Design At an Impasse: The Experience of Lina Bo Bardi

3 units

This seminar will address timely conceptual and practical issues about architecture by studying the design and theoretical works of Italian-born Brazilian architect, Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992). As one of the very few prominent women architects in the twentieth-century, she articulated many important questions that remain open in contemporary architecture. Her work ranged from editorial to curatorial projects, from furniture to urban design, and from new buildings to restoration and adaptive reuse projects. The title of this course refers to a posthumous book she organized in the later years of her life, in which she addressed the dilemmas of designing in a world in which basic human needs and shared social values are often at odds with the pervasiveness of individualism, images and commodities in a globalized Western culture. The seminar will be divided in three modes: lectures, individual research, and an exhibition project. Lectures will focus on a comprehensive approach to her life, work, and ideas. Individual research will focus on analyzing specific works organized by categories with access to both secondary and primary sources. The results of the research will be incorporated into a curatorial project for a pilot exhibition investigating the significance of her legacy to contemporary architects and designers. Fulfills History/Theory elective requirement.