This course aims to offer an initial introduction to the history and theory of architecture. What is the relationship between built space and human experience? How does architecture meet human physical, emotional, and social needs? Does architecture serve as an art or a craft? Throughout the course, we shall learn basic architectural concepts while encountering iconic monuments, buildings, and complexes representative of Western cultural history from antiquity to the late 20th century. The course will explore the physical and metaphysical principles that have guided architectural design and praxis. We will address the visual language of various architectural styles within their respective social, economic, cultural, political, scientific, and religious contexts, as well as analyze how materials, technologies, and construction methods influence the perception of space and time (and vice versa). Based on the historical understanding, ethical and aesthetic aspects of architectural practice will be discussed, and theoretical inquiries regarding architecture's definition and role will be provoked. We shall analyze different aspects of the role architecture plays (or should play) in daily life, questioning whether it primarily expresses the culture of its era and the prevailing social structure or f?unctions as a tool to challenge and reform these structures.