Take This Free Architecture Course, Courtesy of Harvard

Photo by Roger on Flickr/Creative Commons

The study of architecture may conjure images of construction, math, and precision, but an introductory course at Harvard is prepared to introduce architecture to you as an art form.

Harvard University Graduate School of Design is offering anyone the chance to take “The Architectural Imagination.” The free online course will teach students of all ages the fundamental principles of architecture and its qualities of cultural expression. Students will analyze, draw, model, and study historical buildings in order, all while gaining a further appreciation for the art.

The course describes architecture as a “professional practice deeply embedded in society,” explaining the field has social obligations and the aesthetic power to drive social change. It is ideas and concepts like these that professors K. Michael Hays, Erika Naginski, and Antoine Picon, plan on exploring during the 10-week course. The self-paced class begins February 28 on edX.org.

Ready to lecture your friends on buildings around town? You can sign up for the course here.