Architecture Now

This course, not to be confused with earlier architecture courses offered at Midcoast Senior College, proposes a survey of contemporary architecture as it is designed and built today. The 21st century has seen a worldwide explosion in architectural creativity. New techniques make possible not just new forms, but also new approaches to materials and to the natural and social environments. Topics covered in the course include historical sources, innovative forms, old and new materials, urban contexts, ornamentation, sustainability, and adaptation to landscape. The basic questions are: how has architecture evolved into the present moment, what values does it represent, and what is its future direction?

A selection of contemporary essays in architectural history and theory, both required and suggested, will be made available on the course website.

David Spurr, emeritus professor at the University of Geneva, has written several works on the relations between architecture and literature. In addition to teaching literature, he has taught architectural history at Geneva and at the Universities of Innsbruck and Iceland.