Courses

Architecture is both a physical and conceptual entity, articulated through various forms of visual representation: from the architectural language of plans, sections and elevations, through perspective drawings, to digital models and 3D printing. The course addresses questions about how meanings and ideas are conveyed through architecture: how architecture has been represented over the years; whether it serves as background or as the main subject; whether the physical building is the essential component, or whether its representation is even more critical. The course examines architectural representation as it is manifested, illustrated and described through content, context and form. Discussions will engage with architecture across different visual media: architectural drawings and models, painting and visual art, literature and texts, video and film, photography and music. Course themes: • Ways of seeing and representing architecture • Cinema and architecture • Literature and architecture • Photography and architecture • Music and architecture • Mass media and commercial architecture • Exhibitions and architecture • Architecture and social media platforms Objective The course emphasizes the importance of architectural representation through visual communication and the sharing of interdisciplinary knowledge in social, political and economic contexts. The course provides analytical skills through the study of different architectural themes and their representations. Students will develop critical observation skills and the ability to describe and critique architecture through different media. see: https://www.jletzter.com/representations

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a library as “a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for use or borrowing by the public or the members of an institution.” This narrow perspective does not encompass other facets of what a library is, which can be examined on symbolic, personal and national levels. Library architecture supports readers through different levels of a building’s spatial legibility. Its significance is manifested both in an urban design context and in clear interior orientation. Because of the variety of media they hold, libraries aim to enable direct access to knowledge, with the librarian acting as mediator and the library’s architecture and spatial structure providing an appropriate setting for this function. The course surveys and examines the architecture of libraries in Israel, their different forms and concepts, and the global influences that shape their design. It engages with theories of statehood and nation-building in Israel as a foundation for interpreting library architecture. The analysis addresses how libraries express and relate to Zionism and “Israeliness,” and how they produce a local collective identity through architecture. The course scrutinizes the variety of libraries in Israel by dividing them taxonomically into six types that serve different target audiences: kibbutz libraries, public and municipal libraries, Yad Labanim (commemorative) libraries, academic libraries, institutional libraries and the National Library of Israel. Objective The course encompasses architectural, cultural and political themes, with reference to the Israeli–Zionist ethos and nation-building project. Students will study and challenge questions of architectural representation: between locality and internationalism, everyday life and monumentalism, the relationship between architecture and art, collective memory–documentation–heritage, building conservation, visual representations, the morphological evolution of libraries, technology, systems of classification and the organization of knowledge, and experimental approaches. Students will be exposed to social and political changes in Israel that influence architecture. Students will develop tools for critical analysis of architectural design and methodological skills for historical–theoretical research.

The rapid development of architecture throughout the 20th century was driven by considerable shifts in political thought, technological innovation and the emergence of new social forms. The expansion of global communication accelerated processes of globalization and knowledge transfer. As a result, architecture is often shaped by social, economic and political change. Since Vitruvius wrote Ten Books on Architecture, architecture has been accompanied by texts and theories that help construct architectural discourse. Texts, articles and books are written either by architects, who describe and reflect on their own work, or by commentators and theorists, who interpret and frame architectural projects. The course explores key aspects of 20th-century architecture through texts written by theoreticians, scholars and critics, as well as perspectives that reflect public opinion and user experience. It engages with canonical texts of the 20th century and discusses their ideas, sources of inspiration and the revolutions they initiated, in a retrospective analysis: the rise and fall of architectural movements and styles; the relationships between aesthetics, philosophy and architecture; postmodernism, postcolonialism, visual culture and globalization. The course will address the contemporary relevance of these texts and consider whether, and how, they should be updated through comparative analysis in architecture. Objective Students will analyze canonical, interdisciplinary 20th-century texts through a critical, analytical approach and define the characteristics of modern architecture in terms of form and context. Students will challenge these texts by questioning the authors’ motivations, ideas and sources of inspiration. Students will discuss the relevance of these texts today and explore how they can be revised or updated through comparative analysis. Course themes: • The origins of architectural texts • Perception of space • Architects: the beginnings of modernism • Theoreticians on architects • Mathematical modernism • Regionalism and the vernacular • Economy, capitalism and socialism • “Form follows function”: less is more / less is a bore

This course is designed to provide students with a solid foundation in the principles and practices of building conservation. Through a combination of theoretical lectures, practical demonstrations, case studies and site visits, students will gain a deep understanding of the importance of preserving architectural heritage and the techniques involved in conserving historic buildings. Course themes • Understand the significance of architectural heritage and the core principles of building conservation • Learn about the historical development of building materials and construction techniques • Gain knowledge of different conservation philosophies and approaches • Become familiar with legal frameworks and regulations governing building conservation • Develop skills in surveying, documenting and assessing historic structures • Learn about traditional and modern conservation methods and materials • Understand the role of stakeholders and community engagement in building conservation projects • Analyze case studies of successful building conservation projects

The course examines the city as a contested field in which architectural and urban design both reflect and shape relations of power, security and social conflict. Throughout the semester, students explore the tension between formal planning and everyday use: from the individual plot to the urban segment, through site reading, public space in “ordinary” conditions and during events, layers of infrastructure and daily life, protests, fences, checkpoints and processes of gentrification. Students learn to map and analyse urban spaces using observation, movement diagrams, layered mapping and photographic documentation, and to understand how regulations, security and social norms are translated into patterns of access, occupation and exclusion. In parallel, they develop small-scale design interventions in contested public spaces, aiming to articulate a conscious balance between security needs, the right to a lively and open public realm and the life of local communities. Topics: From Plot to City: Site Reading and Contextual Design Public Space in Action: Squares, Streets and Crowd Flows City as Layers: History, Infrastructure and Everyday Life Safe Space: Architecture, Security and Public Circulation Architecture, Law and Norms: Codes, Accessibility and Safety Architecture, Society and Spatial Conflict

Since ancient times, technological developments have shaped architectural form within a complex, reciprocal relationship. The technological aspects of architectural design are expressed not only through considerations of efficiency but also through aesthetic choices, social influences, political manipulations of space and economic constraints. The Industrial Revolution and the rapidly evolving technologies of the 19th century brought significant innovation, providing architects with new tools for design. Architects are therefore required to respond to technological change and integrate it into buildings and spatial form. Technological development opens up new possibilities for the use of materials and for the design of space. The course examines the technological dimension of buildings from an architectural perspective. It surveys historic buildings characterized by fundamental spatial elements such as vaults, domes and flying buttresses, and by a range of construction materials including wood, stone, steel, brick, reinforced concrete, glass and prefabricated systems. Objective: Students will come to understand the role of construction in shaping built space, not through mathematical calculation but through a reasoned understanding of structural and technological principles. Students will analyze historic buildings and their construction, through to advanced construction methods of the 20th century. see: https://www.jletzter.com/technology

In the past decade, the study of Brutalism has been exploding due to ambitions of documenting the subject, while Brutalist architects and their assessors remain accessible. Furthermore, research elevates Brutalism’s importance and distinctive qualities that should be protected. The consequences of the Second World War raised questions regarding the modern movement following the turn of the global architectural discourse of Brutalism, which arose during the 1950s. In 1955 Reyner Banham published the seminal essay “The New Brutalism,” which defines three main premises: 1. Memorability as an image, 2. Clear exhibition of structure, 3. Valuation of material ‘as found.’ Brutalism is examined as a shift from modernism, producing a new architectural vocabulary affected by social influences. The critical question is whether Brutalism continued modernism – e.g., the international style; or was a counter-movement representing a shift in the architectural discourse. The course elaborates on different aspects of Brutalism, questioning how Brutalism defines the public space differently from previous architectural approaches, and how its complexity deals with the interior arrangement; does Brutalism create a new building experience in terms of spatial arrangement? Objective The students will learn about the complexity of Brutalist architecture: origins, influences and characteristics. The students will delve into architectural historiography and its meanings. Course themes: •The origin of Brutalism - Introduction •Israeli Brutalism •European Brutalism •American Brutalism •Social and political Brutalism •Technological Brutalism •Concreteless Brutalism

Architecture in Israel, or “Israeli architecture,” crystallized in the late 19th and 20th centuries. It evolved both from international influences, such as global architectural discourse and the absorption of immigrants, and from local influences: the political, social and cultural environment. The course traces the history of architecture in Israel through different periods: the Ottoman era, the Eclectic style and modern architecture, the establishment of the state, and the significant architectural shifts after 1967 and 1977. The course also addresses the representation of architecture, as embodied in testimonies, architectural theories and the social, political and cultural aspects that shape architectural discourse. Objective: Students will investigate the forms of architecture in Israel through history and historiography, and analyze its expressions and influences: monumentalism, socialism, conservation, memory and commemoration. Students will become familiar with Israeli architects who have contributed to shaping architectural discourse in Israel.

The course examines architecture through key axes of tension: between detail and city, mass and space, ornament and abstraction, transparency and opacity, the universal and the local, the abstract and the concrete, the permanent and the temporary, the manual and the digital. In each session, we will explore how these oppositions shape architectural thinking and design, drawing on examples from the history of Greek and Roman, Gothic and Renaissance architecture, through the 19th and 20th centuries and into contemporary practice. The course emphasizes that architecture does not emerge simply from choosing one pole over the other, but rather from the tension, dialogue and fusion between them: between representation and execution, concept and technology, ideology and material and the built detail. Throughout the semester, students will acquire theoretical and historical tools that will allow them to read buildings, plans and drawings critically, and to situate their studio work along these axes. The aim is to develop a precise conceptual language and a sensitivity to spatial complexity, so that students can use oppositions as a driver of architectural innovation, rather than as a rigid either–or division.