Department of Teaching and Research 

History of Architecture

This teaching and research area examines the built environment from a historical perspective across its entire spectrum—that is, buildings and ensembles of diverse functions and periods of origin. In line with this focus, the department examines the sociopolitical contexts that shape not only planning and construction but also the subsequent appreciation of—and thus the treatment of—the built environment. Of interest, therefore, are also the changes in buildings and urban structures over the course of history and the underlying shifts in their assigned meanings and functions. Accordingly, the history and theory of historic preservation form central areas of the architectural history discussed here.

The foundation of a scholarly and critical history of architecture lies in an examination of the discipline’s methods, historiography, and the media representation of architecture, including the resulting canonizations and narratives. This allows us to reflect on the origins and nature of our contemporary conception of architectural history and to understand traditional themes and classificatory structures as historically conditioned perspectives.
 

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News

Series 

Frieder & Henner

This series is a joint project of the Architectural History and Architectural Theory and Philosophy divisions within the Department of Architecture. The title “FRIEDER & HENNER” is rooted in the location of these two academic fields at the University of Siegen: It refers to the miner “Henner” and the smelter “Frieder,” the symbolic figures of ore mining and the iron industry in the Siegerland region. However, this does not limit the topics to the Siegerland region; rather, the series covers the entire range of subjects addressed by the two academic fields. Architecture serves as the common and unifying framework for both.

To the volumes

New Release

Volume 5 showcases the sometimes hidden design qualities of the Paul-Bonatz-Str. campus (formerly the State School of Civil Engineering) at the University of Siegen through numerous historical and contemporary images.

Further information

Team

Our team currently consists of the department head, Prof. Eva von Engelberg; research assistant Isabell Eberling; adjunct lecturer Lilian Kraft; secretary Sarah Reineck; and the two student assistants, Merle Weth and Joshua Hundt.

Information about the team members