Learning doesn't have to formal, or expensive. As education becomes increasingly commodified the world over, here are four courses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) exploring architecture and landscape, urbanism, photography, and the production of space that are—significantly—free of charge and available to all.
Architecture Studio: Building in Landscapes / Prof. Jan Wampler
Fall 2002 (English, Spanish, Portuguese; Undergraduate). iTunes U materials available.
This subject introduces skills needed to build within a landscape establishing continuities between the built and natural world. Students learn to build appropriately through analysis of landscape and climate for a chosen site, and to conceptualize design decisions through drawings and models.
The Production of Space: Art, Architecture and Urbanism in Dialogue / Prof. Ute Meta Bauer
Fall 2006 (English, Graduate). Video lectures available.
This seminar engages in the notion of space from various points of departure. The goal is first of all to engage in the term and secondly to examine possibilities of art, architecture within urban settings in order to produce what is your interpretation of space.
Sensing Place: Photography as Inquiry / Prof. Anne Whiston Spirn
Fall 2012 (English, Graduate). Video lectures available.
This course explores photography as a disciplined way of seeing or investigating urban landscapes, and expressing ideas. Readings, observations, and photographs form the basis of discussions on light, detail, place, poetics, narrative, and how photography can inform design and planning.
City Visions: Past and Future / Prof. Diane Davis and Prof. Lawrence Vale
Spring 2004 (English, Graduate). iTunes U materials available.
This class is intended to introduce students to understandings of the city generated from both social science literature and the field of urban design.
Four Ways to Learn About Architecture for Free
Learning doesn't necessarily need to be formal - or expensive for that matter. Thanks to the Internet and some generous benefactors, you can further your education for free from the comfort of your own home.
In reference to:
- Jan Wampler. 4.125 Architecture Studio: Building in Landscapes. Fall 2002. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
- Ute Bauer. 4.303 The Production of Space: Art, Architecture and Urbanism in Dialogue. Fall 2006. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
- Anne Spirn. 11.309J Sensing Place: Photography as Inquiry. Fall 2012. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
- Diane Davis, and Lawrence Vale. 11.949 City Visions: Past and Future. Spring 2004. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
