The Design of Practice in America

3 units

The Design of Practice in America will trace the changes and developments of architectural practice in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the present. Through historical case studies, students and professor will explore how architects and designers shaped and responded to the changing demend for their services in the marketplace through periods of growth, depression, and change. Key examples will illustrate how figures like Frank Lloyd Wright, Albert Kahn, and john Portman developed working structures, partnerships, and business models to put forth their ideas and designs and make a living. We will look at a variey of strategies that architectus have developed over time to define, vallidate, and sell architecture as a n artistic enterprise, community service and profession. Weekly discussion will focus around themes in the creative design of architectural practice. Local practitioners will be invited to class to share their experiences in a variety of practice settings. Students will also undertake a semester-long research project on a St. Louis firm whose papers have been preserved or whose history is maintained through oral history. The goal is to familiarize the students with the process of primary research and the inner workings and development of a firm.