschumi, Red Is Not A Color (New York: Rizzoli, 2012). Excerpts.

Charles Waldheim, “Landscape as Urbanism,” The Landscape Urbanism Reader (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006), 36-53.

Rem Koolhaas, “Whatever Happened to Urbanism?” in S, M, L, XL, ed. Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, Jennifer Sigler, and Hans Werlemann (New York: Monacelli Press, 1998).

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 9 reading response due (9AM)

Week 10 Practice as Exhibition/Installation/Event Oct. 26 & 28

Monday Lecture 10 Online: “Exhibition, Installation, and Event”

Practices/Exhibitions: Venice Architecture Biennale (Global); PS1 MoMA (Global); Astana Expo (Kazakhstan); Olafur Eliasson (Germany); Michael Heizer (US); Walter Hood/Hood Studio (US); Jenny Sabin (US); Chicago Architecture Biennial (US); Serpentine Pavilions (UK)

Required Readings: Adrienne Brown, “Architectures of Habit,” Dimensions of Citizenship website, 2018. http://dimensionsofcitizenship.org/essays/architectures-of-habit/

Imre Szeman, “On the Politics of Region,” Dimensions of Citizenship website, 2018. http://dimensionsofcitizenship.org/essays/on-the-politics-of-region/

Dana Goodyear, “Michael Heizer’s Monumental ‘City’,” The New Yorker, 29 Aug 2016.

Ned Beauman, “Olafur Eliasson on How to Do Good Art,” T Magazine, 13 Nov. 2014.

Suggested Readings: Other essays on “Dimensions of Citizenship” website and Form N-X00 online gallery Chicago Architecture Biennial website, http://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/

Wednesday Zoom Discussion + Week 10 reading response due (9AM)

Week 11 Practice as Interdisciplinary Design Research Nov. 2 & 4

Monday Lecture 11 Online: “Practice as Research / Research and Practice”

Practices: OP-SYS (US/Canada); Lateral Office (Canada); Somatic Collaborative (US/Ecuador); The Open Workshop (US/Canada); OMA/AMO (US); Anthony Acciavatti (US); Office for Urbanization (US); Urban-Think Tank (Switzerland); NLÉ Works (Nigeria/Netherlands); axu studio (US/South Korea); Luis Callejas/LCLA (Colombia/Norway); Rahul Mehrotra/RMA (India/US)

Required Readings: Urban-Think Tank, “Interventions,” Praxis 13 (2011): 90-97.

Kunlé Adeyemi et. al., “Water & The City,” Cornell University, 2014. Draft Publication. Excerpts.

—, “Makoko Floating School Research Report,” 2012. Excerpts.

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“Q&A: Dongsei Kim on How Architecture Can Impact the Korean DMZ,” The Box, 14 June 2018. https://www.nyit.edu/box/features/qa_dongsei_kim_on_how_architecture_can_impact_the_korean_dmz

Neeraj Bhatia and Mary Casper, eds., The Petropolis of Tomorrow (New York: Actar D, 2013). Excerpts.

Wednesday Zoom Workshop 2 (9AM)

Week 12 Practice as Material Construct Nov. 9 & 11

Monday Lecture 12 Online: “Materiality in Design Practice”

Practices: Frida Escobedo (Mexico); SANAA (Japan); Tadao Ando (Japan); Shigeru Ban (Japan); Kengo Kuma and Associates (Japan); David Adjaye (UK); Theaster Gates (US); Toshiko Mori Architect (US); Tod Williams Billie Tsien (US); Ten X Ten (US); Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (US); Hashim Sarkis Studios (Lebanon/US); Studio Symbiosis (India); Rafik Azam (Bangladesh); Tabanlioglu Architects (Turkey/US/UAE/Qatar); David Chipperfield (UK)

Readings: David Adjaye, “Small Monuments: The Lesson of Africa,” in David Adjaye: Form, Heft, Material, ed. Okwui Enwezor and Zoe Ryan (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2015).

Rowan Moore, “Serpentine Pavilion 2018: Frida Escobedo’s ‘Intimate Public Space’,” The Guardian, 3 June 2018.

Additional Readings TBD

Wednesday Discussion + Week 12 reading response due (9AM)

Week 13 Final Project Development Nov. 16 & 18

Monday Self-directed project development

Wednesday Zoom Workshop 3 (9AM)

Week 14 Fall Break Nov. 21-29

Week 15 Final Presentations Nov. 30 & Dec. 2

Monday Zoom Final presentations (9AM) Course evaluations (online)

Wednesday Zoom Final presentations

Week 16 Project & Portfolio Development Dec. 7 & 9

Monday & Wednesday Self-directed final project editing & portfolio development Edited final presentations due on Box by end of day December 9

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COURSE CALENDAR, FALL 2020

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

24 25 26 27 28 Course Introduction AUG Response due Lecture 1 (online) Zoom Discussion 31 1 2 3 4

SEPT Response due Lecture 2 (online) Zoom Discussion 7 8 9 10 11 LABOR DAY Response due Lecture 3 (online) Zoom Discussion 14 15 16 17 18 Response due Lecture 4 (online) Zoom Discussion 21 22 23 24 25 Response due Lecture 5 (online) Zoom Discussion 28 29 30 1 2 Response due Lecture 6 (online) Zoom Discussion 5 6 7 8 9 Statement due OCT Lecture 7 (online) Zoom Discussion 12 13 14 15 16

Final Project Intro Zoom Workshop 1 19 20 21 22 23 Response due Lecture 9 (online) Zoom Discussion 26 27 28 29 30 Response due Lecture 10 (online) Zoom Discussion 2 3 4 5 6 ELECTION DAY NOV Lecture 11 (online) Zoom Workshop 2 9 10 11 12 13 Response due Lecture 12 (online) Discussion 16 17 18 19 20

Project development Zoom Workshop 3 23 24 25 26 27 FALL BREAK

30 1 2 3 4

DEC Final Presentations Final Presentations Evaluations (online) 7 8 9 10 11

Project editing & Final project due on portfolio development Box

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