The course aims to provide knowledge of
some themes, ideas, spaces and elements of contemporary architecture.

In the twentieth century and especially
in Postmodernism (as clearly highlighted in the book Theories of Contemporary Architecture. Paths of Postmodernism by
Paola Gregory) it is no longer possible to trace a univocal theory that
determines rules and norms, but a multiplicity of visions of reality and
architecture, which correspond to as many philosophical currents.

These will be developed in the course
from the ideas and writings of architects.

In addition, the economic and financial
crisis of 2008 and the current pandemic is changing the methods and themes of
21st century architecture, which is less linked to ideological issues, the
search for a style or language, but seeks answers to current needs and problems
with limited means and resources. The course will investigate this modified
condition of present-day architecture through the knowledge of the architects
and works that are its main expression.

The works of the architects of the 21st
century will be compared with those of the masters of the end of the last
century and with those of Modernity dealing with the same theme, in order to
understand the continuity and variations of some of the fundamental issues and
elements of architectural design.

To this end, the course lectures will
deal with six themes: theories, archetypes, memory, place, reuse and structure.

In addition to these, lectures will be
given by other lecturers from the faculty and other Italian universities in
order to have multiple points of view and different declinations of these
themes.