Trans-Atlantic Engagements

The Contribution and Impact of German Educators to US Architectural Education

Trans-Atlantic Engagements
Peter Bosselmann, Steffen Lehmann, Dr Alexander Eisenschmidt
RRP:
NZ$ 61.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 49.59
Paperback
h229 x 178mm - 200pg
8 Mar 2021 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9781951541484
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
This book takes a critical look at the influence of German educators. It is a publication that explores the history of pedagogical concepts of German-born professors of architecture at schools in the United States. The research and book publication are structured in three parts; it aims to make a significant contribution to the understanding of architectural education in the United States and its historical cross-fertilisation with German educational concepts at large, with research outcomes responding directly to current and future educational and societal challenges. The ideals of the Bauhaus school shaped more than just design and architecture around the world; these guiding principles and pedagogy also transformed teaching. The project examines the post-Bauhaus influence on these German-born educators today and how the Bauhaus model has evolved over the last 50 years. There are currently over 30 German-born educators, active in shaping architectural and design education in the US, influencing thousands of students as the next generation of future architects in this country. Compared to other professions, succeeding in studies of architecture is known as a long endeavor that requires a strong commitment and dedication from the student. The task for the educators is to shape the next generation of architects as well as possible and, at the same time, turn it into a positive experience and fun to be part of this demanding profession. The book features interviews (conversations) with selected professors and explores how the Bauhaus legacy of Gropius and Mies van der Rohe is still relevant for their educational strategies and design teaching today. The Bauhaus aimed to unite all creative arts through direct field and workshop experience in the crafts with a concentration on modern materials, industrial techniques and mass production. It was initially a school of design which included architecture, and not a school of architecture per se. Gropius resigned in 1928, and it was largely under the directorship of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1930 to 1933 that the Bauhaus developed into a school of architecture with subsidiary art and workshop departments. The pedagogical experiments of the Bauhaus, imported by Gropius, Mies, Hilberseimer, Albers and others to the US system, challenged traditional Beaux-Arts thinking and played a crucial role in shaping modern architectural education. Historically, the German architectural training has always been different from the French tradition. These new interdisciplinary and technology-focused modes of teaching architecture and design had long-lasting impact, however, are now again transformed by the educators currently active in reshaping curricula. The conversations reveal the critical and independent thinking of this group and how they make a meaningful contribution to the discourse of architectural education appropriate to the 21st century. Authored by an internationally recognised scholar with personal insight into the topic, the six selected educators profiled in this volume render visible a broad array of discursive pedagogical strategies that partially build on the seminal educational model of the Bauhaus; they have transformed it to a new contemporary pedagogical model. The study provides insight into the ways in which these German-trained educators influence architectural and design education in the United States to this day.
Bold in scope and packed with detail, the writing presents compelling pedagogical engagements as well as an impressive array of profiles and interviews with constant architectural commitment. It forces us to rethink the Bauhaus legacy, including the likes of Lilly Reich and Ernst Neufert who both stayed in the United States briefly, and alters the way we observe architecture not only through exhibitions but also how we manage data. Its educational strategies endeavors to reshape architectural education for future generations in the United States. "Trans-Atlantic Engagements" is a long overdue survey that steers one in new directions, by rekindling and renewing architectural exchanges across the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. -- Annette Condello, Ph. D. , Author of The Architecture of Luxury, Curtin University, Perth, Australia Steffen Lehmann' s "Trans-Atlantic Engagements" is a critical study and timely pedagogical research of German architects' definitive contribution to educating generations of American architects. Broadly focused on world-renowned figures who came to the US following their escape from the Third Reich, as well as on less acclaimed subsequent and contemporary educators, this inquiry puts in perspective a vital collection of case studies. Himself born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany, having devoted years to academia all over the world, and now being a leading educator in the US, Lehmann' s important book presents the in-depth personal quest. Tracing both contrasts and commonalities the author brings to light various teaching models based on increasingly relevant cultural, regional and national identities. -- Vladimir Belogolovsky, Curator and Author of Conversations with Architects, New York City There is a need for more analytical histories of architectural pedagogy to advance the understanding of how to educate the next generation of architects, and the ACSA strongly endorses this book. It investigates the influence of German educators on US architecture schools and on architectural pedagogy over the last eighty years, featuring profiles and interviews with current professors; it explores how two pivotal German architects and educators--Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe--influenced contemporary educational strategies and shaped their relevance. The book makes a significant contribution to the understanding of architectural education in the US and its historical cross-fertilization with innovative German educational concepts at large. -- Michael J. Monti, Ph. D. , Executive Director, ACSA, Washington, D. C. Critical aspects of the original Bauhaus curriculum -aimed to balance interdisciplinary learning with a process-driven focus on method, material craft, and industrial production in response to cities, and a society, in crisis- can be easily identified in contemporary approaches to pedagogy in US architecture schools. Yet, these trajectories have seemingly developed into independent strands within architecture education today rather than working in concert. Steffen Lehmann' s exploration of the legacy of Bauhaus pedagogies offers a timely reflection on parallels and differences at a time when a new crisis in the form of a global pandemic poses uniquely spatial problems and forces educators to question both how, and what we teach in schools of architecture. -- Antje Steinmuller, Chair in Architecture, California College of the Arts, San Francisco The contribution and impact of German educators in the United States can be directly connected to teachers and students of the Bauhaus, a topic that this book unfolds. What is also relevant and of current interest is the legacy of the Bauhaus-related ideas, which is a self-standing research topic that this book uncovers. Following the recent Bauhaus centennial, this book arrives as a mature and well-cooked treatment of some critical episodes of architectural education, and sheds light on the trans-Atlantic exchange of ideas that had a strong impact on the discipline. The book fills a gap in the history of US architectural education. -- Andres Lepik, Ph. D. , Chair in Architectural History and Curatorial Practice; Director of the Architecture Museum, Technical University of Munich, Germany "Trans-Atlantic Engagements" is a fascinating book and a valuable body of work. I am sure that it will become a standard reference whenever considering the history and future trajectory of architecture education in the US, or the time and impact of the Bauhaus philosophies outside of Germany. I found it immensely entertaining and captivating, which cannot be said often when it comes to subject books. The book is well written and it is a joy to read, casting a broad and expansive big picture while still uncovering thought-provoking details. -- Mark Mueckenheim, Graduate Director of the School of Architecture, Academy of Art University and Principal, MCKNHM Architekten, San Francisco This engaging study of the contributions of German architects, past and present, to architectural education in the United States is relevant to any design related field, not only to architecture. Given the focus of the book on the influence of cultural, regional and national perspectives on teaching philosophies and pedagogical models, it is of interest to any educator committed to the notion that new times require new thinking--and there could not be a more relevant time for Steffen Lehmann' s book than ours. -- Sabine O' Hara, Ph. D. , Distinguished Professor and PhD Program Director Urban Leadership and Entrepreneurship, College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Science, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D. C. "Trans-Atlantic Engagements" offers a long-awaited critical analysis of the pedagogical influences of German educators within schools of architecture across the United States. As an American architectural practitioner from German descent, I personally find this forward-thinking appraisal both relevant to our time and fascinating in its connection of history with the contemporary. The legacy of the century old Bauhaus and notable proteges, Gropius and Mies van der Rohe are amply understood. Steffen Lehmann eloquently cross-examines the pedagogy of his German/Austrian/Swiss contemporaries and interprets their reach and influence on American architecture today. -- Dwayne R. Eshenbaugh, AIA, 2020 President of the AIA Nevada Chapter; Principal, NOVUS Architecture, Las Vegas, Nevada
Dr. Steffen Lehmann is a full Professor of Architecture and immediate past Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He is Director of the Future Cities Leadership Institute. Dr. Alexander Eisenschmidt is an architectural theorist and Associate Professor of the School of Architecture, at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Peter Bosselmann is a Professor of the Graduate School in Architecture, City and Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at the College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley.
Status: No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781951541484
Published: 8 Mar 2021
Published In: United States
Imprint: Goff Books
Publisher: Oro Editions
Format: Paperback
Height: 229mm
Width: 178mm
Pages: 200

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information