In these uncertain times, the ICAA is committed to providing accessible online academic content for students, professionals, and enthusiasts around the world. To this end, the ICAA is extremely excited to announce the 2020 Summer Studio Retrospective. Spanning from June 15 - July 11, the Summer Studio Retrospective introduces a four-week series of daily online content inspired by the ICAA's Summer Studio in Classical Architecture program and the many students who have been impacted through its unique course of study.Details on each week's programming will be announced in the ICAA's Classicism at Home newsletter. In addition, you can find more information below about programs in the series.
Throughout June and July, new recorded courses as well as recordings of live courses will be posted to the ICAA website. Currently-scheduled programs include:
Using well-known historic places as case studies, this class will explore varying mindsets toward the relationship between traditional architecture and landscape. Before-and-after views will illustrate how numerous historic gardens and landscapes have received critical evaluation and treatment. The class will stress the importance of control in creating and maintaining appropriate historic effects. Many of the approaches discussed can apply to contemporary projects.Presented as part of the Bunny Mellon Curricula at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The ICAA is very grateful to the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation for its generous support of this program, along with the Curricula's Lead Co-Sponsor Edmund D. Hollander Landscape Architecture Design, Continuing Education and Public Programs Co-Sponsor Charlotte Moss, and Film Series Co-Sponsor Janice Parker Landscape Architects.Watch Now
For nearly three centuries, Savannah, Georgia has been admired for its ideal town plan and its exceptional architecture. Savannah’s plan is extraordinary for many reasons, but principally for how it has adapted to changing circumstances while maintaining its essential ideality. Savannah’s architecture is, in many ways, a product of the town plan as it too has adapted over time. This two-part course explores the evolving dialogue between urbanism and architecture that continues to make Savannah a rewarding case study for architects and urbanists today. The ICAA would like to thank Peter Cosola, Inc. for generously supporting this course.Watch Now
Recorded course - premiered Thursday, June 18
This course provides an overview of urbanism and its formal elements. For thousands of years, architecture was an integral element of the city. In the twentieth century that relationship was broken, however, and architecture became isolated--an anti-urban element. Suburbanization also contributed to the erosion of the traditional city. Today, unprecedented environmental issues demand a reexamination of the city, because, in terms of energy consumption and carbon production, it is the most efficient form of human habitation on a per capita basis. This lecture covers the background of the current urban predicament, the constituent formal elements of the city, the difference between architectural and urban design, and examples from the world’s best cities. Watch Now
Recording of course held Monday, June 15, 2020
By considering the thoughts of a number of past architects such as Alexander “Greek” Thomson and Louis Sullivan, we will trace the interpretation of classical architecture as an artistic building system dedicated to the aesthetics of affection and respect; we will also superimpose this idea over the forms of several different buildings that were designed and built in different places, at different times and for different functions, in search of one of classicism’s greatest virtues: the expression and celebration of grace under pressure.
Watch Now
This course offers a fundamental introduction to the art of geometric proportion and provides architects and visual designers of all disciplines with geometric methods for composing harmonious spaces and places. Students will learn design techniques, practice drawing, and study the congruous proportions of famous architects and artists such as Andrea Palladio and Thomas Jefferson. Watch Parts I - IV Now
Recording of course held Monday, June 22, 2020
Architectural practice has been slowly reshaped by the introduction of CAD software. While a constant improvement in methods and results represents the first step towards evolution, traditional design practices should not be entirely abandoned by the introduction of the new media. In the case of three-dimensional modeling, the choice to preserve a background in descriptive geometry does not imply a rejection of contemporary applications. It promotes instead a methodology aimed at improving precision while maintaining a traditional workflow.
Recording of course held Monday, July 6, 2020
The orders have long embodied allegory and meaning, but recent discussion has tended to focus mainly on their physical appearance. In this talk, architect George Saumarez Smith proposes an alternative way of considering the orders that encourages them to be seen as vessels of memory rather than simply as decorative devices. The course will cover the orders from their origins to new and theoretical uses in contemporary construction.
Recording of course held Wednesday, July 8, 2020
In this session of the project forum series, Melissa DelVecchio, partner at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, leads an in-depth discussion on the topic of student housing models. Living on campus is central to the U.S. college experience, but student housing poses a big challenge as schools work to make their campuses safe for students to return this fall. Melissa will present recent student housing models such as shared suites designed for the new residential colleges at Yale University; single bedrooms with shared social spaces designed for a living-learning college at Tsinghua University; and micro apartment studies prepared for an unbuilt university housing project in Florida. The presentation will be followed by a conversation about the student housing models we might see in the future, particularly in response to COVID-19.
The Summer Studio Retrospective features written and video interviews with alumni, mentors, and teaching assistants from the Summer Studio program.
Summer Studio in Retrospect: An Interview with SSCA Alum Michael AlexanderSummer Studio in Retrospect: An Interview with SSCA Alum Adam VandepeerSummer Studio in Retrospect: An Interview with SSCA Alum Jarrett Thomas
Where Are They Now?: An Interview with 2018 Summer Studio in Classical Architecture Alumna Mallory SmithWhere Are They Now?: An Interview with 2019 Summer Studio in Classical Architecture Alumna Emmie Ruth WiseWhere Are They Now?: An Interview with 2019 Summer Studio in Classical Architecture Alumnus Gary GlinseyWhere Are They Now?: An Interview with 2019 Summer Studio in Classical Architecture Alumna Sydney MatsumotoLearning from Our Peers: Mentorship at the ICAA Summer StudioAn Interview with Summer Studio Alumnus and TA Patrick Vercio
As part of the Summer Studio Retrospective, the ICAA has created a curated gallery of student works previously published in the Classicist, showcasing the incredible achievements of ICAA program participants.View the Gallery
The ICAA's The Library of Classical Design: A Foundation for the Student & Practitioner, curated by instructors Michael Mesko, ICAA Board Member and Education Chair, and Stephen Chrisman, ICAA Fellow and Principal at Ferguson & Shamamian Architects, serves as a guide to building a library of foundational texts for the student, practitioner, and anyone interested in classical and traditional architecture as a contemporary discipline. The mix of older and recent resources is an excellent starting point for deeper study.View the Reading List
Should you have any questions on these upcoming programs, please contact us at [email protected] or 212-730-9646 ext. 112.