Course

Although Cairo was formally founded in 969 AD, its territories were occupied with settlements as ancient as 6,000 years BC. The fundamentals of the architectural language of the Western world were cast here, and many buildings types became adopted for millennia. With the fall of the Egyptian civilization, its fate was colonial for centuries thereafter while retaining an enormous influence on architecture. Today, Cairo is a megalopolis with notable architectural contributions of international renown. This course will survey the evolution of the most revered cities in history.

Faculty Bio 

Pierluigi Serraino Ph.D., FAIA is a practicing architect and educator, as well as an author of many books on architecture, including Taschen's Modernism Rediscovered and The Modern Garden: The Outdoor Architecture of Mid-century America (Rizzoli, 2024). He is also the recipient of the 2026 OLLI @Berkeley Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award.

This is a Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes will stream live on the scheduled day and time 
• Classes will also be video recorded
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Wednesday, Feb. 17, and ends on Wednesday, March 10
• Classes meet for 4 weeks, 1.5 hours per session (10:30 AM–noon)
• All course materials remain in Member Dashboards through March 28

 Member Praise for Pierluigi Serraino

Pierluigi is a wonderful instructor--I always learn something new from him, as well as something to think about. He always opens my eyes.

Course materials, organization, Pierluigi's deep knowledge of the specific area and ability to fit it into larger context of regional traditions and international design trends, and receptivity to participant questions & observations ... all great! Highly recommend!

Faculty Q&A

• Read an interview with Pierluigi Serraino from our archive.