University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL’S CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGICAL METHODS AS THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE MODERN ACADEMY: 1951–2007 By MARIO F. ORTEGA A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 1 © 2007 Mario F. Ortega 2 To my father and my mother, who have always supported my passion throughout my life and to Michelle, who without you, this would not have been possible 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank The University of Florida for establishing an exceptional pedagogical organization, which encourages us to excel in our everyday endeavors; my thesis committee, Nina Hofer and Martin Gundersen, for their constant motivation and never-ending wealth of knowledge; Becky Hudson, for her patience and guidance during this entire process; and my thesis chair, once again, Robert McCarter for always, inspiring the everlasting force that drives every architect to achieve excellence, not only as a mentor but as a friend. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................8 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................11 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................13 Mario F. Ortega: Lone Ranger................................................................................................13 Birth of the Texas Rangers .....................................................................................................14 Two Main Protagonists...........................................................................................................16 First was a Swiss Architect Named Bernard Hoesli........................................................16 Second Influential Architect and Writer..........................................................................18 Architecture Memorandum and the Academy........................................................................20 University of Texas School of Architecture Memorandum ............................................21 An Academy Based upon Two Works by Le Corbusier and Van Doesburg ..................22 Studio System as Defined by the Memorandum of 1954................................................23 THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE DESIGN STUDIO TEACHING METHOD.............................25 American Academy ................................................................................................................25 Influence of Ecole de Beaux-Arts...........................................................................................25 Prominent Architects of the Academy and Their Contributions ............................................26 Influence of H.H. Richardson..........................................................................................28 Influence of Louis Sullivan .............................................................................................29 Influence of Frank Lloyd Wright ....................................................................................30 HISTORICAL EXAMPLES OF PEDAGOGY BASED ON UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS...........36 Cornell University–Ithaca.......................................................................................................36 Cooper Union–New York.......................................................................................................37 Eidgenössische Technishe Hochschule (ETH)–Zurich ..........................................................38 PEDAGOGICAL OBJECTIVES OF THE DESIGN STUDIOS AS DEFINED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND PARALLED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ....46 Methodology and Goals of the Design Studios at the University of Texas............................46 First was the Freshman-Year Studios..............................................................................46 Second was the Sophomore-Year Studios.......................................................................46 Third was the Junior-Year Studios..................................................................................46 Fourth was the Senior-Year Studios................................................................................47 Reformation of the Design Problems ..............................................................................48 Roles of Drawings and the “Crit” in Jury Presentations .................................................48 Methodology and Goals of the Design Studios at the University of Florida..........................49 5 Design 1: First-Year Studio.............................................................................................50 Design 2: First-Year Studio.............................................................................................50 Design 3: Second-Year Studio ........................................................................................51 Design 4: Second-Year Studio ........................................................................................51 ARCHITECTURE DESIGN 1: DESIGN LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS................................53 Cube-Space-Threshold ...........................................................................................................53 Nine-Square Grid Exercise..............................................................................................53 Observations of the Cube-Space-Threshold....................................................................55 Explanation of Design Process for Cube-Space-Threshold....................................................56 Design Objective and Methodology................................................................................56 Design Sequence and Process .........................................................................................56 Transparency: Literal and Phenomenal ..................................................................................57 Cubism and Transparency ...............................................................................................59 Transparency within Paintings ........................................................................................59 Comparison of Bauhaus and Villa Garches.....................................................................61 Implementation of Transparency into First-Year Design Studios...................................62 Additional Notes on the Concept of Transparency by Bernard Hoesli:..........................64 Proposed Curriculum for Architecture Design 1....................................................................65 Course Description ..........................................................................................................65 Course Objectives............................................................................................................65 Course Process/ Methodology.........................................................................................66 Course Requirements.......................................................................................................66 ARCHITECTURE DESIGN 2: DESIGN LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS................................77 Influence of the Mathematics of the Ideal Villa .....................................................................77 Origin of Colin Rowe’s Essay and Theory......................................................................77 Comparative Design Exercises........................................................................................79 Le Corbusier’s and Palladio’s Approach to Classical Principles ....................................83 Subtraction and addition theory ...............................................................................84 Use of mathematics in design..................................................................................86 Conclusion of Analysis for the Four Villas.....................................................................88 Analysis-Proportion-Occupation ............................................................................................89 Analysis of Villa Rotonda and Villa Savoye...................................................................89 Design Objective and Methodology................................................................................89 Design Observations........................................................................................................90 Occupational Datum Project...................................................................................................91 Proposed Curriculum for Architecture Design 2....................................................................91 Course Description ..........................................................................................................91 Course Objective .............................................................................................................92 Course Process/ Methodology.........................................................................................92 Course Requirements.......................................................................................................93