The Department of Architectural Restoration and History of Architecture offers courses related to historical surveys, sustainable techniques for conservation, and the application of sustainable strategies for preserving context and heritage. Topics in Renaissance architecture are featured in select courses.
3 semester credits. This course offers students a combination of two original approaches to Bernardo Buontalenti: discovering the artistic contribution of a genius in Florence’s 16th century intellectual scene, and learning the cultural, political and scientific background that led to the creation of modern ice cream (gelato). The lessons will range from Buontalenti’s childhood at the Medici court to his artistic training spanning the analysis of his Florentine works (ephemeral installations for spectacular events, theatrical sets, and costumes), masterpieces of sculpture, architecture, and monumental gardens. Buontalenti's eclectic genius also involved the creation of the first ice cream machine. Students will learn about the various production techniques and genesis of sorbet, granita, and gelato from both a historical and technical point of view. Coursework will be organized through a series of practical workshops on various types of frozen desserts, lectures focusing on the artistic works of Buontalenti, and guided visits of major works by Buontalenti in Florence. Visits will include specialized tastings at select artisanal laboratories in Florence. This class includes experiential learning with CEMI.
3 semester credits. This course develops the skills to correctly evaluate the conservation status of architecture and to define the necessary intervention to repair through conservation and restoration practices. Emphasis is placed on historical buildings. Through the study of the traditional building techniques, students will discover the difference between internal structural instabilities and defects, damage due to the natural evolution of the building's life cycle, external forces, and weather change. Topics also focus on the causes of cracks and the collapse of the structural elements such as foundations, columns, walls, floors, arches, and domes.
3 semester credits. This course consists of theoretical and practical approaches that gradually and comprehensively allow the student to approach the logic of composite syntax and design problematics of contemporary architecture. Students will conduct a critical analysis of concrete examples of architecture through the works of globally recognized architects, presented in individual lessons focusing on a direct and cross-sectional approach in order to draw out significant relationships of methods and language from their projects and singular experiences. The principal objective posed by this course is to understand the original features of an architectural project or research, starting from a reflection upon the "elements of architectural composition," their application, and the evolution of architecture. The analysis is conducted with a historical timeframe, starting from a study of the masters of architecture such as Boullée and Palladio and how the application of their teachings is located in subsequent architects such as Thomas Jefferson and arrives at the works of masterpieces modern architects such as Le Corbusier, Louis Khan, Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright and those from the Italian panorama including Carlo Scarpa. The concluding studies will be concentrated on current masters working in the field such as Alvaro Siza, Peter Zumthor, and Santiago Calatrava.
3 semester credits. This course explores the principal architects, monuments and themes of fifteenth and sixteenth century Italian architecture. The course includes site visits in the city of Florence. Emphasis will be on Renaissance architecture in Florence, but will also include architectural developments in Rome, Urbino, Mantua, Verona and Vicenza. Special topics will include: architectural theory, Medici and papal patronage, urban planning, and church and palace design. A special focus will be dedicated to architects: Brunelleschi, Alberti, Michelozzo, Giuliano Sangallo, Bramante, Antonio Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo, Giulio Romano and Palladio. Visits to key Renaissance buildings and urban spaces in Florence are included.
3 semester credits. This course spans the history of Italian gardens from the 1200s to the 1700s. The course explores the evolution of the Italian garden landscape starting from the ancient Roman roots and the emergence of herbal gardens in medieval monasteries for medicinal remedies to the flourishing of early Renaissance masterpieces in the great palaces and villas of Italy. The early transformation of the garden from functional to recreational purposes will be examined in religious and humanistic contexts. A second phase of evolution from the recreation to symbols of power will be introduced through the gardens of ruling families and religious figures who combined garden aesthetics with experimentation and horticultural innovation until the late Renaissance. The course will conclude with the waning of the Italian garden in the 18th century, which ceded the domination of Italian gardens to the landscaping practices of France.
3 semester credits. This course provides a comprehensive survey of Italian art and architecture through five major movements in Italian history, starting from the art of the Roman Empire. The Medieval period is analyzed from its Byzantine roots and influence, which transitioned into the groundbreaking flowering of Renaissance artistic culture. Coursework will continue with the evolution of Italian art through the intellectual and emotional complexity of Mannerism, and conclude with the Baroque period sparked by the Counter-Reformation agenda of the Catholic church. The parallel development of related disciplines and the political and sociological currents during the historic era of each major movement will provide a wider perspective of Italian art and architecture throughout the centuries. This class includes field learning hours. Field learning is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting and may include field activities, field research, and service learning projects. The field learning experience is cultural; because it is intended to be wide-reaching, field-related content is not limited to the course subject but seeks to supplement and enrich academic topics. Students will have the opportunity to integrate theory and practice while experiencing Italian culture, art, and community within the Italian territory. Faculty will lead students in experiencing Italian culture through guided projects and field experiences as planned for the course. Field learning will be developed through classroom preparation, follow up projects, and guided learning outcomes. Field learning will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and appreciate the multifold components of Italian Culture through direct experience. Field education will advance student learning as a relationship-centered process.
6 semester credits. This course provides a comprehensive survey of Italian art and architecture through five major movements in Italian history, starting from the art of the Roman Empire. The Medieval period is analyzed from its Byzantine roots and influence, which transitioned into the groundbreaking flowering of Renaissance artistic culture. Coursework will continue with the evolution of Italian art through the intellectual and emotional complexity of Mannerism, and conclude with the Baroque period sparked by the Counter-Reformation agenda of the Catholic church. The parallel development of related disciplines and the political and sociological currents during the historic era of each major movement will provide a wider perspective of Italian art and architecture throughout the centuries. This class includes field learning hours. Field learning is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting and may include field activities, field research, and service learning projects. The field learning experience is cultural; because it is intended to be wide-reaching, field-related content is not limited to the course subject but seeks to supplement and enrich academic topics. Students will have the opportunity to integrate theory and practice while experiencing Italian culture, art, and community within the Italian territory. Faculty will lead students in experiencing Italian culture through guided projects and field experiences as planned for the course. Field learning will be developed through classroom preparation, follow up projects, and guided learning outcomes. Field learning will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and appreciate the multifold components of Italian Culture through direct experience. Field education will advance student learning as a relationship-centered process.