Teaching the history
of architecture
Ο
N the occasion when Dr. Nickolau Pevsner, the well known architec- tural historian, was awarded the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, Mr. R. Sheppard, one of his sponsors, said, "We (the R.I.B.A.) are in danger as an Institute of being an unduly pro- fessional body, of being super-tech- nical, We are more concerned with ourselves as architects than with the art and study of architecture.”
He went on to say that by award- ing Professor Pevsner the Gold Medal the R.I.B.A. had shown that at least they were capable of affirming the value and meaning of architecture.
History has now become one of the very few "non-technical" subjects taught in the school of architecture in Hong Kong. Our architectural educa- tionalists however have not yet for- gotten completely that architecture is also an art in itself, but how long can architecture retain its traditional status before it dissolves into something under the aegis of engineering or technology?
In this neotechnic age when men without any architectural training are entrusted with and empowered to design buildings, to many the value of studying the history of architecture becomes doubtful.
The school is fully aware of the importance of this subject in the education of architectural students.
European and Chinese
Courses on the history of architec- ture are given in the first three years with two lecture hours per week together with history sketches in- tegrated into the studio programmes. The first two years are devoted to the history of European architecture and the third year's lectures to Chinese and Far East architecture. There are examinations at the end of each year in this subject.
Architecture is no more taken as an isolated subject; Jakob Burckhardt perhaps was the first to show that architecture should be studied toge- ther, not only with painting and sculpture, but also with the social organization and the daily life of the time and that these should be treated as an entity. Architecture is taken as resulting from the consideration of many factors from the political, so- cial and economic to the scientific, technical and religious. It cannot be dealt with in a vacuum. Every effort is made in the teaching to relate these factors and to demonstrate how architecture reflects the conditions of
its age.
Dr. Pevsner in his Gold Medal address asked: "What is it that the architect has to give to the architec-
Far East BUILDER, June 1968.
by C.H. Wong
合蟲 Bukarestbak prutārikkekaler &
keita ambi.
佛光寺
Third year history study-a Buddhist monastery in Shen Si Province
tural historian? One answer is sim-lide, except the voice of the lecturer, ple; the sense that architecture is al- ways developing."
For convenience, the syllabus of the course in the History of Architec- ture is categorized in periods but continuity is the most important characteristic of architecture and this is stressed in the lectures. However there is still a danger that the student will consider the periods unrelated. The traditional classification of archi- tecture into styles and periods often has the effect of chopping up the his- tory into isolated sections.
Another danger is for the student to think of the past as dead and gone and having nothing to do with the present. It is not easy for him to imagine that today's architecture is rooted in the past, especially in the early years of his study.
Unfortunately history of architec- ture is taught during these early years, when students are still not convinced that Le Corbusier was a most history- minded architect or when they cannot see the effect of the close contact of the living past on Tange. Therefore the student is tempted to ask, when entering the Department: "Why do I have to study the history of architec- ture?"
To present a historical example to the student by words and by pictures or even colour slides in a blacked-out lecture hall is difficult, as the buildings illustrated may become dead and cease to be seen as an integral part of the environment where they stand.
There is no movement, no noise, and no life from the projection of the
The alternative is to go and see for oneself, but unfortunately this is, with few exceptions, only possible through the generosity of donors of travelling scholarships.
Travelling scholarships
The Department of Architecture is fortunate in having Mr. G. D. Su, a prominent local architect, as the sponsor for the "Hsin Yich Travelling Scholarship" to enable a student to "study architecture in a foreign coun- try, preferably Europe" and Atlas Lighting Ltd., a donor of a travelling scholarship to enable students to study lighting in architecture in England, which also provides an op- portunity to see something of the ar- chitecture of the past. But these are not enough.
It is traditional in schools of archi- tecture to concentrate on the architec- ture of the Near East (Egypt and Mesopotamia) and of Europe (mainly Greece, Italy and France). This tradi- tion is continued in this Department because of its importance in relation to general architectural development throughout the world, but it is done so on a much broader basis.
In Hong Kong, with the wealth of eastern architecture near at hand and with the background of Chinese cul- ture, emphasis is given in the third year of the course to the study of the architecture of the Far East. This is always received with enthusiasm by the students and judging by examination results is a most successful course.
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