Spring 1999
Battle 101
T 1900-2200

Beautiful, Right, Good, Interesting, Profitable, Cool...

... these are terms that can be applied to architecture, and they can all imply positive valuation. But what do they really mean? This seminar explores the concept of value itself, with readings and discussion in philosophy, economics, psychology, information theory, architecture, and cultural criticism. In particular, it focuses on a theory of value that is based on the satisfaction of human needs on one hand and on modern complexity theory on the other. The seminar concludes with an examination of how buildings are evaluated differently by the public and by architects, and how an up-to-date value theory that takes full account of economic realities can contribute to a new approach to architectural design, polemics, and practice in the 21st century.

Seminar format will be as follows: recapitulation, review of new readings, break, lecture, general discussion. Aside from full participation, students will be asked to produce one mid-term paper and one final paper. For the latter, students will be asked either to devise and carry out some concrete action that has positive value and then to present an analysis of its dynamics, or to undertake a case study of the value of some law, product, place, or building.