Introduction to Modern Architecture and Basic Design with Graham Livesey

$385 for AGNES Members, $400 for non-members

Bursaries are available:

Join architectural educator and author Graham Livesey for this engaging 8-week course that combines short lectures and hands-on studio exercises.

Participants will learn about key developments in 20th-century modern and postmodern architecture, along with various design and art methods used in architectural education. Topics include avant-garde art movements, the Bauhaus, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, the International Style, and various approaches to the postmodern architecture that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s.

Each weekly session includes a 45-minute lecture and discussion, followed by a 75-minute design exercise using collage, photography and basic model-making techniques. Sessions conclude with a short group review.

This course is suitable for beginners and those looking to broaden their understanding of modern design principles. Participants will develop an understanding of foundational design skills such as graphic composition, colour theory, conceptualization, and project development. Keeping a sketchbook is encouraged throughout to record notes, ideas, sketches, and inspirations.

All essential materials are provided. Participants are welcome to bring additional supplies if they wish to explore further. Graham Livesey’s Modern Architecture: The Basics (Routledge, 2025), will serve as a supporting text throughout the course and is provided in the course fee.

Artist Biography

Graham Livesey is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, where he taught architectural design, history, and theory. He holds degrees from McGill University and the Technical University of Delft. Livesey was a practicing architect with Down + Livesey Architects. He is a prolific author, co-editing publications such as Canadian Modern Architecture, 1967 to the Present (2019) and writing Modern Architecture: The Basics (2025). In 2019, Livesey was elected to the College of Fellows of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Now based in Kingston, he brings deep knowledge and an accessible teaching style to those curious about how architecture shapes our world.