Courses
Course offerings for the 2026/27 winter semester:
Lectures
- History of Western Architecture Before 1800 - 1st Semester, Architecture
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica)K1501-AD150
Start: Thursday, October 15, 2026 I 2:50 p.m. I HSZ/04/H
Thursdays, 5th lecture period, 2:50–4:20 p.m., HSZ/04/H - History of Western Architecture after 1800 - 3rd Semester of Architecture
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica)K1501-AD370
Start: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 I 4:40 p.m. I HSZ/04/H
Wednesdays, 6th lecture period, 4:40–6:10 p.m., HSZ/04/H
This two-semester course on the history of architecture provides an overview of the history of architecture and urban planning from antiquity to the present. It covers examples from all eras, ranging from ancient temple construction to modern large-scale housing developments. The focus is on architecture in the Western world. The lecture is attended jointly by students of architecture, landscape architecture, and art history (architectural studies).
Academic Research
- Introductory Week on Academic Work
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica, Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Zaschke)
K1500-AD610
Start: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 l 9:20 a.m. l Room BZW
During this intensive week, sessions will take place daily from October 6 through October 9, 2026. A detailed schedule will be uploaded to SELMA shortly or distributed on October 6, 2026.
Proof of attendance during the introductory week is a prerequisite for completing the module: Research Paper. -
Research Project:
Seating: Designs | Spaces | Practices
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica, Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Zaschke)
K1500-AD610
Start: Thursday, October 15, 2026 / 9:20 a.m. / BZW B 5053 block sessions for the introduction
2 block sessions for presentations
Conference at the Bauhaus University Weimar: February 5–6, 2027
Consultations by appointment
Many well-known architects have designed seating. This is no surprise, given that people in the Western world spend a large part of their lives sitting—whether at school, at work, or while eating. Yet sitting is not a natural state. Sitting is a culturally shaped physical practice that all people learn in childhood. People sit very differently across various cultures. At different times, people have sat for different purposes. We aim to examine spaces and practices of sitting on various scales. This includes seating furniture for different purposes from various eras and spaces designed for sitting—ranging from classrooms to churches and theaters to offices and dining areas.
We will conduct on-site visits and examinations of objects, literature reviews, and archival research to explore the theory and history of sitting.
This semester, the course offers the exceptional opportunity to actively participate, at the end of the semester, in an interdisciplinary symposium organized by Prof. Dr. Sonja Hnilica together with Prof. Dr. Christof Windgätter (History, Theory, and Aesthetics of Material Cultures) at the Bauhaus University Weimar.
CourseRequirements:
The module exam consists of a written seminar paper, two presentations, and participation in a two-day conference (including a poster presentation). Course load: 300 hours.
Introductory Course in Architectural Studies (Lecture + Seminar)
(Dipl.-Ing. Franziska Herborn; Prof. Dr. techn. habil Sonja Hnilica; Dipl.-Ing. Tina Kresse; Prof. Dr. phil. Marcus Richard Köhler; Prof. Dr. Claudia Marx)
Start: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 / 9:20 a.m. / FOE/244
The buildings of the past shape our environment and, inevitably, our conception of architecture. How to engage with buildings and designed outdoor spaces from a scholarly perspective—how to document and represent them—is practiced in the introductory course in architecture and
art history preparatory course. It is a collaborative course
between the departments of Architectural History and Historic Preservation, in collaboration with the SLUB (Saxon State and University Library) and the Chair of History of Landscape Architecture and Garden Preservation.
In this seminar, we will examine a building on the campus of TU Dresden. The scope of building analysis is supplemented in the summer semester by the practical weeks devoted to building surveys.
Seminars on History and Theory
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Seating. Spaces and Practices of Sitting.
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica, Dipl.-Ing. Tina Kresse)
Start: Tuesday, October 13, 2026 I 1:00 p.m. I BZW B505
Tuesdays, 4th lecture period, 1:00–2:30 p.m., BZW B505Many well-known architects have designed seating.
This is no surprise, since people in the Western world spend a large part of their lives sitting—whether at school, at work, or while eating. Yet sitting is not a natural state. Sitting is a culturally shaped physical technique that all people learn in childhood. People sit very differently across various cultures. At different times, people have sat—and continue to sit—for different purposes.
We aim to examine spaces and practices of sitting on various scales. This includes seating furniture for different purposes from different eras and spaces designed for sitting—ranging from classrooms to churches and theaters to offices and dining areas.
In doing so, we conduct on-site inspections and examinations of objects, literature reviews, and archival research to explore the theory and history of sitting.
This semester, the course offers the unique opportunity to actively participate, at the end of the semester, in an interdisciplinary symposium organized by Prof. Dr. Sonja Hnilica in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Christof Windgätter (History, Theory, and Aesthetics of Material Cultures) at the Bauhaus University Weimar.
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The New Lightness of Being—Architecture of the 1950s
(Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Zaschke)
Start: Monday, October 19, 2026 I 1:00 p.m. I BZW B505
Mondays, 4th lecture period, 1:00–2:30 p.m., BZW B505“At that time, we stood at the crossroads between ‘blood-and-soil’ architecture and new functional building methods.” Theo Kief
1945 – The end of World War II marked an endpoint, a turning point, and a starting point in life, in planning and construction, and in architecture and design. After the difficult years of the Nazi era and the war, a breath of fresh air blew through, and little by little, a new sense of lightness took hold.
The 1950s—Light, air, sun!
The 1950s—light, elegant, dynamic, curvy, colorful, playful…
The 1950s – Most people immediately think of kidney-shaped tables, cone-shaped lamps, and petticoats, blue jeans, pompadours, rock ’n’ roll, and—Elvis.
But this era also left its mark on architecture. The new architectural style is characterized by clean lines, plenty of light and brightness, but also by playful elements with curved forms. What was modern was the interplay of materials—glass, concrete, brass, and aluminum—and colors, as seen in the richly detailed design of facades and interiors. Modernists drew on trends from the 1920s and early 1930s, looking to Scandinavia, England, and the U.S.—always striving to distance themselves from the architecture of the Nazi era.
The new approaches to urban reconstruction—both functional and aesthetic—as well as the many buildings of the 1950s often continue to shape the character of many cities to this day, including both landmark structures and residential buildings. There are striking differences between East and West Germany, the GDR and the FRG.
The scale of construction was enormous, and so was the number of urban planning, architectural, and design examples. In this seminar, we can therefore only briefly explore various aspects and examples of the new, light architecture of the 1950s. However, in order to perceive and appreciate this new lightness, we must also repeatedly recall the monumental architecture of the Nazi era or keep in mind the architecture of the national tradition of the early GDR.
In the first seminar session, we will begin with a sort of collage, for which each participant will bring an A4 printout featuring a full-page photo illustrating the “new lightness of being” of the 1950s from their own living environment or personal experiences (architecture, interior design, design, etc.).
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Wherever you look, nothing but the surroundings...?
Architecture in the Context of Place and Landscape
(Joel Rodriguez Richardson, M.Sc.)
Start: Tuesday, October 20, 2026 I 11:10 a.m. I BZW B505
Tuesdays, 3rd lecture period, 11:10 a.m.–12:40 p.m., BZW B505Architectural works function as deliberately planned and designed interventions that extend beyond the boundaries of their own building sites. This may occur in a targeted manner by shaping and further developing their surroundings, integrating into an existing built environment, or deliberately contrasting with it. But when do we perceive this interplay between buildings and the environment as merely a “neighborhood,” and when do we understand it as a “landscape”? When does a building cease to be merely an object in a specific location and instead come to be perceived as part of a larger, tangible whole, and what role does it play in this context? Does it blend into a natural setting, as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater does? Does it capture the essence of a cultural landscape, like the reconstructed facades of Frankfurt’s new Old Town? Does it function merely as a prop in an idealized image, like the pavilions and temples in the landscape gardens of the 18th and 19th centuries? Or is it an integral part of a radically transformative landscape design, like the imposing residential high-rises in Le Corbusier’s Plan Voisin?
Based on the premise that the term “landscape” has multiple meanings, we aim to discuss the relationships between architecture and its surrounding space by incorporating perspectives from urban planning, landscape architecture, art history, and cultural history. Using various case studies from architectural history and the present day, we will examine the means and strategies architects and planners employ—and have employed—to position buildings effectively within the context of the landscape.