IBBL USC MASTER PROGRAMME URBANISM & SOCIETAL CHANGE 22/23
PUBLISHED BY The Royal Danish Academy Architecture, Design and Conservation School of Architecture Master22/23 URBANISMProgrammeANDSOCIETAL CHANGE ©2022150PRINTOffsetColorPAPERWorkSansAkzidenzGeorgiaTYPOGRAPHYPRinfoParitasPRINTAugustSusanneCameronDESIGNAugustEDITORIALDeaneEDITORSUSCSimpsonASSISTANTQueitschFrimannClarkeEegQueitschFrimannA/S,RødovreCopy250g,cover120g,contentcopies
URBANISM & SOCIETAL URBANISM & CIETAL URBANISM & URBANISMSOCIETALSOCIETALSOCIETALSOCTALANGECHANGEURBA-CHANGEURBANISM&SOCIETALCHANGESOCIETALANGEURBA-CHANGEBANISMCHANURBANISM&CHANGEURNISM&SOCIECHIEURGECHBASO
3 UrbanismResilientTerritories&SocietalChange The Royal Danish Academy - Architecture, Design, 2022Conservation/23
5
Urbanism & Societal Change is based upon the following ambitions: to embed the architectural & urban project within the dynamic conditions of contemporary society 2. to couple research and design within the project process 3. to train future architects as leading actors in the material production of a sustainable and equitable society.
1.
Profound societal transformations, ranging from political and economic to demographic shifts, and altered resource availability to climatic change indicate that we can no longer expect the future conditions of the discipline to be an extrapolation of the
7
Thesepast.
emerging conditions challenge conventional understandings of urban spatial organization and the role of the architect and Inplanner.thiscontext, the capacity of architects to identify, understand and respond to these new conditions affecting the discipline becomes increasingly crucial.
9 Autumn 2022 11 Resilient Territories: Rethinking Foodscapes Written Thesis Teachers & Collaborators 61 General Programme Information 53 Spring 2023 27 Resilient Territories: Rethinking Urban Adaptive Reuse Diploma Project Studio Culture 69 Previous Semester Catalogue 112
Nordic harvest, Alistair Philip Wiper 2020
Students will be tasked with developing coherent spatial alternatives to current unsustainable practices at the territorial scale; at the neighborhood scale, and at the architectural scale that respond to their research, and to the challenges and opportunities at hand.
The general pedagogical approach of this semester is centred upon a feedback loop between research and design supported by a combination of studios and courses. Assignments, resulting in organizational and spatial design proposals that are
Autumn 2022 Rethinking Foodscapes
This semester will work within the thematic of foodscapes – at the intersection of practices and technologies of food production, and their spatial and environmental impact and potential across a range of scales.
11
The work will be conducted in dialogue with relevant academics, public, private and civic sector actors.
3rd Semester (20 ECTS points)
1st Semester (30 ECTS points)
Plenty Indoor Vertical Farm , Califonia - Jim McAuley 2022 An overview of interactions between climate change and food productionScience of the Total Environment 2022 The average Dane's total annual emissions of greenhouse gases according to consumption categories - CONCITO Countries with largest ecological footprint
13 largely self-programmed, are carried out at registers and scales spanning from the architectural intervention, and urban design, to the strategic urban plan. Emphasis will be placed on practices of engaging societal challenges through precisely framed research polemics and articulated design proposals. In addition to the main research-design studio component of the semester, supporting course elements involve a range of lectures, readings, discussions, assignments etc.
Østergro Urban Farming, Copenhagen Denmark - 2014 Nordic harvest, Alistair Philip Wiper 2020
• Insights into the complex landscape of actors and dynamics in the production of architecture and urbanism;
• Knowledge and skills of research and analysis allowing comprehension, synthesis and visualization of complex conditions of societal change – and the ability to translate/reformulate these conditions in the form of architectural and urban programs within specific contexts;
17 1st Semester
• Knowledge and skills in the creative development and production of a sociospatial project at architectural and urban scales ranging from designing building envelopes and urban design to strategic planning. This includes insights and skills in the development of spatial, organisational and strategic concepts through iterative exploration and risk-taking, and their articulation in relevant and compelling
• Knowledge related to history, theory and discourse, and their application, at the intersection of architecture/urbanism and issues of urban and societal transformation:
Learning Outcomes (Knowledge, skills and competences)
formats of architectural and urban communication and visualisation. 3rd semester • Same learning outcomes as Semester 1, but with the following supplementary outcomes (representing progression from previous semesters): • competencies related to relevant history, theory and discourse, and their application, • competencies addressing the complex landscape of actors and dynamics in the production of architecture and urbanism, and the relevant competencies related to architecture / planning system practices / technologies that steer / support them; • developed competencies in the iterative creative development and production of the architectural and urban project ranging from designing building envelopes and urban design to strategic planning. This includes relevant competencies in the development of spatial, organisational and strategic concepts through iterative exploration and risk-taking, and their high level of development and articulation in relevant mediums and materialisations;
19
• developed capacity to work with high degrees of complexity.
Syllabus: Approx. 300 pages (titles given in the semester plan)
Submission requirements: Background and in depth research/ identification and analysis of key issues. Infographics and visual communication of the research. Programmatic development. Formulation of the design scenario and its argumentation. Presentation of the intervention with models, drawings and visualisations; and presentation of its transformation in relation to the planning system framework, presented with planning documents including drawings and other visual material. Method of assessment: Oral examination 30 min. Grading: 7-point grading scale Censor: Internal
Please note: as this program for third semester students constitutes 20 ECTS points – in contrast to those in their first semester who take 30 ECTS points – this is largely a function of reduced course obligations.
Pixel Farming experiments , Wageningen University The Netherlands
IBBL shared courses (LAND, USC & ART) (1st Semester only)
21
Spatial Planning
Introduction to the history, theory and contemporary challenges to urban and landscape planning. The course is a combination of readings in groups each afternoon preparing questions for the 3 lectures the following morning and the debate among students and lecturers mid-day. The course is introductory, laying the foundation for insight into and understanding of the history, most important theories and current challenges within urban planning and landscape architecture, including the specific contributions to the field from architecture through aesthetically based methods and through the production of futures. Lectures introduces to background and conditions for planning, amo the formation of DK-landscape, history of garden art, the historic development of cities and contemporary challenges, aestical discourses in architectural planning as well as the role that produced futures hold in architecture and planning; utopias, visions, scenarios, plans etc. Workload: Presence all days are expected. 4-6
400-600 Language:pages.Alllectures are in English, and 90% of texts are in English, a few historic documents on DK-planning is only available in Danish. English spoken students only read English texts, but will get aquanted with the Danish texts through the reading-relays.
22
Insight into and understanding of contemporary challenges to the Danish Planning System, including issues of climate and biodiversity and demographic challenges.
Spatial Planning Learning Outcomes
Knowledge of the history of and discourse of urban- and landscape planning from the antique city-state to the industrialised and post-industrialised mega-cities.
texts are read each day in the groups, however the individual student reads and presents 3045 pages a day, but will through the readingrelay in the groups get acquaintance with btw.
Insights into the specific contributions to planning from the architectural profession Insight into how futures are produced and stabilized through discourses and materialisations and visuals.
An overall insight into the most current
23 theories and paradigms within the topic of the course. GIS part 1: Introduction to research, analysis, and visualisation of urban conditions and dynamics through geographical information systems (GIS) GIS part 1 Learning Outcomes Acquaintance with GIS, knowledge of its network and structure Skills in setting up maps and accessing data. Ability to apply GIS in ongoing projects Attendance requirements: Full attendance and participation in all activities is expected.
Allegory and Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Countryside, Ambrogio Lorenzetti - 1339 Treatise on Rural Economy Pietro de' Crescenzi - Ca. 1300
The course encompasses introductions to the basics of scientific methods, to academic writing and to writing as reflection on and coproducer of architectural statements. The course is dedicated to the production of a predominantly written document with graphical support. The assignment is a reflection concerning a contemporary architectural, artistic and/or societal problematic of relevance. It can either be conducted as a pre-work for a following programmatic text, with a professional reflection on a contemporary problematic related to the program/line, or it can be a written reflection directly related to the students 3rd semester project and its appearance, concretion, ways of operating and its architectural/artistic context.
Autumn 2022 Written Thesis 3rd Semester (10 ECTS points)
25
The content of the course is
The course contains lectures, reading-circles and -pairs, seminars on writing as well as individual teaching over the run of the Pleasesemester.note:
•
•
•
•
To understand the role of empirics in a scientific text, to gather data relevant to the theme/problematic at hand and to elaborate these as empirics
To point to and make use of a theoretical and/or historical horizon
To formulate and present a problematic and to account for its background and relevant context
26 taught in English. Assignments are to be written in English. Learning Outcomes (Knowledge, skills and competences) • Knowledge, skills and competencies in the themes and methods of academic text writing. • To develop and structure a text as an instrument for thinking and reflection over problematics related to architecture/ urbanism/landscape architecture •
To conduct an analysis
To form and use arguments and to discuss research including relevant scientific findings. establish an abstract and to use references etc. combine theme, empirics, theory
• To
• To
27 and analysis in a way that allows for comprehension, synthesis and visualization of the project problematic • Critical insights into the possible role of the architectural/urban/landscape program/ brief. • Attendance requirements: • Full attendance and participation in all activities is expected. Syllabus: Max 300 pages. Submission requirements: Written paper, 10-15 pages Submission deadline: 20th December 2022 12:00 Method of assessment: Written paper, 10-15 pages Grading: Danish 7-point grading scale Censor: External
The Silo, Cobe - Rasmus Hjortshøj 2017
The general pedagogical approach is centred upon a feedback loop between research and design supported by a combination of courses and studios. Design assignments, are carried out at registers and scales spanning from the architectural intervention, and urban design, Spring Rethinking2023Urban Adaptive Reuse 2nd Semester (20 ECTS points)
The studio will explore the urban scale implications of adaptive reuse – a field which has previously focused largely upon the scale of the single building. Students will be tasked with developing coherent spatial alternatives to current unsustainable urban development practices at the territorial scale; at the neighbourhood scale, and at the architectural scale that respond to their research, and to the challenges and opportunities at hand. The work will be conducted in dialogue with relevant academics, public, private and civic sector actors.
29
This semester will work within the thematic of adaptive reuse – a topic of particular relevance in addressing the GHG emissions and wider environmental impact of architecture and urban development.
30Nautilus Minerals Inc at Port Moresby - Armin Linke Economic vs Environmental Value - Simon Sjökvist Headline - Time Magazine, 2020 Infrastructure for Extractive Architecture and Urbanism
• competencies in research and analysis allowing comprehension, synthesis and
• skills related to relevant history, theory and discourse, and their application;
• knowledge and skills addressing the complex landscape of actors and dynamics in the production of architecture and urbanism, and the relevant competencies related to architecture/planning system practices/technologies that steer/support them – with reflection upon the complex local practice conditions;
31 to the strategic urban plan. Emphasis will be placed on practices of engaging societal challenges through precisely framed research polemics and articulate and artistically developed designs. In addition to the main research-design studio component of the semester, supporting course elements involve a range of lectures, readings, discussions, assignments etc. Learning Outcomes (Knowledge, skills and competences)
• Same learning outcomes as Semester 1, but with the following supplementary outcomes (representing progression from previous semesters):
32
visualization of complex conditions of societal change taking place – and the ability to translate / reformulate these conditions in the form of architectural and urban programs and projects within specific contexts; • competencies in the creative iterative concept development and production of the architectural, urban project. This includes competencies in the development of spatial, organisational and strategic concepts, and their development and articulation in relevant mediums and materialisations; • skills and competency in a range of media of architectural and urban communication and visualisation; Syllabus: Approx. 300 pages (titles given in the semester plan) Submission requirements: Background and in depth research/ identification and analysis of key issues. Infographics and visual communication of the research. Programmatic development. Formulation of the design scenario and its argumentation. Presentation of the intervention with models, drawings and visualisations; and
33 presentation of its transformation in relation to the planning system framework, presented with planning documents including drawings and other visual material. Method of assessment: Oral examination Grading: 7-point grading scale Censor: Internal Scales of Extraction after Morphosis - Charlotte Malterre-Barthes
34Miscellaneous Precedents and Scales of Adaptive Reuse
35
36Adaptive Infrastructure, Noord-Zuid Limburg - 51N4E
37
38Architecture without extraction - Zosia Dzierzawska and Charlotte Malterre Barths Embodied Energy And Design - David Benjamin
39
Architecture without extraction - Zosia Dzierzawska and Charlotte Malterre Barths
Case-based analysis of contemporary examples of urban and landscape planning and their prerequisites
41
The Shared Planning Course (LFB) 2th Semester (10 ECTS points)
The course is a combination of lectures, field research and group work focusing on gaining a deeper understanding of planning in practice through analysis of contemporary cases. Special attention is given to the complex interplay between different stakeholders, paving the way for a critical discussion of central questions of decision making and formal and actual power in urban and landscape planning. While focusing on real-life cases, the course looks at the different roles of the architect in the realm of urban, regional and national urban and landscape planning, whether it is as an officer in municipal or national government, as consultant, adviser or critical researcher.
To conclude the course, the Cross-disciplinary Course with students from University of Copenhagen, Technical University of Denmark and University of Roskilde
42
Spatial Panning II Learning Outcomes
•
students will present a case-based analysis of a contemporary example of urban and/or landscape planning in Denmark.
Competencies in understanding the pathways of decision-making, the practices of planning in municipal and national contexts and the intended and realized consequences of urban and landscape planning and the planning process in a social, political, cultural, financial and technological perspective.
Skills in the methodology of case-bases analysis as a means of gaining insight into planning in practice with a critical perspective on aspects of power and politics, informed by the history and theory of spatial planning.
•
• Knowledge related to the interplay between different stakeholders and their influence on the built environment in a context of how the spatial planning system and the theories and paradigms of urban and landscape planning works in practice.
43 GIS 2, Advanced Advanced research, analysis, and visualisation of urban conditions and dynamics through geographical information systems (GIS); GIS 2 Learning Outcomes Advanced skills in the use and analysis of GISdata. Attendance requirements: Full attendance and participation in all activities is expected.
44Royal Danish Academy, Diploma exhibition - Karina Tengberg 2022
45
SPRING 2023 Diploma Project 4th Semester (30 ECTS points)
The Master's project is a self-formulated project which equals 30 ECTS. It is completed during the 4th semester. In addition to the learning outcomes, a special theme is linked to the master's project; the Master's project must relate to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals as set out in UN Resolution 70/1 – Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In dialogue with his/her supervisor, each student decides and substantiates the way in which the master's project relates to the UN's Sustainable Development Goal Learning Outcome • Knowledge of, insight into and understanding of architectural theory, methods and practice forms, based on leading research and development: ability to relate criticallyreflectively to architectural knowledge and identify artistic and scientific issues and challenges.
46Hong Kong Frangment - Desmond Choi - Diploma 2020
47
Skills in the use of architecture's artistic and scientific methods, tools and representation forms, mastery of general architectural skills: ability to assess and choose artistic and scientific methods and tools, develop analysis and solution models, and skills in linguistic and visual dissemination and discussion of the profession's artistic and scientific issues and solutions with peers and non-specialists alike.
48 •
The Master's project must be submitted on the date set out in the time schedule. The Master's project includes boards and models.
Submission requirements:
• Competences in preparing and developing proposals for designs and spatial organisation of independently phrased architectural programmes: ability to independently launch and complete professional and interdisciplinary collaboration, and to undertake professional responsibility and independently accept responsibility for own academic development and specialisation.
49 Method of assessment: Oral examination of 90 minutes Grading: Danish 7-point grading scale Censor: External
50 Hosting the City - Arendse Steensberg & Inga Skjulhaug - Diploma 2021 Outdoor Intimate Harbour - Linda Tran - Diploma 2020
51Magic of the real - Lauge Floris - Diploma 2020
USC Studio, Bejing Semester - 2019
As a result, much of the program involves research-based teaching in which the student is herself/himself generating proposals and knowledge related to specific thematics, conditions, contexts, and programs that represent key societal changes and challenges.
These emerging conditions challenge conventional understandings of spatial organization and the role of the architect and Inplanner.this context, the capacity of architects to identify and understand these evolving conditions affecting the discipline, and to provide new visions for our collective future, becomes increasingly crucial.
53
General Programme Information
Profound societal transformations, ranging from shifts in economic and demographic conditions, to altered resource availability, to the massive spatial implications of climatic change indicate that we can no longer expect the future conditions of the discipline to be an extrapolation of the past.
Studio Models, 2019
addition
In to knowledge in architectural and urban theory, history, representational techniques, design methods, form-making, strategic-development, systemic thinking, etc.; students at USC can expect to learn research methods, and rhetorical formats, and spatial visions formulation as a basis to contribute novel spatial responses to the evolving conditions of our time.
55
foundational
First and second year students work together in this semester, typically working in groups of two or three students. The
56
The structure of the two-year, four-semester program can be unfolded as follows: Semester one is focused on developing broad knowledge and competencies in the methods and approaches that the program employs.
A key characteristic of the program is that each semester’s project work is framed less according to conventional scalar categories, and more based on thematic approaches to critical societal changes. The themes offer a range of entry points to design and planning proposals that might range in scale from that of the building, to that of urban space or the territory. Past thematics have included: the urban implications of population aging; climate change focusing on spatial adaptation to predicted sea-level rise; vulnerable housing areas and associated challenges of sociospatial segregation.
Project work is based in a Copenhagen context, exploiting local knowledge and a local network of collaborators including local academics, practitioners, and the Municipality of Copenhagen.
57
second semester focuses on a foreign context undergoing dynamic transformation, to which the studio conducts an in-depth study tour. These settings are intended both as unknown environments to challenge the students, and to allow them to reflect on conditions in their own ‘home’ contexts. Previous second semester sites have included Riga/Tallinn, and Beijing – and have involved exchanges and on-site exhibitions. In this semester, first year students work separately from second year students. (It is also possible for students to take an internship during this semester.)
The focus of semester three returns to the local Copenhagen context with the studio mixed between first and third semester students. Third semester students are encouraged to work on projects individually. The program for third semester students is a split semester between the studio project set in the Copenhagen context, and an independent research project. The research project addresses a societal change and a specific context of the student’s choice and forms the basis for the student’s thesis/diploma program. After the first three
58
semesters of the program, students will have had experience working across scales and modes of production: from architectural design interventions, to urban space or neighbourhood designs, to local plan documents, and spatial strategic plans.
The fourth and final semester is dedicated to developing the thesis/diploma project on a societal change, context and program of the student’s selection. Students are expected to deliver a mature, thoroughly iterated and provocative research, program and spatial proposition at the end of their studies.
USC is an important part of the Institute of Architecture, Urbanism & Landscape. The programs at the Institute share a geographical frame in the fall-semester, and also a common meta-theme throughout the studyyear. Through these commitments, students are able to exploit and investigate different sets of professional positions, methods and knowledge-bases at IBBL, and the types of problematics that they entail. The institute aims at training graduates who can take on leadership in all of the complex processes of urban development.
59
Therefore, there is a focus on developing knowledge of what this implies, both at the bachelor level and on the candidate programs.
IBBL's Katrine Lotz introduces 'Atlas of The Copenhagens' launch - 2018
Teachers & Collaborators Studio Tutors
Jan Loerakker (Amsterdam, 1986) is an architect and co-founder of Loerakker Olsson Architects. He studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy and TU Delft (‘Design as Politics’) and did a minor in Urban Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. He worked as an architect/ urbanist/researcher for a.o. Crimson Architectural Historians (Rotterdam) and Gottlieb Paludan Architects (Copenhagen) and has been editor of the critical platform Failed Architecture. Jan has been teaching at USC since 2014 and currently runs his own practice. Nina Stener Jørgensen (Copenhagen, 1990) is an urbanist and PhD student at the Faculty of Architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn, where she graduated from the Urban Studies master's programme in 2018. As part of an exchange, she studied architecture at the ÉNSA Val de Seine in Paris. Interested in the digitalization of participatory practices, she is currently piecing together
Deane Simpson (Wellington, 1971) is an architect, urbanist, professor and leader of Urbanism and Societal Change at the Royal Danish Academy. He is formerly a unit master at AA London, professor at BAS, faculty member at ETH Zürich, and architect with Diller + Scofidio NY. He received his masters from Columbia University NY, and his Phd from ETH Zürich; and is author/coeditor of publications such as The Ciliary Function (2007), Young-Old (2015), The City Between Freedom and Security (2017), Forming Welfare (2017), Atlas of the Copenhagens (2018) and Architectures of Dismantling Restructuring (2022).
61
Tamara Kalantajevska (Riga, 1988) is an architect, working on large scale master plans and visions at COBE in Copenhagen. Tamara studied at the Royal Danish Academy (Urbanism and Societal Change), Riga Technical University and HafenCity University (Urban Design) and previously worked at Gehl in Copenhagen. In addition to teaching at USC Tamara runs an architectural collective Dinner Group, focused on small scale artistic and architectural projects.
Michael Asgaard Andersen (Copenhagen, 1973) is an architect and associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy. He was formerly associate professor at Aarhus School of Architecture and Chalmers University of Technology - where he also served as head of the division of Architectural Theory and Method - and visiting scholar at University of Pennsylvania. He received his masters from Columbia University NY and PhD from the Royal Danish Academy and is the author/editor of publications such as Nordic Architects Write (2008), Paradoxes of Appearing (2009), Jørn Utzon (2011/2014), New Nordic (2012), and Bofællesskaber (2021).
62 a history of the so-called Smart City as part of her PhD project. Her work has been published in journals such as Scroope, Footprint and Architecture and Culture.
Cameron Clarke (Scotland, 1989) is an architect who trained at the Shefield School of Architecture (UK) and at the Royal Danish Academy. His graduating thesis from USC was awarded the 2019 Royal Danish Academy UN scholarship, a nomination for the 2020 EU YTAA Mies van der Rohe Award and publication in Dezeen. He is currently an architect with Morris + Company in Copenhagen. He has previously worked for Sangberg Architcts in Copenhagen,
Course Leaders
Carlos Ramos (Madrid, 1985) architect and educator, currently working at BIG. Graduated with honours at ETSAM, Madrid, his thesis entitled Biomass powerplant and artificial atmosphere stacking in Chelsea, NY has received international recognition. He has worked at studio Herreros, Dorte Mandrup. Arkitektur, Manuel Ocana and dosmasuno, and taught and lectured at ETSAM, IE School of Architecture, UEM, AHO and the Royal Danish Academy.
Jonna Majgaard Krarup is an architect with specialisation in landscape architecture, and associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy. Jonna has a number of years of practice experience and is formerly head of the Institute of Urban Planning, head of the Centre of Urban Space Research at the Royal Danish Academy, and a visiting associate professor at the Aarhus School of Architecture. She holds a Phd and candidate degree from the Aarhus School of Architecture. Jonna’s ongoing
Stine Christiansen (Copenhagen 1980) is an architect, urbanist and co-founder of the studio OS arkitekter. She previously studied at the Royal Danish Academy and practiced for several years with Vandkunsten. Stine has worked with projects ranging in scale from buildings to large scale planning and landscape architecture. Her focus is a systemic approach to architecture.
O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects in London and Dublin on projects for the V&A Museum and Sadlers Wells Theatre, and Mikhail Riches Architects where he worked on their 2019 Stirling Prize winning social housing scheme.
63
64 research addresses issues of landscape urbanism and climate change adaptation, with an interest in broader questions of urban ecology. She plays a central role in the Phd school at the Royal Danish Academy, and leads the third semester 10 ECTS course for IBBL students.
SJG has received a number of awards including the Rotterdam Design Prize, the World’s Most Beautiful Book Gold Medal, etc. He received his masters in architecture from the Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. He is the author of I swear I use no art at all (2010). He is currently professor at the Design School of The Royal Danish Academy, and was formerly head of the Information Design Masters at the Design Academy, Eindhoven. He is a regular workshop/ course teacher and collaborator with USC. On Leave 2022/23 Charles Bessard (Paris, 1970) architect, partner and cofounder Bessards’ Studio and the Powerhouse Company, and teaching associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy. Charles Bessard has realized several awardwinning projects and won the Nycredit Motivation prize. He received his masters from the Ecole Speciale d’Architecture, Paris, his postgraduate masters from the Berlage, Rotterdam, and is currently completing a Phd at the Royal Danish Academy. Co-author of Shifts: Architecture after the 20th Century (2012), and Ouvertures (2011).
Joost Grootens (Netherlands, 1970) is architect, graphic designer and founder of Studio Joost Grootens (SJG) – an Amsterdam-based design firm focusing on book design.
Simon Sjökvist (Malmö, 1981) is an architect conducting an industrial-Phd collaboration between COBE Architects and the Royal Danish Academy. He previously worked as project manager at COBE on urban planning, landscape and building architecture projects, including leading the new Science Museum in Lund. Simon studied at the Royal Danish Academy, and has worked for various European architectural practices. In addition to teaching at USC, Simon has also been teaching urban planning at Lund University.
65
KristiansenHenrietteIndyJohar
66 Keller Easterling Tina
67 Collaborators Past/Present Programme Collaborators Marco
ChrisopherNicolaySteinbergBoyadjievRoth
Model making at the desk - 2019
69
Studio Culture
Change (USC) is a masters program at the Royal Danish Academy - Architecture, Design and Conservation. USC is part of the Royal Danish Academy’s Institute for Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape (IBBL) consisting of a bachelor program, three masters programs and researchers – involving around 230 people in total. The institute is the basis for cross- program collaboration and we consistently aim to have collective conversations, events, presentations etc. bridging between both bachelor and master students. IBBL is housed in building 72 (Philip De Langes Allé 11), designed by the accomplished architect, Ferninand Mehldahl in 1883 and now historically listed. It is the responsibility of all of us to take good care of the building and the courtyard. It is important that on an everyday basis, we leave the indoor and outdoor spaces in the same condition or better than when we arrived. In this way, we show each other that we value the environment and community where we spend a large part of our everyday life.
For many, much of what is described below may be obvious or self-explanatory. However, as we come from different study backgrounds and environments, it is possible that there are different expectations and cultures associated with study. Therefore, this document attempts to lay out some of the particularities and expectations associated with studying at the Royal Danish Academy, and at USC. It is inspired by some of the wise writings of our colleague, Morten UrbanismMeldgaard.andSocietal
Studying at the Academy Studying architecture at the academy is framed to a large extent as a student-directed study. You are asked to apply your full dedication, commitment, passion, and desire for knowledge and creativity as an active producer of your own education – not as a passive consumer. In these terms, your time at USC should follow the maxim “the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.” We encourage you to avoid apathy or mediocrity, and instead to dive wholeheartedly into the opportunity that study represents; take risks, and accept that you will make mistakes along the way as an essential part of learning and Withdeveloping.atradition
going back to 1754, studying at the art academy has two important facets. Firstly, artistic statements are unique and therefore cannot be solved singularly from a list of facts with already established answers. Secondly, the term ‘academy’ implies that the teachers address you ‘at eye level’. As teachers, we do not profess to have all the answers, but rather have a responsibility to respond with relevant questions that challenge you in discussing how to take the work forward – for the simple reason that it is you who will need to develop the capacity to respond to the challenges of the future to come. It is important that the studies are not understood as a todo list to be ticked off, or as being singularly result-focused upon grades. The education is about immersion, personal and professional development, design competence and skills, leadership, collective solidarity in the studio, and learning how to contribute to a productive and fruitful process, and carrying it through to the materials you present.
70
71
The development of the project – and its material production in the form of various iterations of sketches, diagrams, drawings, collages, models, visualisations, etc. (rather than words) – is the central pedagogical process through which you think, act, know and do, and through which you gain from the teaching. It is expected that you are well prepared for these desk crits, have prepared this material production, and have pinned up work with a commitment to an engaging conversation and discussion.
While formal teaching takes place through a combination of inputs, lectures, workshops, pin-ups, group critiques, etc. arranged by the teaching team, it is the weekly desk critique with your tutor addressing your project that plays a central role, marking key milestones in the weekly project development work.
A key expectation in the process is that the project is developed through many iterations and ongoing refinements along these desk crit milestones. With this in mind, it is relevant to be aware of ‘not letting the perfect get in the way of the good.’ In other words, you are not expected to come up with brilliant proposals in your first attempt, but rather, through the ongoing refinement and development of iterations of the project, it becomes more articulated, resolved, and specific in its qualities.
The physical studio space of the program is our core educational environment. It is intended to foster an intensive culture of collective learning based on support, solidarity, friendship and exchange, rather than competition. It is a space where you can talk with your fellow students and learn from their projects. You learn by talking to your peers and the table group about their projects or by helping students in other levels. It can be that you help someone with something they do not master or vice versa, or that you help a more experienced student and thereby learn something yourself. The unique combination of cultures in the programme also holds the potential of bringing forward ideas and comments based on experience and different backgrounds. Being physically on the premises, in the studio, then is central to the education at the academy - and it is expected of the students as it is the space where it is possible to learn more from one another than from the structured teaching. As teachers, we have some of our fondest memories from our architecture school studios – where that collective environment supported a common lift of the project toward a new level of quality, and cemented friendships that are still important today.
72
As a starting point studio hours are normally 09:00-17:00, but we encourage and support other working hours as Wewell.supply a schedule with planned joint study activities including regular structured studio teaching days with desk crits, pin-ups, reviews, along with lectures, workshops, reading seminars, inputs etc.
Studio Culture
In addition to the physical studio space, we have a virtual supplement in the form of RUM where you can communicate and share material. It is common for the students to also work with other platforms such as Slack to maintain collective communication in the student group.
73
If there is nothing on the schedule between 09:00-17:00, it does not mean that you have time off, but that you study and immerse yourself in developing your project. This could involve: sketching, drawing, model-building or web-based research in the studio; exploring relevant references in the library; interviewing an expert or going on a site visit outside the Royal Danish Academy; building a model or mock-up in the workshop, etc., or giving feedback on one another’s projects in the studio.
In short, the studio should function as a space for contemplation around you, a working community, a professional culture for dialogue with each other, the teachers and the society we are part of.
The studio is your space and you should collectively, as a student group, find the ways to make it one that is inspiring, attractive and pleasant to thrive in together – a space that you want to spend time in, with people you want to spend time with, doing the things you want to do. Fully inhabit it and make it your own!
Start of semester gathering in the sunshine - 2019
75Thesis Exhibition Preparation - 2019
During all semesters (with the exception of the option of working individually in the Diploma) you will be working in groups of 2-3 students. We believe this approach is relevant and productive due to the collective, rather than individual nature of our field. (As graduated architects, you will almost always work in teams - both with other architects, consultants or clients, and other disciplines.)
Open, inclusive and collaborative communication, debate and discussion between students is vital to the creative studio environment. Therefore to maximise this potential and opportunity, it is expected that English is the language used by students to communicate when in the studio and with coursemates.
Embrace your differences as qualities – there is so much to learn from one another. Try to build up a common ownership of your project by sharing and exchanging your
76
Collective/Group Work
In each group you are expected to collectively support one another in driving your project forward – and to find ways of working together that will allow you both to communicate effectively and to thrive. As with situations where you may have worked in teams before, we encourage you to embrace the behaviours that support positive group outcomes. For example, we encourage you to come to the collaboration with openness, generosity, humility, and mutual respect. Be a good listener, as well a good speaker. Sketch together.
The groups are paired by you, with if necessary, the assistance of the teaching team.
Language USC is an international programme and is taught in English.
Sometimes we also develop collective projects at the level of the studio, in which the studio functions as a kind of think tank - developing knowledge that can be communicated to the outside world. In the past, this has also been a great way to build up the coherency of the studio group.
Each semester we have two to three interim or midterm reviews where the different sub-assignments are presented and discussed with fellow students, internal and external critics. As it is an important part of the learning experience, you are expected to be present at each review at all times and take an active part in the comments and discussions. Critique is an important aspect of the studies and at the school of architecture it takes place in a particular way. Here we practice talking to each other about the projects and their related thematics in a language where we unfold the implications of the work in a common learning space. It is intended as an open dialogue between teachers and students. You are expected to present your material to the auditorium while fellow students and teachers comment. It can of course make you nervous, but it is very important for all parties to remember that it is always the project and not the person(s) we are discussing. The fact that the project may have errors and omissions does not mean that you as a student are necessarily deficient. It just means that we discuss the choices that have been made
Critiques and Reviews
77 work on its components, rather than placing proposals in competition at desk- crits.
We have had a number of USC students and graduates who have been outspoken in the public debate in Denmark and internationally, whether writing chronicles in the newspapers, articles in international magazines or contributing to the political discourse around our built environment.
Attendance and Outside Jobs
Student Representation and Institute Assemblies
We accept that it is necessary for many of you to have a small part- time job outside your studies to support
Across the different IBBL programmes we have representatives (both students and staff) who meet and discuss on behalf of everyone at the institute. It is highly appreciated that the students are involved in the collective discussion forum and they bring the updates back to the USC group to discuss further. It is important that your voice is present in these forums.
Criticism is an important common activity, and one of the ways the community of the studio, the school, and the discipline are constituted. Therefore, it is part of the curriculum that you must attend your fellow students’ projects and presentations as a way of supporting your fellow students work – but also as an important way of experiencing and learning the diverse ways of designing, conceptualizing and discussing architecture.
78 and how the material itself lives up to the logic or premise that you, its author have unfolded.
We also encourage all of you to engage your own critical capacities, not just in terms of critiquing one another’s work, but also in addressing the developments taking place around you outside the school.
Wellbeing At USC we greatly value the wellbeing of both students and staff. We are invested in working with you to develop an environment in which all of you can thrive. A key to achieving this is an open line of communication amongst yourselves and between students and staff in the program. We encourage the discussion of concerns or issues as soon as they arise so we can come up with swift and appropriate ways of addressing them. In general both students and staff are encouraged to support each other and to notify others if any assistance is needed. You are welcome to communicate with your tutor in relation to significant issues or personal challenges, and the tutor will try to assist with either the institute or school contact if they are not able to help. Within the institute it is possible to receive advice and guidance from a non-program specific staff member. At the Royal Danish Academy level, you are welcome to contact the study administration/ Runa Søgaard Krohn with concerns. The school also is able to offer counselling for students.
architecture studio, bartending, etc) should be limited to a maximum of one week- day per week. We ask that it be organised so that it does not interfere with your presence in the scheduled activities of the studio program – to which attendance is mandatory.
Work outside of the USC studio (e.g. part-time work for an
Furthermore, each semester you have a one-on-one interview with your tutor to touch base to discuss how you find your development within the program, to discuss
79 yourself financially and/or to claim SU. However, it is important to emphasise that we consider the studies as a full-time education.
80 your possible future trajectories, and for your tutor to give you individual feedback on your performance so far. It is a chance to air concerns.
Workshops and Library
Students are encouraged in their studio projects to use the different workshop facilities available at the Royal Danish Academy. The workshops also include the Academy:LAB with facilities such as laser cutting, 3D printing, CNC-router, photography etc. The Royal Danish Academy library is as well key in relation to discovering references, research and ideas in general. (For further information see the Royal Danish Academy website.) We also strongly encourage you to reach out to other relevant forms of expertise that you need to develop the project. That means both relevant figures within the Royal Danish Academy, including engineering and other consultants employed by the school (our institute coordinator, Heidi Pedersen, can be contacted for the list), but also outside in the wider academic, professional, and artistic world. Cleaning Students are expected to collectively take care of the studio space, other collective spaces as well as their own desk(s). Due to the Covid-19 situation students are obliged on a regular basis to clean and disinfect their desk and nearest surroundings.
COVID-19 The school’s policies for responding to COVID-19 are being coordinated at the Royal Danish Academy level. Please be alert to updates as the situation might change. It is our collective responsibility to look after one another and make sure that we are following the current guidelines.
81Mid-term critique - 2021
82 Design Culture References Throughout the semester we ask that - alongside these assignments - you concurrently develop a collection of spatial and tectonic references and iconographies that begin to explore your understanding and response to the architectural and social contexts of your site(s). These can take the form of, for example, architectural built references, on site photography, material samples and explorations, hand sketches, collage or other mixed media, interviews, short essays, and films. This process work should begin to fill you studio space, inspiring you and your fellow students. Production of sketchbooks, catalogues or other resources is encouraged and expected as key groundwork for architectural design. The following pages contain some suggested readings and references.
83Charles & Ray Eames Studio
Two Hundred and Fifty Things an Architect Should Know - Michael Sorkin
85
86
87
88
89Ten Bullets - Tom Sachs
An (incomplete) manifesto for growth - Bruce Mau
91Adapting to the Covid-19 Pandemic - 2020 USC Summer Party - 2022 Studio Culture Physical & Virtual
BeijingNew2018York California2017 2015 Riga DenmarkAthensHelsinki2016201920192020 Venice ParisHamburg202120222022
93La Bienanale di Venezia - Venice 2021 Studio Culture Study Trips
94Sing-along and Dancing at Dinner Party - Paris 2022
95Elbphilharmonie - Hamburg 2022 Parc de la Villette - Paris 2022
96USC Study tour - California - Arizona 2015
97Athens Town Hall Debate - Greece 2019
Visit to the Akropolis- Greece 2019
99Lecture with local expert - Greece 2019
Ferry Ride - Helsinki 2019
101Group tour - Helsinki 2019
Students presenting with AA London at SPACE:10 - Copenhagen 2019
103 Studio Culture Events & Engagement USC Student organised Zoom lecture with - Copenhagen / London -2020
104
105USC Exhibition preperations at CAFx - Copenhagen 2021
106USC Exhibition at Beijing Design Week - China 2018
107
USC Exhibition Preparation at Beijing Design Week - China 2018
109USC Exhibition Opening at Beijing Design Week - China 2018
USC Instagram Account @usc_kadk
111 Studio Culture DanishSharingDesign Awards Finalists UCS Graduates Jana Possehn & Meggan Collins - 2020 YTAA Mies van der Rohe award nominee UCS, Cameron Clarke - 2020
Previous Semester Projects On Civic Grounds - Daniel Rea Kragskov - Diploma 2021
On Civic Grounds - Daniel Rea Kragskov - Diploma 2021
On Civic Grounds - Daniel Rea Kragskov - Diploma 2021
118
119Sympoietic Landscapes - Jakob Malthe Miland-Samuelsen - Diploma 2022
Post Migration - Isa Rosén - Diploma 2022
Post Migration - Isa Rosén - Diploma 2022
The existing facade has a grey and worn-out appearance
A large hole is cut in the roof to bring in light and create an atrium where the old x-ray rooms used to be
A light well is added on the roof by reusing the old glass panels from the ground floor
1. PUBLIC HEALTH Redevelop into a level of livability by investigating conditions harmful to health
The facade of concrete tiles is preserved, while the win dows frames are painted
Being a former hospital, the buildings consist of large technical rooms for hospital facilities and dark spaces for x-ray, Specificetc. walls containing materials harmful to health are removed and new roofscapes are added to bring light to the rather dark building and create new spaces with views over the city.
3. ADAPTIVE REUSE Transform with the possibility societal change in mind With care for detail, elements and materials found on site are used to develop new spaces and interiors. In this way, site becomes a material storage, where different elements can be reused else-
The upgraded facade has a clean expression where the colored element highlights the transformation
The new skylight is supported by the existingreusedcolumns.panels from grund floor new window panels new window panels roof edgeexisting concreteexistingcolumsroofstructureexisting claddingcopper
Thewhere.staircases in the highrise building leading to the public cafeteria on the floor and the new roofscape are exposed to the street. The concrete tiles, the window panels, and the metal doors are removed and used elsewhere. new railing existing tiles
2. PRESERVATION Keep the historical and physical identity With respect for the local historical identity that the hospital carries, the overall expression of the modernist welfare architecture is preserved. The concrete tiles are cleaned and restored where needed and in specific places elements are changed or painted a different color to add a new overall expression.
5. INCLUSION OF MARGINALIZED GROUPS
Reused tiles, fx. from the facade are used as pavement with large trails of gravel in between that make it possible to dig into the ground gravel reused tiles new wooden beams
The existing closed and uninviting window panels are removed and used for the new skylight. They are replaced with the window panels from the staircase. The window panels from the staircase are added along with a new wooden struc ture. The facade is moved further towards the columns and a row of tiles is removed to make space for the newfacadeTheold ground floor window panels are removed from the existing facade
A railing and a new wooden structure to replicate the existing concrete structure isTheaddedexisting concrete tiles and window panels are removed to be used elseThewherestaircase is exposed toward the street giving the building a more open appearance and a public access to the rooftop existing window
The ground floor is opened up to invite the public in to take part in the social activities. In this way, the line is blurred between the citizens from the whole of Aalborg visiting the public functions in The House of Care and the more vulnerable groups that have their every day in the house.
railing
The existing pavement consists of concrete tiles and asphalt used for parking
Establish a process where the local citizens are invovled through the process
The public spaces are designed with a focus on different zones, making them suitable for different types of stay. Through a co-creating process, the outdoor space has a goal of creating ownership for the otherwise marginalized groups fx. the displaced group of local beer drinkers. The pavement design can be adapted and transformed according to the different user groups and their wishes.
possibility of future exposeddevelopma-thewhereelse-topare
Investigate local stakeholders and their needs
existingexistingspacetileswindow panels reused window panels new wooden beam
Large wooden elements are added to replicate the rhythm of the columns with the possibility of drilling something into them.
Neighborhood of Care- Olivia Thomsen & Nina Christine Hansen - Diploma 2022
4. CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT
The new facade creates coherence between the indoor and outdoor
newexistingpanelsdoorwoodenelements
Hosting the City - Arendse Steensberg & Inga Skjulhaug - Diploma 2021
West Coast Futures - Mikkel Larsen & Ninna Kjær Ravn - Diploma 2020
Fifth Mode of Transportation - Anton Ling - Diploma 2020
West Coast Futures - Mikkel Larsen & Ninna Kjær Ravn - Diploma 2020
Magic of the real - Lauge Floris - Diploma 2020
Tokyo Suburbia, Again - Serina Kitazono - Diploma 2020
Hong Kong Fragment - Desmond Choi - Diploma 2020
Energyscape - Gabriella Arrland - USC 2020
Outdoor Intimate Harbour - Linda Tran - Diploma 2020
Post Preserved Landscapes - Anna Wahlen & Inga Skjulhaug - USC 2020
Make Shopping Great Again - Anders Vikse & Daiki Chiba - USC 2020
Subunbia UCS Student films- CAFx 'Polite Hack' 2020
Subunbia UCS Student films- CAFx 'Polite Hack' 2020
Ly & Favn - Daniel Kragskov - USC 2020
The Community Hub, Anna Jo Banke & Gabriella Arrland - USC 2020
The Community Hub, Anna Jo Banke & Gabriella Arrland - USC 2020
There's Always A Lawn Mower In Suburbia, Cassandra Hammerstad & Sara Emilsson - USC 2020
Valby Co-social, Anna Wahlen & Elise Schultz - USC 2020
Producing City, Daiki Chiba & Season Ho - USC 2020
Tourism Suburbia - Serina Kitazono & Kristin Laz - USC 2020
Choreography of Logistics - Jana Possehn & Meggan Collins - Diploma 2019
Choreography of Logistics - Jana Possehn & Meggan Collins - Diploma 2019
Close to Home - Cameron Clarke - Diploma 2019
Municiple Retail Supplement - Archie Cantwell & Tamara Kalantajevska
Municiple Retail Supplement - Archie Cantwell & Tamara Kalantajevska
Between the Lines - Fran Álvarez - Diploma 2018
Between the Lines - Fran Álvarez - Diploma 2018
The Right to Dwell - Marcus Vesterager - 2017
Tamara Kalantajevska - Diploma 2018
Study Model Workshop - USC 2017
170
171
172
173
Institute of Architecture, Urbanism & Landscape works as a think tank within its areas.
at Institute for Architecture, Urbanism & Land scape educates architects, that are able to create architecture with the capacity to meet the great challenges we are facing. They can, because they know how architecture is at the same time a building, a process, a strategy and a plan – always inseparable from the society and the culture of which it is a part. They can, because the know how to handle the many different forms of complexities at stake in the processes of architecture and Theplanning.canin particular, because they can produce concrete spatial and material architectural proposals with the ability to lift a given situation to an experiential unity that is more than the sum of the parts.
Katrine Lotz Head of Institute
Together with the students, the teachers – who are both practi tioners, researchers, and artists - poses sharp questions to the contemporary problems and challenges of the city, and show new ways of meeting them. The Institute is collaborating with the most relevant offices, artists, organizations, and authorities in our areas to manufacture tangible and well-sustained images of a future, where the architecture we are creating is giving more than it takes from its Thesurroundings.threeprograms
And they can, because they know how to address the UN 17 goals for a sustainable future in practice.