MArch Master of Architecture Architectural History & Theory 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The term 'firmitas, utilitas, venustas' from Vitruvius's De Architectura translates respectively to which three architectural qualities?
- Height, width, depth
- Strength, function, beauty (Correct answer)
- Structure, space, surface
- Form, light, shadow
Correct answer: Strength, function, beauty
Vitruvius's triad — firmitas (strength/durability), utilitas (usefulness), and venustas (beauty) — remains a foundational framework in architectural theory.
Question 2: Which Japanese architectural movement of the 1960s proposed massive, adaptable megastructures that could respond to population growth and urban change?
- Deconstructivism
- Brutalism
- Metabolism (Correct answer)
- Structuralism
Correct answer: Metabolism
The Japanese Metabolism movement, led by architects like Kenzo Tange and Kisho Kurokawa, envisioned cities as living organisms with replaceable parts.
Question 3: Robert Venturi's concept of 'the decorated shed' in 'Learning from Las Vegas' refers to what architectural type?
- A building whose decoration is applied independently of its structure (Correct answer)
- A vernacular rural building with ornate details
- A glass curtain-wall skyscraper
- A Brutalist concrete structure
Correct answer: A building whose decoration is applied independently of its structure
The decorated shed describes a building where the structure and spatial organization are separate from the applied symbolic decoration on its surface.
Question 4: The concept of 'critical regionalism,' coined by Kenneth Frampton, advocates for architecture that does which of the following?
- Copies local historical styles exactly
- Responds to place and culture while engaging with universal modern technology (Correct answer)
- Rejects all local influence in favor of a global style
- Prioritizes low-cost prefabricated construction
Correct answer: Responds to place and culture while engaging with universal modern technology
Critical regionalism seeks a balance between universal modernism and local cultural/geographic specificity, avoiding both pastiche and placeless internationalism.
Question 5: In the history of American architecture, which style dominated civic and institutional buildings in the US from roughly the 1870s–1930s, drawing from ancient Greek and Roman precedents?
- Shingle Style
- Beaux-Arts (Correct answer)
- Prairie Style
- Craftsman
Correct answer: Beaux-Arts
The Beaux-Arts style, derived from training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, influenced major US institutions including Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library.
Question 6: Which concept, central to the work of Peter Eisenman, involves using architectural form to deliberately disrupt habitual patterns of use and perception?
- Biophilic design
- Disjunction (Correct answer)
- Organic architecture
- Functionalism
Correct answer: Disjunction
Eisenman's concept of disjunction introduces intentional conflicts between form, function, and meaning to challenge conventional architectural assumptions.
MArch Master of Architecture Architectural History & Theory 2
The term 'firmitas, utilitas, venustas' from Vitruvius's De Architectura translates respectively to which three architectural qualities?