This seminar will consider architectural representation in relation to the social, cultural, and political function of architecture as a form of representation. Architecture has long relied on representation—on the use of images and models—for its development and dissemination. At the same time, every act of architecture is also an act of representation, expressing, consciously or not, a position about how, and for whom, the world is, or might be, or should be made. The question then is this: Whom and what do we represent when we represent architecture? In addressing this question, this seminar will track the articulation and transmission of architectural ideas through the study of significant architectural images—from Piranesi’s prisons to Koolhaas’ voluntary prisoners and beyond. It will focus on three aspects of the architectural image: the image itself as a specific graphical formulation; the context—theoretical, social, cultural—within which it was conceived and produced; and finally its reception and influence within and beyond the discipline. Throughout the term, the insights gleaned in this investigation will be tested through the construction of images that reflect upon and critique architecture as a form of representation.

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