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Divergence in Design: From Modernism to Postmodern Architecture and Sustainability

AIA CES program ID: GMGG.004

Approved LUs: 0.5 LU|HSW

Prerequisites: None

Program level: Entry

Advance learner preparation: None

When “form follows function” stopped being enough, what replaced it, and how did that argument quietly set the stage for the way we talk about cities, meaning, and environmental performance now?

This course follows the split in architectural thinking from early modernism and the international style into postmodernism and the first waves of green architecture, using the major voices and factions as a map of what the profession was trying to solve in each era. You move from Bauhaus influence and the authority of Gropius, Mies, and Le Corbusier into the critiques that reframed urban life and architectural meaning through Jane Jacobs and Robert Venturi, then through the competing schools and groups that pushed the discipline in different directions as culture shifted and the profession diversified. Alongside that design debate, the course introduces early sustainability precedents and “living lightly” experiments, including arcology, Paolo Soleri’s vision, and Arcosanti, set against the growing visibility of climate science and the environmental crisis. By the end, participants can connect these historical movements to current decisions about urban form, density, resilience, and environmental responsiveness, with a clearer sense of what survives, what fails, and what cities require in a warming world.

Program Description:

This course traces the divergence of architectural thought from early modernism and the international style to the rise of postmodernism and early green architecture, set against growing awareness of the environmental crisis. Learners will explore how Bauhaus ideas, the work of leaders such as Gropius, Mies, and Le Corbusier, and later critics like Jane Jacobs and Robert Venturi reshaped the built environment and challenged the mantra of pure functionalism. The course examines influential groups including the New York Five, the Grays, the Chicago Seven, the third bay tradition, and the emerging L A school, and connects their experiments to broader cultural shifts, civil rights, and diversification of the profession. It then introduces early sustainability concepts, from the first global conversations on the human environment to Paolo Soleri’s arcology and the experimental community of Arcosanti, along with evolving climate science and its implications for design. Throughout, participants will connect historical movements to contemporary concerns about urban form, environmental performance, and the survival of cities in a warming world.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the evolution from modernism and the international style to postmodern architecture, and relate these shifts to changing social, cultural, and environmental priorities.
2. Analyze how key figures and groups such as Jane Jacobs, Robert Venturi, the New York Five, the Grays, and the Chicago Seven challenged modernist planning and influenced contemporary approaches to context, symbolism, and urban life.
3. Explain early sustainability concepts and precedents, including arcology, Arcosanti, and living lightly on the land, and evaluate how these ideas inform current strategies for environmentally responsive design.
4. Interpret key developments in climate science discussed in the course and assess how long term environmental trends and public perception should influence architectural planning, urban density, and resilience strategies.

HSW Justification

This content qualifies for HSW credit because it directly links architectural history and theory to the health, safety, and welfare of the public within the built environment. By examining how modernist and postmodern planning affected real communities, including the failures of high rise urban renewal and the displacement of vulnerable residents, the episode foregrounds the social consequences of design decisions and underscores the need for humane, context sensitive cities that support survival and well being. The discussion of early sustainability, the first global conference on the human environment, countercultural responses to sprawl, and Paolo Soleri’s arcology at Arcosanti addresses planning and design, programming and analysis, and construction and evaluation topics central to environmentally responsible practice. The narrative on climate science, sea level rise, and urban form further reinforces how architects must understand long term environmental trends to protect public health and safety in dense, resilient, low impact communities.

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AIA CES Provider statement

Gābl Media is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number 10024977. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES ([email protected] or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).

This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.

AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.

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