- Course location
- Berlin
- Teaching language
- • English
- Language level of course
- • English: B2
- Date(s)
- •
18 July - 15 August 2026 (registration deadline: 19 June 2026)
- Information on dates, prices and mode of study
- A non-refundable programme fee is applicable in addition to the tuition fee. The programme fee includes a social programme open to all students. A reduced programme fee applies to early-bird registrations.
- Target group
- The course is open to students from any subject. While basic knowledge of architecture and architectural history is welcomed, it is not necessary.
- Description/content
- Please visit our website (www.fubis.org (http://www.fubis.org)) for an overview of all courses offered and for possible updates to the course programme.
About this course
This course seeks to examine the meaning and significance of “architecture” in one of the most historically significant cities of Europe. Berlin has been subject to many waves of renewal – some gradual, some democratic and some totalitarian – all leaving their marks on its buildings.
While we may notice or like the appearance of particular buildings we encounter daily or as tourists, their size often gives the impression that they have always been there. Still, these buildings are the culmination of many individual, social and communal decisions. Each building reflects the prevailing ideas of the time in which it was built. Therefore, the course will include formal and stylistic analysis of the architecture, while also focusing on the historical, ideological and individual context of the works through the prism of the following question: what message was this building meant to convey? From this perspective, the course provides a broad overview of the development of public and private architecture in Berlin during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Several walking tours to historically significant buildings and sites are included, such as Unter den Linden, Gendarmenmarkt, Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial, Humboldt-Forum, etc. The course aims to provide a deeper understanding of the interdependence between Berlin’s architecture and the city’s social and political structures throughout its historical development. It views Berlin as a paradigmatic example of the pathways and complexities of a European capital in modern times.