Course Syllabus

Course Information：

Year-Semester	Course Number	Course Name	Phase	Credits	Hours	Required/Elective	Instructor	Class	Student NO.	Withdraw	Note
Fall Semester Year 2025	349727	Construction History and Architectonic Theories	1	3.0	3	★	Nan-Wei Wu	GAUD	6	0	建築四與建都所合開

Course Plan：

Instructor	Nan-Wei Wu　Office Hours
Email	nwwu@mail.ntut.edu.tw
Last Updated	2025-05-23 20:08:22
Course Objective	Construction history could be considered as the key foundation to understand architectonic theories. Conventionally, architectural academies provide study aspects either in architectural histories in terms of development of architectural style and philosophy or in the latest progress of architectural materials and construction techniques. Moreover, theoretical debates of architecture also pay more attentions to philosophical discussions instead of physical construction presentation. Nevertheless, architectonic theories mainly discuss the presentation of materials and construction systems. Therefore, construction methods of materials in fact affect the interpretation of architectonic theories significantly. As a result, this course can be divided into two sections: firstly the construction history of Eastern and Western worlds as well as modern period of time will be reviewed. Secondly the architectonic and relative theoretic debates will be discussed. The purpose of the course is to d
Course Schedule	Week 01 Introduction to the course: definition of construction history and architectonics Week 02 Theme 1-1 construction history of the East: timber and bamboo Week 03 Theme 1-2 construction history of the East: masonry construction Week 04 (10/15) Theme 4-1 Foundation of architectonic theories: conventional understanding Reading A: Frampton ch.1 Week 05 Theme 2-1 construction history of the West: masonry construction Week 06 (10/29) Theme 4-2 German Enlightenment: Bötticher, Semper, Wanger and Loos Reading B: Semper’s four elements Week 07 Theme 2-2 Construction history of the West: framework system Week 08 (11/12) Theme 4-3 Modernism and tectonics: Mies van der Rohe and Louis Kahn Reading C: Frampton ch.7 Week 09 Mid-term week: proposal of final thesis Week 10 (11/26) Visit of restoration site Week 11 (12/3) Theme 5-1 Adam’s house and the primitive hut Reading D: Adam’s house Week 12 Theme 3-1 construction history of the modern: iron and steel Week 13 (12/17) Theme 5-2 Principle of dressing, cladding and ripolin vs. surface and ornament Reading E: Loos’s texts: principle of dressing Week 14 Theme 3-2 Construction history of the modern: reinforced concrete Week 15 holiday Week 16 (1/7) Theme 5-3 Tectonics in Postmodern discussion: Venturi and Koolhaas Reading F: Venturi’s texts Week 17 (1/14) Theme 5-4 Atectonics and skeuomorph Reading G: skeuomorph Week 18 Final week: thesis representation
Evaluation and grading policy	＊＊Attendance 20% ＊＊Participation 30% Each participant needs to study a required article in advance and brief the article for all participants in the class of the required day for 20 minutes. (Week 4) Frampton’s chapter 1 (____) (Week 6) Semper’s four elements (____) (Week 8) Frampton’s chapter 7 (____) (Week 11) Adam’s house (____) (Week 13) Loos’s principle of dressing (____) (Week 16) Venturi’s texts (____) (Week 17) skeuomorph (____) ＊＊Mid-term presentation: proposal for the final report 20% In the first half of the courses, each participant has to find a project with vivid material expressions, which can be discussed in terms of tectonic theories and interpretations. The project can be international or domestic. It should be easier if the participant might find its design drawings. Students should present their plans of their final reports in the mid-term class about 10 minutes, in order to collect some feedback from colleagues and class instructor for further develop to achieve the final report. ＊＊Research thesis 30% One should submit his/her thesis by the noon of 1/21 (12:00pm) to Dr. Wu in person. The words of the thesis should not be less than 5000 words. It should be in thesis format (word) instead of brief presentation format (power point). Employed materials of one’s chosen architectural project for the thesis should be clarified. Please note that the referred theories should be reviewed firstly. Aftermath, the discussion of material deployment should be referred to at least one of the architectonic or atectonic theories.
Materials	All right reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Foreign-language textbooks:Yes BENJAMIN, A. 2006, Surface Effects: Borromini, Semper, Loos. Journal of architecture (London, England), 11, no. 1, 1-35. BÖTTICHER, C. G. W. 1992. The Principles of the Hellenic and Germanic Ways of Building with Regard to Their Application to Our Present Way of Building. In: HERRMANN, W. & HUBSCH, H. (eds.) In what style should we build? : the German debate on architectural style. Santa Monica, Calif.: Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities. BROADBENT, G., BUNT, R. B. & JENCKS, C. (eds.) 1980. Signs, Symbols and Architecture, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. FRAMPTON, K. 1996. Rappel  l'ordre, the Case for the Tectonic. In: NESBITT, K. (ed.) Theorizing a new agenda for architecture: an anthology of architectural theory 1965-1995. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. FRAMPTON, K., CAVA, J. & GRAHAM FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCED STUDIES IN THE FINE ARTS. 1995. Studies in Tectonic Culture: the Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture, Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press. JENCKS, C. & BAIRD, G. (eds.) 1969. Meaning in Architecture, London: Barrie & Rockliff, the Cresset Press. KAHN, L. I. 1982. 1973: Brooklyn, New York. Perspecta, 19, 89-100. KOOLHAAS, R. 1994. Delirious New York: a Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan, New York, Monacelli Press. LAUGIER, M. A. 1977. An Essay on Architecture, Los Angeles, Calif., Hennessey & Ingalls. LE CORBUSIER & ETCHELLS, F. 1927. Towards a New Architecture, London, John Rodker. LE CORBUSIER 1987. The Decorative Art of Today, London, The Architectural Press. LOOS, A. 2003. Ornament and Crime. In: GOSSEL, P. (ed.) Loos. Cologne: TASCHEN. LOOS, A., DREW, J., SUMMERSON, S. J. & FRAMPTON, K. 1985. The Architecture of Adolf Loos: An Arts Council Exhibition, London, Arts Council of Great Brtain. LOOS, A., NEWMAN, J. O. & SMITH, J. H. 1982. Spoken into the Void : Collected Essays, 1897-1900, Cambridge, Mass., Published for the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago, Ill., and the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York, N.Y., by MIT Press. MARCH, H. 1889. The Meaning of Ornament, or its Archaeology and its Psychology. Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 7, 160-192. MARCH, H. C. 1889. The Meaning of Ornament, or its Archaeology and its Psychology. Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 7, 160-92. PALLASMAA, J. 2005. The Eyes of the Skin : Architecture and the Senses, Chichester, Wiley-Academy. PINTARIÂC, V. H. & WAGNER, O. 1989. Vienna 1900: the Architecture of Otto Wagner, London, Studio Eds. RYKWERT, J. 1972. On Adam's House in Paradise: the Idea of the Primitive Hut in Architectural History, New York, Museum of Modern Art. SCHWARZER, M. 1993. Ontology and Representation in Karl Bötticher's Theory of Tectonics. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 52, 267-280. SEKLER, E. F. 1965. Structure, Construction, Tectonics. In: KEPES, G. (ed.) Structure in art and in science. London: Studio Vista. SEMPER, G. 1989. The Four Elements of Architecture and Other Writings, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. VITRUVIUS, P., HOWE, T. N. & ROWLAND, I. D. 1999. Ten Books on Architecture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. WAGNER, O. 1988. Modern Architecture: a Guidebook for His Students to this Field of Art, Santa Monica, Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities. WIGLEY, M. 1995. White Walls, Designer Dresses: the Fashioning of Modern Architecture, Cambridge, Mass.; London, MIT Press. ㄒ
The access to curricular consultation	please email (nwwu@ntut.edu.tw) to confirm the consultation time
Expanding teaching and resources
The course corresponds to the SDGs	SDG8：尊嚴就業與經濟發展（Decent Work and Economic Growth） SDG9：產業創新與基礎設施（Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure） SDG11：永續城市與社區（Sustainable Cities and Communities） SDG17：夥伴關係（Partnerships for the Goals）
Does the course incorporate AI	● 無（None）
Note	If the courses need to be online, due to the epidemic development, the online class via Microsoft Teams will be practiced. The URL will be published in the board of i-campus plus. Please contact Dr. Wu (nwwu@ntut.edu.tw) if you have any questions. SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals