This foundation course at The Cooper Union was a series of lectures on Ancient Architecture, beginning with the Stone Age and ending with the 3rd Century AD. Important buildings and cities of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome were introduced as an architectural expression of the world-view of these societies. The architectures were analyzed with reference to other forms of cultural endeavor in the arts, literature, poetry, philosophy, politics, and natural science of antiquity.

The goal was for the students to acquire a “metahistorical” understanding of architectural form, that unlocks the structural concepts and spatial ideas of ancient buildings beyond stylistic categories, as an inspiration for architectural design. Individual research was required from each student: They had to draw and write their own history of architecture book as a cumulative exercise for the entire semester. Each week they were required to compose two pages, one drawing, and one text. On these pages they had to document an element of structure, a building, or an entire city. The selection expressed their personal interest in a specific subject matter that came up in the lectures. Each book became a unique collection of innovations in architectural notation (plan, section, elevation) and writings.

Category: Teaching
Location: New York
Year: 2000-2016
Authorship: Professor Georg Windeck