History of Arch and Urban Form I

The aim of this course is to have students understand architectural terminology, themes and building types used in world architecture up until the 17th Century and acquire knowledge of significant structures and buildings in their historical, regional and cultural contexts in this period. Through history it explores the definitions of architecture and style as well as the relation between the built environment and the socio-cultural dimensions that shaped it through a chronological overview of the different eras in history. The study begins with the first traces of prehistoric buildings and settlements in the Ancient World and the engineering and science of the monuments of the Ancient Egyptian Civilization. It provides a survey of the Classical Civilizations focusing on the theories of aesthetics and order in architecture, art and the political dimension behind the shaping of cities in the Greek and Roman periods.