Professional Elective

ARC 500

Course Description (Spring 2022)

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we collectively confront devastation in our midst. Life as we knew it—or “The Before Time”—has been transformed by illness, death, and fear across every scale of life.

We must shift our focus away from pandemic-driven doom-scrolling and redirect our attention to extracting lessons from the chaos. Deadly pathogens have tormented humanity since its inception and will do so indefinitely. The difference between microbes and humans, however, is that humans have the capacity to learn and act with intent. We learned from the Black Death, we learned from (and eradicated!) Smallpox, and we are learning from COVID-19.

This seminar will operate with a positive mindset. We will examine case studies spanning from the early-modern period through today and consider how different types of pathogens have driven architectural, landscape, and infrastructural innovations. We will study the evolving popular beliefs and scientific knowledges that have impact(ed) the use and design of space, and we will explore many of the social, economic, and political issues at play during each respective epidemic.

The importance of interdisciplinary research and collaboration cannot be emphasized enough in the pursuit of advancements in architectural designs so inextricably linked to public health. As such, students will be introduced to the fundamental aspects of infectious disease, epidemiology, and the complex, déjà-vu-inducing nature of public health policy and education.

Concepts & Case Studies

Quarantine’s Origin Story

14–17th c. Lazzaretti design, use, and change; Responding to Recurring Plague Epidemics in Italy

Biopolitics and Smallpox Hospitals

London's Smallpox Hospital, 18th c.

From Miasma to Germ Theory

Impacts on the Built Environment in the Domestic and Public Sphere

Evolutions in Urban Infrastructure: 19th c.

Yellow Fever in Memphis, U.S.

Cholera in England

“Healthy” Architecture: 20th c.

Tuberculosis’ Impact on Domestic
and Public Life

Sanatoriums in the U.S. and
Western Europe

21st c. Infection, Globalization, and Fear: Responding During Crisis

“Amerithrax” biological attack, 2001

Ebola Outbreak, West Africa, 2014–16

21st c. Hospitals, Laboratories, Deployable Medical Shelters,
and Morgues

Representations of Disease
1980s AIDS Crisis Propaganda,