Global History Of Architecture Research Articles

»Learning from Las Vegas« Tianjin!

Abstract From the perspective of architectural research, globalization is often reduced to a merely recent phenomenon of construction firms and star architects operating worldwide today. This article argues for a global architectural history that examines the globally effective processes of exchange and circulation of capital, labor, and the increasingly unified standards of form, style, and material in building practice from a historical perspective as well: architectural globalization, therefore, can also be traced back, among other constellations, to a phase of an entanglement of the world that coincided with the height of European imperialism and colonialism around 1900. As a case-study serves in this essay the International Concession (Settlement) of Tientsin in China, where between ca. 1860 and 1945 altogether nine imperial powers from Japan, Europe (also the German Empire) and the USA developed their trading posts as veritable city quarters with representative architectures. Irony of history back-translated into present times: Today, these urban and architectural fragments from imperial pasts are being appropriated as an integral part of a veritable cultural heritage industry in which China itself, with the megacity of Tianjin, is now presenting itself as a global player, not least in the means of architecture and urban planning.

Space Versus Time: Flattening History. An Architectural History Perspective

From its very beginning, architectural historiography tended to ‘flatten’ historicity in favor of a ‘spatialized’ discourse. This process was triggered by gradually emphasizing space over time, as becomes clear in examining this longue durée, from the ‘barbarian’ architectures of Quatremère de Quincy and Seroux d’Agincourt to the ‘non-historical styles’ of Banister Fletcher, and from turning peripheries into productive territories of architectural resistance in the theories on critical regionalism to shaping a global history of architecture. The focus on space changed the dynamics of the narrative from a vertical construction to an increasingly horizontal perception of architectural production through the ages. During its evolution, the historiographic discourse grew complexified through a twofold understanding of space, both in terms of doctrinal conceptualization (space being presented as the very essence of architecture) and in terms of a geographical expansion. Several threads wove the historiographical narratives in the succeeding works of architectural history; unraveling these begins with an analysis of the foundations of architectural historicity, questioning the role and place of conceptual models, such as the ‘primitive hut’, and schemes like the ‘tree of architecture’, moving to a gradual dismantling of its temporality through the shaping of a modernist historiography and, eventually, through the emergence of marginal historiographic territories. An indirect goal of looking at this flattening of history from an architectural history perspective is tackling the meaning of writing history today.

Review: Balkrishna Doshi: Writings on Architecture and Identity and One Continuous Line: Art, Architecture and Urbanism of Aditya Prakash

Review: <i>Balkrishna Doshi: Writings on Architecture and Identity</i> and <i>One Continuous Line: Art, Architecture and Urbanism of Aditya Prakash</i>

Before | After: Thresholds Roundtable: The History and Legacy of Thresholds Journal

Before | After: Thresholds Roundtable: The History and Legacy of <i>Thresholds</i> Journal

Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture, 21st edition

Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture, 21st edition

Multiple Authorship: The Collaborative Production of Knowledge in the Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition (1965–2020)

This paper challenges the notion of the heroic genius as driver of invention and development in architectural culture. It considers the production of architectural ideas prior to design as an integral part of the production of architectural projects and takes the Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition (1965–2020), a yearly housing ideas competition from Japan, as a tangible case study for exploring notions of multiple authorship. The paper focuses on the editions of the competition judged by Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhaas, and Kazuyo Sejima–who respectively set the provocative themes of “Comfort in the Metropolis” (1988), “House with No Style” (1992), and “The Possibilities of Non- Movement” (1996)–to illustrate how this ideas competition functions as a fruitful dialogue between judge and contestants that produces architectural knowledge collaboratively. At the same time, by de-mystifying the genius of the single “star architect” judge, this paper aims to contribute to the ongoing quest to write a more inclusive global history of architecture that reveals voices hitherto silenced.

Accreditation Requirements and the Global History of Architecture

Accreditation Requirements and the Global History of Architecture

Review: Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage

Review: <i>Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage</i>

Bloomsbury Architecture Library

The Bloomsbury Architecture Library website provides an overview of architectural and interior design written primarily for secondary and undergraduate students. The content is divided into sections based on Place, Period, Subjects and Styles, Peoples, Cultures and Religions, Materials, and Architects, allowing users to explore the subject in a guided manner. The individual resources on the site are built around the newly revised Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture. This is supplemented by a collection of e-books providing deeper coverage on specific topics. An image collection of specific buildings, both plans and images, incorporates the important visual aspect of the topic. Within a specific topic, facets are provided to aid in further discovery. The sharp focus of this site provides an excellent starting point for research on architecture. The plans for additional resources will broaden coverage at a rate that should not overwhelm users and will keep the site relevant in the future.

Redefining the Globe: An Interview with Murray Fraser on Architectural History for the 21st Century

The highly anticipated 21st edition of Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture was published in January 2020 by Bloomsbury in collaboration with the Banister Fletcher Trust, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the University of London. Among many new features is an emphasis on the book’s ‘global’ reach, which reshapes its scope and structure. With all chapters written anew and encompassing architectural histories and sites across the globe over the past 5,500 years, the 21st edition of Banister Fletcher emerges at the forefront of the march towards global architectural history. This is a radical transformation of a classic book previously viewed as the Eurocentric canon’s centrepiece. The following interview with Murray Fraser, general editor of the new edition and professor of architecture and global culture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, explores the paths of his intellectual development, starting with changes from within the ‘centre’ — the former British Empire and its traditionally defined scope of architectural history — through to his eventual shift towards a global outlook. The conversation also offers a retrospective look at architectural education in the 20th century, now seen as a postcolonial ‘tipping point’, and discusses recent scholarship that led to the reformulation of Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture. Ultimately, Fraser’s intellectual trajectory identifies two critical factors that ushered in the new Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture: a seismic change that took place within British architectural education, and the ensuing efforts to redefine architectural history for global audiences.

A global history of architecture for an age of globalisation

If we take the most plausible definition of “globalisation”, then it is a broad-brush term that becomes useful when describing the new geopolitical, social and cultural realities that have emerged since the ending of the Cold War in the late-1980s and early-1990s. With no longer a simplistic polarisation of the world into US-dominated capitalist nations opposed to USSR-dominated communist states (with other countries such as Maoist China or non-aligned nations in the Global South squeezed awk...

“Dear Comrade,” or Exile in a Communist World: Resistance, Feminism, and Urbanism in Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s Work in China (1934/1956)

In the 1930s and the 1950s China recruited thousands of foreign "experts” to consult on programs to modernize the country. Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897–2000), an Austrian architect and postwar member of the Communist Party, was invited to participate in these programs in both periods. Today Schütte-Lihotzky has been canonized in this history of architecture for her interwar contributions to modern housing and educational institutions in Austria, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Turkey. Recent scholarship has shown, however, that both, her architectural and political efforts, spanned more than eight decades. Schütte-Lihotzky was actively involved in the Austrian Communist Resistance in the 1940s, as well as the Austrian women’s movement, the international peace movement, and transnational architectural organizations such as the International Congress of Modern Architecture (ciam), and the Union of International Architects (uia) in the postwar years. By focusing on two extended research trips Schütte-Lihotzky made to China in 1934 and 1956, this essay positions her work in a wider discourse about the agency of female architects as well as the networks of communist intellectuals during the Cold War. It presents Schütte-Lihotzky’s endeavors in China as a lens for examining the complex entanglements of gender, class, and ethnicity in international women’s organizations as well as instances of “othering” perpetuated by European architects who served as foreign “experts” abroad. Finally, the essay also argues that Schütte-Lihotzky’s travel coincided with moments of China’s effort to build relationships with countries abroad. While her book manuscript Millionenstädte Chinas, completed in 1958, thus serves as a document chronicling these exchanges in design culture, at the time Schütte-Lihotzky understood it as a preparatory text for devising a global architectural history written from a communist vantage point.

Connecting the Dots

Does “global” mean “local”? This question immediately sprang to mind as I read Sibel Sandi-Zayek’s “The Unsung of the Canon”. Inspiring arguments, her three points designed to unveil the blind spots in global architectural history take me from the macro level of global-scale history to the particularism of historical evidence. The local dots shown in regional architectural history are connected cross-continentally via closer examinations of architects and patronage. The examples she drew sho...

Revisiting a Graduate Design Studio on Sacred Architecture: A Mosque Design in Yazd, Iran

Abstract This essay describes a graduate studio where students were asked to design a new mosque in the historic old town of Yazd, Iran. The project was formed under the broader theme ‘Sacred Architecture in International Historic and Sustainable Contexts’ and required the students to think critically about design within historic, cultural, environmental and tectonic contexts. The studio also responded to concerns expressed by the American National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) about the limited international training and experience in architectural programmes. As such, the project addressed a particular design problem (a mosque design in Yazd, Iran) and responded to broader issues within the field of ­architectural pedagogy. Five examples of students’ projects demonstrate a variety of design concepts and architectural approaches to the design of the new mosque. All examples show attentiveness to faith requirements and sensitivity to the specific site restrictions, as well as to local climate conditions. The latter was emphasized by sustainable design proposals, which accommodate the harsh desert environment of Yazd. Reflections and recommendations follow the description of students’ projects and relate to the pedagogical issues in teaching global architectural history and contemporary practice.

Is a Global History of Architecture Displayable? A Historiographical Perspective on the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale and Louvre Abu Dhabi

This article comparatively discusses the 14th International Architecture Biennale of Venice, directed by Rem Koolhaas, and the pilot exhibit and architectural design of Louvre Abu Dhabi undertaken by Jean Nouvel, in the context of recent big art events and world museums. Curatorial, historiographical, and installation strategies in these venues are differentiated in order to think through the question of displaying a global history of architecture. I make a distinction between the curatorial practices carried out in the Fundamentals and Absorbing Modernity sections of Venice's Central and National Pavilions as curator-as-author and curators-as-chorus, which I map onto recent historiographical and museum design practices, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi, to discuss the geopolitical implications of its installation strategies. I also argue that six methodological perspectives for displaying architectural history emerge from the curator-chorus of Absorbing Modernity, which can be identified as survey, nationalist history, case study, thematic history, archive metaphor, and deferment, all of which contribute to and raise questions about the ongoing project towards a global architectural history. After suggesting a difference between “world” and “global” history of architecture, I call for a more geopolitically conscious and cosmopolitan global history of architecture, by exposing the intactive bonds between the history of modernism and of colonization, as well as the continuing legacy of geopolitical and economic inequalities that operate in such venues.

Leon Battista Alberti and His Somniatic Troubles

November 01 2018 Leon Battista Alberti and His Somniatic Troubles Mark Jarzombek Mark Jarzombek Mark Jarzombek is Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. He has an architecture diploma from the ETH and a PhD from the History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art program at MIT. He has published widely on numerous topics and has been a fellow at CASVA, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Canadian Center for Architecture, and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. His books include the textbook A Global History of Architecture (Wiley Press, 2006) and The Architecture of First Societies: A Global Perspective (Wiley Press, 2013). Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Mark Jarzombek Mark Jarzombek is Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. He has an architecture diploma from the ETH and a PhD from the History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art program at MIT. He has published widely on numerous topics and has been a fellow at CASVA, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Canadian Center for Architecture, and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. His books include the textbook A Global History of Architecture (Wiley Press, 2006) and The Architecture of First Societies: A Global Perspective (Wiley Press, 2013). Online Issn: 2572-7338 Print Issn: 1091-711X © 2015 Mark Jarzombek2015Mark Jarzombek Thresholds (2015) (43): 102–309. https://doi.org/10.1162/thld_a_00060 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation Mark Jarzombek; Leon Battista Alberti and His Somniatic Troubles. Thresholds 2015; (43): 102–309. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/thld_a_00060 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThresholds Search Advanced Search This content is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Mark Jarzombek2015Mark Jarzombek Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Unsung of the Canon: Does a Global Architectural History Need New Landmarks?

Over the past two decades, global history has grown into an increasingly well-recognized and popular field of study with its own journal, conferences and publications. As revealed in the wide and lively debate in the field, however, what global history precisely entails and how it differs from other innovative approaches (such as “new” world history or transnational history) is far from clear or settled. For many scholars, global history is merely a variant of a long tradition of world histor...

Modernity Beyond the West: A Review of Kathleen James-Chakraborty’s Architecture Since 1400

With Architecture Since 1400 another volume has been added to the list of authoritative surveys of architectural history published in recent years. With 30 bit-like chapters and some 300 illustrations, this book is an ambitious attempt to write a global history of architecture that focuses on the arrival of modernity. The central idea of this survey is the shift away from the Weberian approach that views modernization as emanating from the West. Instead, in this book modern architecture is rewritten according to a global approach that allows for multiple perspectives in a multipolar world. This decentring approach is also pivotal for other parts of the book. For example, there is the much-needed effort to include women in the canon. In addition, the author exchanges a stylistic history for a social history and combines this with a narrative that maps the agents of the built environment, thus complementing the narrative of the genius-architect with that of the role played by clients, patrons and critics. In this way, Lina Bo Bardi or Zaha Hadid not only take their place next to Le Corbusier or Brunelleschi, but in addition Eleanor of Toledo is mentioned as an influential sixteenth-century ruler next to her husband Cosimo I, and Hardwick Hall in England is now considered the outcome of the cooperation between the architect Robert Smythson and the landowner Bess of Hardwick.

A global history of architecture

A global history of architecture

The Other’s History in Built Environment Education A Case Study: History of Architecture

AbstractIf the world of the twenty-first century is indeed a global village, is it not time to sally forth from Fortress Europe and get to know the history and culture of the rest of the world?(Hillenbrand, 2003, p.3)The majority of English textbooks and reference books used in built environment education are limited to Western architecture and its origins. There is a continuing tendency by publishers to introduce new textbooks oriented to a ‘global history of architecture’; however this new genre is still very limited. Consequently History of Architecture and Contemporary Architecture curricula in most English-speaking countries focus on Western and Central Europe and the USA. The exclusion of ‘other’ architectures is largely due to the lack of the teaching material in English; however in some cases it may also have deeper roots within certain cultural perceptions.Beyond History of Architecture, also topics such as Urban Planning, Landscape Architecture and Building Conservation represent the same limita...