Architecture, Engineering, Design, and Technology: Case Studies From the Past, Present, and Future
Osher Online | Registration closed 9/13/2024
This course presents case studies in the history of architecture, civil and structural engineering, and industrial design. Specific design and building types will be discussed and include: computer-aided design; skyscrapers; airports and aircraft factories; spacecraft and launch facilities, sci-fi dreams, and reality; and museums and exhibitions that deal with those and related tech subjects. In each session, we will explore the past, present, and future possibilities. Those case studies will refer to the design and construction technology of their eras and place them in socio-cultural and political contexts. Sessions will generally be in a pro-seminar format with each lecture followed by discussion.
The course will examine instances where architecture, design, and engineering are impacted by technological advances catalyzed by rivalry and conflict–military, political, or economic/commercial–and overall motivations related to wealth and power as much as to design, scientific, or engineering advances.
(Current OLLI Members Only)
Class schedule: Live lectures will take place on Wednesdays, 10:00 am - 11:30 am, via ZOOM
- Live Lecture 1 Wednesday, 10/2/24
- Live Lecture 2 Wednesday, 10/9/24
- Live Lecture 3 Wednesday, 10/16/24
- Live Lecture 4 Wednesday, 10/23/24
- Live Lecture 5 Wednesday, 10/30/24
- Live Lecture 6 Wednesday, 11/6/24
As this class is delivered by the National Resource Center for OLLIs (NRC) at Northwestern University, you will receive a welcome email from osheronline@northwestern.edu. The email will include your credentials (username & password) as well as a hyperlink to the Osher Online Website through which you will access your course website.
John Zukowsky
John Zukowsky, PhD is an architectural and design historian with over five decades of museum experience, which includes university courses taught in Chicago, New York, and Hamburg, Germany. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and master and doctoral degrees from Binghamton University. He has been the recipient of awards from the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Architectural Historians, and the republics of Austria and France. While curator of architecture for the Art Institute of Chicago from 1978 to 2004, he organized popular, award-winning exhibitions and books. From 2004 to 2012 he served as a museum executive in Ohio, Chicago, and New York, including sites that are historic landmarks. Recently, he authored the following books: Building Chicago,
Architecture-Inside Out, New Military Museums, and A Chronology of Architecture.