Dual City Courses - London Barcelona

Julika Gittner and Suzanne Strum

London: a sprawling megalopolis or a collection of villages? Barcelona: the heart of Catalan architecture juxtaposed with Gaudi and Olympic grandeur. Exploring the 2000 years of London and Barcelona's expansion through their architecture, you will look not only at the great monuments but also at the everyday life of the cities. Focusing on the key periods of urban development and architectural styles in comparison with other European cities will reveal the unique qualities and problems of London and Barcelona's architecture.

Who should attend?
This course is open to people of all levels and experience, whether absolute beginners or professionals from anywhere in the world, with a passion for architecture and history. 

London (9 day course)

Monday 25 June to Thursday 5 July

The course in London will take a broad view of the history of London’s architecture from the formation of early London through the transformation from Renaissance to Baroque right, past pre- and post-war planning and beyond to London’s new architecture. You will discuss the relevant social, political and economical conditions of the cities' development in a series of introductory lectures will form the background to city walks and talks from local historians and architects. You will visit churches and shipyards, highways and alleys, palaces and petrol stations, stately homes and housing estates to experience the different stages of London's expansion. A critically informed understanding of the urban surrounding will allow you to develop your own historical map of the cities' architecture. During the course there will be opportunities to sketch and guidance on how to record architecture, analysis of urban plans and plenty of debate about controversial architectural theories. You will never look at London in the same way again.

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Independent Travel (4 days)

Friday 6 July to Monday 9 July

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Barcelona (9 day course)

Tuesday 10 July to Friday 20 July

In Barcelona you will receive a comprehensive overview of this compact Mediterranean city’s architecture and urban history, from the Roman foundation to the present. Lectures and field visits address the inter-relation of urban regeneration to history, politics, institution building, and strategic planning as well as nationalism. The focus will be on the “Barcelona Model”, the ambitious architectural and landscape projects guided by the public sector, that have transformed the city since the democratic transition which, since 1979, has revamped the urban environment through the creation of public spaces, cultural centers and urban areas. With these projects Barcelona has critically constructed the present city upon its own past. You will investigate how experimental architecture has played an important role in the past and in the contemporary city. You will find historic structures that have been renovated to house newly created institutions and innovative works of architecture that enrich everyday community life. The course offers tours of important buildings that are not generally open to the public as well as visits to architects and designer’s offices. Students will create an urban mapping journal.

Topics covered
• Architectural history
• Social and economic history

London - Julika Gittner is an artist and architect. She is a Design Fellow at the University of Cambridge where she leads the First Year on the BA in Architecture. www.julikagittner.com www.scareinthecommunity.com

Barcelona - Suzanne Strum is an architect and has a doctorate in the history and theory of architecture from the Polytechnic University of Barcelona UPC and a masters from Columbia University's School of Architecture and Planning GSAPP. In addition to the Elisava, she has also taught for international architecture programs in Barcelona, and she is Head of Studies in the Metropolis Master Program in Architecture and Urban Culture. She is the author of Barcelona, a Guide to Recent Architecture, Ellipsis 2001 as well as Barcelona Architecture, forthcoming from Watermark press, Australia.