August 4th, 2011
Thursday, 9am-5pm
CES/AIA LU 7 units
Asia has experienced unprecedented economic growth over the last two decades at a time in which most nations in the developing world have stagnated. That growth has been most spectacular in China, followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam, while Japan has faltered. The built environment throughout the ”tiger economies” of Asia has been equally transformed, with spectacular results. For those trying to follow the rapid transformation, the changes that have taken place can seem confusing at best. This course will demystify the current architectural scene in Asia, by examining the historical, cultural, religious, economic and political factors that have shaped it. Two basic premises underlie this investigation. The first is that there is no “Asia”; it is as much of an artificial western construct as “the Orient.” The reality is an agglomeration of different nations, with extreme regional and ethnic differences within them that must be completely understood in order to make sense of architecture throughout the region today. The second is that the past is alive in the East and remains a vital formative influence in each of its national permutations throughout Asia.
Coordinator:
James Steele has a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English from Lafayette College in Easter, PA as well as a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Architecture at The University of Pennsylvania, Which included the Louis Kahn Studio. He then worked for various offices in Philadelphia before receiving Pennsylvania Registration. He then opened his own office specializing in the design and construction of single family homes throughout the Bucks and Montgomery county region. After several years, he accepted an offer from King Faisal University, no renamed University of Dammam in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, remaining there for eight years. During this time he taught at all studies levels, as well as being involved in the history theory sequence and curriculum reform, and authored his first book on Hassan Fathy, in 1988. Following a brief period as a senior editor at Academy Editions, in London, he accepted a position as an adjunct visiting faculty member at the University of Southern California school of Architecture in 1991. In the interim he has received a PHD at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development and has subsequently been promoted to Tenured Professor, concentrating in the Teaching of both design and history-theory. He has now published or edited 46 books, on both Los Angeles architecture and global topics of special interest. He Founded an under graduate program in Asia, based in Malaysia in 1998 and has remained as Director since. The thrust of this Program is the design and realization of educational facilities in the developing world.
- Learning Objective 1: Participants will examine the historical, cultural, religious, economic and political factors that have shaped Asian architecture.
- Learning Objective 2: Participants will gain an understanding of the extreme regional and ethnic differences within each country that fundamentally define its modern architecture.
- Learning Objective 3: Participants will receive insight into the nationalistic issues that create a vitally formative influence on the politics, culture, social norm and design of Asian cities and their architecture.
- Learning Objective 4: Participants will gain a critical understanding about how the forces of economic growth have shaped Asian architecture.
