Course detail

Architecture of 20th Century in the USA

FA-A20-TAcad. year: 2020/2021

The cycle of lectures will present not only the numerous works of Frank Lloyda Wright (1867–1959) who can be appointed as an archetypal “starchitect”, but also the construction of his historiographic myth. A wider context for the interpretation of modern and post-war American architecture will be provided, thus comparing Wright´s space principles with the works of Louis Sullivan, the Austrian School of Modernism, Adolf Loos, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Miese van der Rohe and other architects; and other possibilities and limits of the expression “organic architecture”.
In the study programme “Architecture and urban design” the course is part of the theoretical courses.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

1

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

PhDr. Ladislav Jackson, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Art History and Theory (KTDU)

Learning outcomes of the course unit

– Students will know the major works of Frank Lloyd Wright.
– Students will be given a general overview of American architecture in 1900–1950 and the main protagonists.
– Students will understand the basic historiography of the works by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The lectures are organised in thematic cycles which are interconnected. The works of Frank Lloyd Wright are presented from an intersectional perspective: in terms of topography and chronology.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

The assessment is based on a written test which verifies the knowledge of the presented material. The exam test comprises 100 % of assessment.

Course curriculum

1. Frank Lloyd Wright in the theory and historiography of architecture
2. Interpretation of architecture and the myth of architect
3. Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and Oak Park
4. Martin House, Robie House and Prairie house
5. Principle of tradition, organicity, continuity, and democracy in the architecture of FLLW
6. Taliesin, WI, and Taliesin-West, AZ
7. Solomon R. Guggenheim museum (Neil Levine)
8. Frank Lloyd Wright in California
9. Interior, furniture, and ornament
10. Fallingwater: Organic synthesis
11. Frank Lloyd Wright and urban design
12. Students and followers of Frank Lloyd Wright
13. Frank Lloyd Wright and Czechia

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The aim of the course is to present a detailed overview of Frank Lloyd Wright´s works, to introduce the possibilities of their interpretation, and to contextualise them in the development of architecture of the 20th century.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Students must attend 50 % of the lectures.
In the case of a student's apology and with approval of the subject guarantor, personal attendance may be substituted with online attendance in the classes.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, Frank Lloyd Wright : 1867-1959 : stavby pro demokracii, Praha 2005 (CS)

Recommended reading

Barry Bergdoll, Jennifer Gray, Frank Lloyd Wright: Unpacking the Archive, New York 2016 (EN)
Neil Levine, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, New York 1998 (EN)
Neil Levine, The Urbanism of Frank Lloyd Wright, New York 2015 (EN)
Barry Bergdoll, Jennifer Gray, Frank Lloyd Wright: Unpacking the Archive, New York 2016 (EN)
Francesco Dal Co, The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright's Iconoclastic Masterpiece, New Haven, 2017 (EN)
Anthony Alofskin et al., Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, New York 2002 (EN)
Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, Frank Lloyd Wright: Collected Writings, Vol. 1 (1890–1930), Vol. 2 (1930, 1932), Vol. 3 (1931–1939), Vol. 4 (1939–1949), Vol. 5 (1949–1959), New York, 1992–1995 (EN)
Paul V. Turner, Frank Lloyd Wright and San Francisco, Palo Alto 2016 (EN)
Vincent Sully, Modern Architecture and Other Essays, New York 2005 (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme N_A+U Master's, 1. year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

PhDr. Ladislav Jackson, Ph.D.