Intent

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    The Art of Architecture
   Architecture 393
   Syracuse University School of Architecture, SPRING 1995

    Professor Osvaldo Valdes



      Statement of Intent

     Between The Concrete And The Metaphysical

    THE ART OF ARCHITECTURE is a platform for non-architecture students to develop an understanding and appreciation
    of the strategies and conceptual basis for the production of architecture.

    As architectural discourse is historically situated within the limits of the particular society and culture [ethos] that has sponsored its terms,
    the influences upon the pro-duction of architecture have traditionally been circumscribed within the economic, political, philosophical and artistic-symbolic territory of that culture. A
    s such the lectures in this course will ex-plore the societal and trans-cultural influences on the various modes, systems and scales of architec-tural production.
    These may include systems of structural, spatial and formal organization, modes of representation as well as the critical analysis of such traditional concepts as beauty, proportion, truth and harmony.

    In order for the student to become proficient in the study, appreciation and analysis of ar-chitecture this course will concentrate on three conditions of ar-chitectural construction:

    1 -    Syntax

    Architects throughout the ages have contributed to the production of the language of ar-chitecture. As language architecture is manifested in the various systems of formal, structural, semiotic [ornament] and
    conceptual organizations that inform and/or govern the ar-rangement and distribution of space. By analyzing canonical ar-chitectural and urban structure[s] the student will develop an awareness and under-standing
    of the multiplicity of those systems of   organization that lead to the vari-ous provinces of spatial composition, formal contrast and gradation, conceptual hi-erarchy and compositional [i]regularity in-herent in the
    making of architecture.

    2 -    Context

    For purposes of discussion, specific buildings will be analyzed out of their context; that is, as abstract objects devoid of a direct relationship to site, geography or climate.
    The dependence of a building to its environment however will be considered of paramount importance. In this respect the student is encouraged to layer his or her understanding of the specific architectural
    principles under consideration with the perceptual and conceptual characteristics of place; that is, with orientation, qualities of light, views, signs and symbols, local history, etc.

    3 -    Space

    Central to the study and appreciation of architecture space is the preferred agency of architectural expression. The concept of space however is the least under-stood component of architectural production.
    Space has peculiar characteristics: it is con-tainer as well as contained and while not having the characteristic of form or frame-work for form it is the background that gives form substance. It is also the abstract that gives
    meaning to the particular. In the twentieth century space is the component of archi-tec-ture that has attained an unparalleled level of theoretical fascination and seductive-ness. Partly because of its theoretical
    importance and partly because of its illusive conceptual framework we will concentrate on the various systems of building construction and planning, for any suggestion into the structure of space, by analyzing the
    changing quality of the wall through his-tory. We will also examine the historical significance of pictorial space and the artistic-aesthetic manifes-tations offered by the manipulation and administration of space.
    In short we will probe the history of art for any clues and suggestions into the paradoxical nature of one of the primary mediums of architecture.