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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
RESEARCH 2010
CONTENT
Published by Aarhus School of Architecture 2011
Edition: The Research Administration
Layout: Anders Kruse Aagaard Nielsen
Print: Lasertryk A/S
Cover:
Front: Assembly of polystyrene moulds at the building site. Unikabeton.
Back: Finalized optimised prototype structure. Unikabeton.
Photos: Per Dombernowsky/Asbjørn Søndergaard
IntroductionCooperation with Local Practitioners A Tectonic Sustainable Building PracticeResearch Centres and Networks Designing Interactive Systems – DIS 2010
- when practice becomes researchA Centre Without LimitsStrategic Design - the key to value creationEvaluation of Design ResearchPhD Degrees in 2010Facts & Statistics
3579
11121519232527
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Claus Peder Pedersen
Head of Research
INTRODUCTION
2010 has been a good year for research at the Aarhus School of Architecture and a year which has provided many useful perspectives. There has been an increase in the research full-time equivalent of 17 per cent, a progress which was mainly caused by an increase in external research grants which made up 42 per cent of the total resources for research of the school in 2010.
The results from research and the continued development of the research environment give reason for optimism as well. The research in design conducted by the school was evaluated very positively and is considered to be on a par with international state-of-the-art research. Alongside this, the School of Architecture hosted the DIS 2010 conference with 200 participants and a
the conference as very successful and as a revitalisation of the conference series.
2010 was also the year during which the Bachelor and the Master’s degree programmes of the Aarhus School of Architecture were accredited. In this connection, the knowledge building of the school through research and artistic development work, as well as the ability to implement this knowledge
in teaching, were found to be fully satisfactory by the Accreditation Council.
Furthermore, the School of Architecture has developed its international research network by means of contacts and cooperation agreements with Harvard University, the University of Technology, Sydney and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. The latter offers an interesting PhD degree programme which allows practicing architects and designers to acquire a
related to architecture and design. The Aarhus School of Architecture is currently examining how this programme can be offered in Denmark – in particular how the programme can form part of current efforts to develop knowledge exchange between the Aarhus School of Architecture and regional architecture and design companies. Internally, a new academic, organisational and managerial structure for the Aarhus School of Architecture has been decided upon. Among other things, the result of this structure will be that the existing departments will be abolished
academic communities, each community will have
new research management will be implemented.
More on this subject in Research 2011…
Workshop with the business worldPhoto: Anders Kruse Aagaard Nielsen
5COOPERATION WITH LOCAL PRACTITIONERSIn parallel with this, the Aarhus School of Architecture planned and carried out a round of interviews with some of the architecture and design companies of Aarhus as well as with the municipal administration. These interviews clearly demonstrated that the needs for a closer cooperation is mutual. The architectural profession expressed a need to have access to the most
order for the profession to be competitive, it is, precisely, with regards to this aspect that the research of the school is relevant. The interviews were followed by a workshop for participating practices, municipalities and a team of researchers from the school in order to narrow down potential forms of cooperation for the future.
Finally, towards the end of 2010, a project group was set up to function as a “think tank” for developing new forms of cooperation. It will,
activities. The idea is that the school and practitioners should develop their cooperation jointly and that both parties should assume responsibility for initiatives that aim at providing momentum to the cooperation. The group is consequently made up of representatives from practices and teachers/researchers from the School of Architecture.
The Aarhus School of Architecture is searching a closer cooperation with local architecture and design companies as well as with the municipality of Aarhus – regarding teaching, research and further/continuing education. A closer cooperation
the city. With regards to the school, practitioners of the profession can contribute with experience from building work and knowledge about current professional problems and needs. With regards to practitioners, the school can contribute with knowledge, methods, analysis and absorption.
of activity in 2010. This has resulted in various activities which were launched by means of a “matchmaking” event in Copenhagen which was carried out in cooperation with DANSKE ARK (The Danish Association of Architectural Firms) and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts - School of Architecture. The participants included architecture and engineering companies, researchers from a number of relevant educational institutions and research institutions as well as representatives of funds, boards etc. which distribute grants. The purpose of the event was to inform about
Formwork. Tectonics. Photo: Ole Egholm Pedersen
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The project entitled “Towards a Tectonic
Sustainable Building Practice” examines and
discusses what consequences the increasingly
rigorous demands for energy optimization have
for architecture. Behind the project is a research
group consisting of researchers form the Aarhus
School of Architecture, the Royal Danish Academy
of Fine Arts - School of Architecture and the Danish
Building Research Institute. In the year 2020, energy used in building must be reduced by no less than 75 per cent compared
consequences for architecture. This is the motivation behind “Towards a Tectonic Sustainable Building Practice”: “We focus on the importance of envisioning sustainable solutions based on a tectonic approach where technology, form, materials and processes of production are joined through a holistic approach. It is our ambition to focus on a basic discussion of architecture which is not disconnected from present conditions, but which is, on the contrary, based on present challenges with regards to sustainability, increased industrialisation and standardisation of building practices,” explains Charlotte Bundgaard, associate professor and prorector. She is a part of the project together with Professor Karl Christiansen and PhD student Ole Egholm Pedersen, all are from the Aarhus School of Architecture.
The Concept of Tectonics“Towards a Tectonic Sustainable Building Practice” consists of a main project with the aim of creating a conceptual foundation and of stating several positions based on studies of current examples of architecture. Furthermore, there are a number of subprojects that focus on rather more limited problems which are dealt with in depth: concrete and masonry, identity and changeability, climate-adapted architecture et cetera. The concept of tectonics is the pivotal point of all the parts of the project, and it is on the basis of this concept that we will attempt to outline possible qualitative answers to current challenges. Tectonics relates to the lay-out and joining of building elements into a single unit and emphasizes the relationship between ideas, aesthetics, technology and construction or, in
several elements interact inextricably: materials, technology and the architectural idea intertwine in the architectural form and is expressed as a single aesthetic entity.
Cooperation and Networking Ole Egholm Pedersen contributes with a PhD project on concrete, whereas Karl Christiansen and Charlotte Bundgaard contribute to the main project. For several years, these two researchers have been cooperating with the Centre for Industrial Architecture, CINARK, located at the
A TECTONIC SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PRACTICE
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts - School of Architecture which has provided a large number of the remaining participants of the research group.The different forms of cooperation have focused on tectonics and perspectives of new industrialisation – themes which are now connected to sustainability. Consequently, a possibility to merge potentials, examine intersections and discuss possible ways of achieving increased quality in building practices has been created. The PhD project of Ole Egholm Pedersen on tectonics and sustainability with regards to the concrete of the future is based directly on the extensive work in the development of concrete which has been carried out, in recent years, in research as well as in teaching at the Aarhus School of Architecture.
International ExchangeThe project of Ole Egholm Pedersen and the research in concrete carried out by Karl Christiansen have, furthermore, resulted in an international cooperation on research and teaching with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). In the spring term of 2011, they will go to Sydney, together with six students, to develop new opportunities for pouring concrete in the intersection between digital design, production
will continue the whole year through. During the autumn term, researchers and students from the UTS will come to Aarhus to carry on the exploration of the potential of concrete.
“Through the interinstitutional project “Towards a Tectonic Sustainable Building Practice” we have managed to gather some of the central academic threads in the areas of tectonics, industrialization and sustainability. We have thus laid the foundation for a more concentrated and united effort. It is our intention to make research results available and applicable to national and international research as well as to the practical application of architecture and the practices that interact with present demands and conditions in their daily activities,” concludes Charlotte Bundgaard.
Facts:
This project spans three years from 2010 to
The Danish Council
for Independent Research by means of a
grant of DKK 7.7 million.
The project has a homepage:
www.tektonik.dk
You can also follow current activities in Syd-
ney by visiting the cooperation blog:
http://concretetectonics.spruz.com/
9RESEARCH CENTRES AND NETWORKS“The Centre for Strategic Urban Research” in cooperation with
The Institute of Geography and the Centre for Forest, Land-
scape and Planning at the University of Copenhagen. Funded by
Realdania.
“Centre for ‘Cultural Milieu’ - Cultural Heritage – Studies”. De-
partment of Architectural and Cultural Heritage in cooperation
with Roskilde University Centre.
“Danish Centre for Design Research” in cooperation with the
School of Architecture - The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts,
The Danish Design School and the Kolding School of Design.
“Dansk Center for Herregårdsforskning” (a Danish centre for
research in manor farm buildings) in Gl. Estrup. Funded by
Realdania.
Preliminary study for a centre for knowledge about and develop-
ment of agricultural buildings in cooperation with VIA University
College and The Danish Agricultural Advisory Service. Funded by
Realdania.
Membership of the Alexandra Institute and participation in the
management of ISIS Katrinebjergvej.
“Det digitale byggeri” (Digital Construction), funded by the Dan-
ish Enterprise and Construction Authority.
”LysnET”. A professional network connecting a great many
researchers and research institutions in Denmark and Norway
as well as a number of private companies. Funded by Velux and
Velfac.
Digital Crafting – a network which cooperates with the School of
Architecture - The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Funded by
the Danish Agency for Science Technology and Innovation.
”Renord” – a Scandinavian research network focusing on sustain-
able modernisation of the housing stock built after 1945.
“Systemleverancer I byggeriet” (Systems Deliveries Within
Construction) - a research network comprising the Technical Uni-
versity of Denmark (DTU) and The Royal Danish Art Academy for
Fine Arts focusing on strengthening and qualifying the develop-
ment and application of systems deliveries in Danish construc-
tion. Funded by Realdania.
Nordisk netværk for forskning i ældres boliger (Scandinavian
research network on residences for the aged).
Nordisk netværk for arkitekturforskning i design-for-alle (Scandi-
navian network for architectural research in ”design for every-
body”)
PIT STOP - knowledge refuel for creative enterprises.
Innovative networks
“Nordes” a Scandinavian design research cooperation with
participation of the Department of Design as well as schools of
architecture and design from other Scandinavian countries.
The research school cooperation for architecture and design
between the School of Architecture - The Royal Danish Academy
of Fine Arts, The Danish School of Design, the Kolding School of
Design and the Aarhus School of Architecture.
Participation in a think tank on physical IT products under the
IT-council of the Aarhus Region.
Participation in the development of a Scandinavian Postgraduate
Master’s degree in church restoration.
Partnership agreement with SmartCity - a commercially operat-
ing foundation: development of the building industry and related
professions.
“Livsstil Bolig og Beklædning” (Innonet Lifestyle – Interior &
Clothing) – an innovative network in cooperation with, among
others, Udviklingscenter for Møbler og Træ (a development
centre for furniture and wood). Funded by the Danish Ministry of
Science, Technology and Innovation.
“VIC-videnscocktail” a network on the communication of knowl-
edge from institutions of knowledge to private companies, a
cooperation with the development centre for furniture and wood.
Dansk Lys – Lys i byen (Danish Lighting / Light in the city). An
innovative network under the Danish Lighting Centre.
The Danish Food Pack development network under the Growth
Forum, Central Denmark Region
DIS2010. Workshop Handcrafting Textile Mice 1.Photo: Kevin N. Andersen
11DESIGNING INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS – DIS 2010
In August 2010, the Aarhus School of Architecture
hosted a large international conference on
designing interactive systems. Almost 200
participants from all over the world debated the
technological, social and cultural aspects of new
interactive technologies.
The DIS 2010 conference was organised in cooperation with Computer Science, Aarhus University. According to Professor Peter Gall Krogh, it is important for the School of Architecture to attempt to arrange similar conferences in other architectural disciplines. Planning, however,
years to attract DIS 2010 to Aarhus because it was necessary to gather support and trust from individual research environments around the world.
“We have made a name for ourselves internationally, and we have acquired a wealth of contacts, this means that, in the future, we will not necessarily have to be the ones to ask to
have shown what we are capable of and we will, to a great extent, receive offers to participate in various research projects - and courses, for that matter,” says Peter Gall Krogh, and adds: ”The fact that 200 leading researchers from large private research units and academic institutes from all over the world have visited Aarhus and have become acquainted with the School of Architecture and the design environment of the city means that we will be remembered.”
comprised of seven workshops on different
conference itself. Furthermore, visits to some of the city’s design practices had been arranged.
New Networks and New PerspectivesThe participation of representatives from some of the most important research environments,
the importance of this conference – and the networks that were created. It was not just designers that participated but a wide range of professional groups that work with interactive systems in different ways. A characteristic of the area is precisely that it is interdisciplinary and
perspectives on design.
For the individual participant, the conference resulted in new contacts, inspiration and valuable feedback on ongoing research projects. In the words of Research Assistant Majken Kirkegaard Rasmussen: “It was amazing to be given an opportunity to discuss your research with other scientists from all over the world and to hear what they think is
you to clarify your arguments and concepts, and it provides you with new perspectives on your own work that you can use constructively in your future research.”
is a PhD degree programme which gives practicing architects and designers an opportunity to immerse themselves in a
own work. This is a radically different way of approaching research as the aim is not to publish a large number of articles but rather to draw
sector. The plan is to give architects and designers with several years of professional experience an opportunity to relate to their own work – realised projects as well as competition projects.
At present, the education is offered by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia (where the education originated) and Sint Lukas School of Architecture, Belgium. In November, representatives from these two institutions visited the Aarhus School of Architecture in order to inform about the programme. The aim is to provide practicing architects with an opportunity for competence enhancement – while, at the same time, providing the teaching and research conducted by schools of architecture and design with useful knowledge based on practice. The programme allows the students to relate to their past practice in architecture and design, deduce a few general properties, systematise these properties and, based on this, contemplate the direction they are going to take in their future work as practicing architects or designers.
is a programme spanning four years, it is, however, planned in a way that allows students to carry out their work as practicing designers or architects. During these four years, the students follow a PhD programme and they, naturally, also receive ongoing supervision. Two times a year a Graduate Research Conference is held during which the PhD students meet and present their projects. The students also assess their progress, and an academic panel provides commentary and advice with regards to the remainder of the programme. The conference also offers several international lecturers who take part in the academic panels that comment on the projects of PhD students.
Whereas PhD students traditionally communicate knowledge through academic articles and a dissertation, the students in the programme generally conclude their PhD projects by means of an exhibition of photos, drawings
written report containing their thoughts. In some cases this is supplemented by an interview with the student in question.
In April 2011, representatives from the RMIT and Sint-Lucas, once again, visit the Aarhus School of Architecture, partly to present regional architecture and design companies with the opportunities presented by , but also to invite interested parties to a Graduate Research Conference where they will be given an
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE - WHEN PRACTICE BECOMES RESEARCH
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Edit landscape boxPhoto: Frederik Petersen
opportunity to get to know the programme. There will also be a discussion on how can be planned and offered at the Aarhus School of Architecture. Contacts to the RMIT and Sint-Lukas will provide the school with an opportunity for drawing upon the experience of these institutions and for entering into a prosperous cooperation with regards to, among other things, holding semi-annual conferences for researchers.
For more information:
Claus Peder Pedersen
ØrestadenPhoto: Boris Brorman Jensen
15A CENTRE WITHOUT LIMITSThe Centre for Strategic Urban Research (CSB)
was established in 2004 to focus on “The City
Without Limits”. Six years later, the centre is
able to present a series of research results, due
to a productive cooperation across studies and
institutions, explains Research Professor Niels
Albertsen who coordinates the efforts of the School
of Architecture within the centre. “The town of Randers is beginning to see itself as a residential town with regards to Aarhus, and in Grenå they are thinking about what they can do with their town centre in order to make it more attractive to people who work in Aarhus. The boundaries between towns have, consequently, become more diffuse. The towns have, in a manner of speaking, become limitless. At least if
the everyday life of people. It is this thesis which we have tried to document through The Centre for Strategic Urban Research, explains Professor Niels Albertsen from the Aarhus School of Architecture. He has been coordinating the efforts of the school within the centre which has existed since 2004.
The CSB is a cross-disciplinary centre under the auspices of Realdania Research which has made a grant of DKK 25 million to the project. Apart from the Aarhus School of Architecture the centre consists of the Forest & Landscape Denmark, LIFE and the Institute of Geography and Geology at the University of Copenhagen. The funds for research salaries have by now been practically
to maintain the centre as a research network and for communicating results through conferences, workshops, articles et cetera. In this period, the Department for Architecture, Design and Media Technology at Aalborg University will also be a part of the centre.
From Knowledge to Practice “One important task is to communicate the knowledge we accumulate in the centre to regional and municipal decision makers and planners. For this reason, we have recently held a large conference in Copenhagen entitled “Cities Without Limits” which we have used to present results gathered during six years of research work”, explains Niels Albertsen. A similar mid-way conference was held in 2007. In addition to this we have held workshops and seminars in the interim period. Results have also been communicated by means of articles in several
This year, the CSB also hosts a large international conference. It will be held in cooperation with the European Urban Research Association which is a group of urban researchers that, like the CSB, aims to create a connection between research and practice. The international conference is held June 22-25 in Copenhagen. The theme will be: ”Cities Without Limits” and several CSB researchers are involved.
by Leif Leer Sørensen
Many ContributionsA total of fourteen teachers from the School of Architecture have contributed to the activities of the centre. This has resulted in, among
framework of the centre. Add to this a series
publications in book form: ”Det urbaniserede territorium. Østjylland under forandring” (The Urbanised Territory - Change in Eastern Jutland) by Tom Nielsen, ”Sustainable Compact City” by Poul Bæk Pedersens and ”Towards an Urbanism of Entanglement” by Anne Tietjen. All were published by Arkitektskolens Forlag (the publishing house of the Aarhus School of Architecture). The report: ”Aarhus Cluster of Architecture” by Tine Nørgaard and Anders Toft has also been published.Furthermore, an anthology with the working title “Den grænseløse by” (The City Without Limits) is on the way, it will exclusively contain contributions from the School of Architecture, says Niels Albertsen. Publication is expected in early autumn.
Challenging TraditionAccording to Niels Albertsen the Aarhus School of Architecture has also contributed with an architectural professional view of urban problems which has challenged traditional research, “The “Sustainable Compact City” project contained an analysis of types of virtual settlements with very high plot ratios, and, based on this, different types of architecture for high-rise and high density settlements were developed, and their respective
qualities with regards to wind climate conditions, daylight and energy were examined. The project was actually carried out as if it was a consultancy assignment with contributions from researchers from the School of Architecture, from architectural and engineering companies and from the Institute of Technology. The project was conducted as research by design. Furthermore the PhD project of Anne Tietjen was, to a large degree, based on study related projects by students which
project. This project was based on teaching-based research.
There has generally been a very prosperous interaction between the CSB and our Master’s degree programme in Landscape and Urbanism. We have developed the Master’s degree programme in connection with the research in the CSB: we have been teaching subjects that we have been researching, and, reversely, our research projects have been based on the projects of students.”
Cooperation Across DivisionsAside from the fact that the CSB has thus helped strengthen urban research conducted at the school, the interdisciplinary and interinstitutional cooperation has been very valuable:“The result has been that we have been able to draw on expert knowledge that we do not posses ourselves, knowledge which has helped us develop some of our research projects. This has
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Facts:
The Centre for Strategic Urban Research was
established in 2004 as a cross-disciplinary
centre under the auspices of Realdania
Research which has made a grant of DKK 25
million to the project. The aim of the centre
is to improve the basis for making decisions
about the development of cities through a
holistic approach.
The centre management:
Gertrud Jørgensen, Forest & Landscape
Denmark, LIFE, the University of Copenhagen
Lars Winther, Institute of Geography and
Geology, the University of Copenhagen.
Niels Albertsen, Aarhus School of Architecture
Ole B. Jensen, Architecture, Design and Media
Technology, Aalborg University
Professor Niels AlbertsenPhoto: Anders Kruse Aagaard Nielsen
our PhD students. We very much hope that it is a cooperation which we will be able to continue - even after our grants end in 2013”, concludes Niels Albertsen.
Jørgen Rasmussen demonstratesPhoto: Christoffer Regild
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“In the future designers must not only develop
debate general strategic questions related to the development of a company with the management. This gives designers some valuable tools”, says Associate Professor Jørgen Rasmussen who is the manager of a consortium for Strategic Design at the Aarhus School of Architecture.“It is a question of merging technology, human values and business - Strategic Design is the very intersection between these three elements of design,“ says Jørgen Rasmussen. He opens his laptop and presents various models which illustrate his ideas:“Strategic Design is about using design skills we already use during design processes in an advanced way. The aim is, among other things, to create processes of change and innovation in Danish companies. Designers can help companies understand what values they are offering their users - based on this we can develop and change the company: creating innovation. Put differently, it is not just a question of designing an individual product it concerns the entire company and its underlying values.Today, it is a complicated process to run a company and navigate constantly changing user needs. It is necessary to understand connections and raise complicated issues in a way that is comprehensible to everyone. It is a precondition for discussing and working with these issues in interdisciplinary teams. However, as designers we can express complex processes and problems in
words and images, this process, known as visual sensemaking, helps create clarity and breadth of view by using visual aids.”
Value Creation Traditionally, designers are trained to “look into the future” and to sketch hitherto unknown possibilities for development and for solutions. Company managers, on the other hand, are traditionally trained to “look to the past” and make reliable decisions based on thorough analysis of existing conditions. The task is to bridge this divide, this is a precondition for creating innovation and value creation, according to Jørgen Rasmussen:“Often several different professional groups take part in the strategic processes of a company. Based on an understanding of the company, the product and the customers, designers are able to inform the strategy process, i.e. contribute to gathering and making visible knowledge that is central to the process. This knowledge is thus made accessible to all participants. During the process, designers are also able to facilitate the process, for instance by creating a common visual understanding of the process through illustrations and diagrammatic visualisations of the course of the process. Furthermore, designers are able to use the innovative tools of the design process to help design a strategy, i.e. state or develop a strategy.”
Through an understanding of the company, the
STRATEGIC DESIGN - THE KEY TO VALUE CREATIONby Irene Houstrup and Leif Leer Sørensen
product and the users – partly through user involvement - designers can help identify the unique values the company offers its customers
company, according to Jørgen Rasmussen. Based on these underlying values the company can strengthen and develop further its organization and improve its products and services.”Many companies do not actually know their value proposition. Nevertheless, identifying the value proposition and creating innovation on this basis - that is the central issue. The reason why designers are good at this is, partly, due to their experience with user involvement and, partly, due to the fact that, in the words of design researcher Richard
are experts, as, for instance, software experts do. This means that they are able to view everything as a whole without prejudice. Designers are able to create innovation by working in cross-disciplinary teams and draw upon relevant competences from different professional areas.”
Also about BusinessToday, when designers take part in a process of development it is through a dialogue with, for instance, engineers about possibilities and limitations of different materials or with anthropologists with regards to user aspects. It is, however, according to Jørgen Rasmussen, just as important, if not more important, to focus on the dialogue with the business element. Such as,
for instance, experts in economy, marketing and strategy who work synchronously on some of the elements which also form part of design research, including cultural understanding of trends, user surveys, strategy development et cetera. ”Strategic Design is located at the intersection between these three central elements of design: technology, human values and business. It is, consequently, important that designers also understand the business element and are able to include the most important aspects of the three elements in a holistically oriented understanding of a company and its potentials.”
Examples Can you provide any examples of companies that
use strategic design? “Apple is an obvious example, closer to home we have Novo Nordisk. For instance, our PhD student Brett Patching, who works with Strategic Design, has been working with Novo Nordisk, a company which is changing its strategy – from being a company working with the development of medication for curing disease it is currently orienting itself towards including disease prevention, partly because the company saw it as an ethical challenge not just to make money from the continually growing problem with diabetes but also to contribute to solving the problem.
instance, directed a Strategic Design process for a small manufacturer of staircases which was in trouble. The management entered the process
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with great enthusiasm. In close cooperation with the company we carried out a series of processes for user surveys and user involvement, and we held a workshop together with the most important partners, distributors and end users of the company. Based on these activities we managed to develop new ideas and identify needs and business opportunities.”
Potential Apart from the research time of Jørgen Rasmussen, the consortium for Strategic Design employs one
the centre is currently working on obtaining further outside grants and on expanding their group of partners, research institutions and private companies. The potential is there, there is, however, a need for further research in the area, says Jørgen Rasmussen:”Research in design is very important to Strategic Design. Partly, because research in design analyses, systematizes and communicates
projects, and, partly, because it can help create an important dialogue with companies and with the business branch, and it can help anchor this
understanding of business aspects is central to designers as well as to design researchers.”
This article is partly based on an interview
with Jørgen Rasmussen published in Mind
Design, a webzine for design research.
User-friendly packaging – guidelines for the industryProject manager: Birgitte Geert Jensen
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In 2010, the Danish Ministry of Culture carried out an evaluation of design research in Denmark for the period spanning from 2004-2009. This evaluation consequently included the design research carried out at the Aarhus School of Architecture. To this purpose the Ministry had constituted an international assessment panel chaired by Vice-dean Professor Pekka Korvenmaa of the Aalto University of Art and Design, Helsinki.
In its report the panel characterises design research at the Aarhus School of Architecture as “a positive example of how, in very little time, a goal-oriented, highly-focused and well-run, but nevertheless relatively small, team of researchers has been able to generate a cohesive strategy for research as well as research results of a high international standard.”
The report continues: “these research results have been published in leading international journals, this has made the school and its activities in this
clearly on a par with what is considered state-of-
i.e. primarily with regard to research in interaction
out is in accordance with the concept of research of the Danish Ministry of Culture.”
The research areas are also commended: “even though the design research unit forms part of a school of architecture, it has been able to produce research and specialists in areas that are not traditionally seen as related to architecture,
complement and enrich the school in its entirety.
Architecture conducts highly developed, mature and clearly focused design research activities.”
EVALUATION OF DESIGN RESEARCH
Urban forest and landscape infrastructurePhoto: Stefan Darlan Boris
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criticism. She also asks for architectural solutions that are more sustainable and which allow for changes – including changes architects and entrepreneurs do not program and cannot predict - to be taken into consideration and handed down.
The dissertation of Louise Aagaards is called Leg og lær aktiviteter til børn med cochlear implant- undersøgt gennem computerspillet, det interaktive gulv og digitale legeobjekter, (Play and Learn Activities for Children With Cochlear Implants - Examined Through Computer Games, the Interactive Floor and Digital Objects of Play). Her PhD project was part of a large interdisciplinary pedagogical project examining how children with cochlear implants (CI) can be motivated for active participation through speech and language education aided by digital elements, and whether, in this connection, it is possible to integrate linguistic, social and physical interaction with their surroundings.
Children are interested in digital products, and for a long time there have been made attempts at using this enthusiasm in connection with learning by means of edutainment applications. The project of Louise Aagaard examined the learning potential of computer games as well as pervasive gaming with regards to products used by speech and language pathologists.
Based on three different groups of CI children who gradually improve with regards to language skills
In 2010, Rikke Stenbro, Louise Aagaard and Stefan Darlan Boris were awarded a PhD degree after having defended their PhD-dissertations. The three PhD projects were within the academic disciplines Cultural Heritage, Design and Urbanism and Landscape. They represented different approaches to research as Rikke Stenbro and Stefan Darlan Boris challenged existing concepts and attitudes to research in their respective academic areas, whereas Louise Aagaard researched new tools for
In the dissertation Bevaringsprocesser - perspektiver på arkitektur i forandring (Processes of Conservation - Perspectives on Architecture in Change) Rikke Stenbro works with architectural strategies for the preservation and change of architecture, partly by means of an analysis of the
carried out by Realdania, The Danish Forest and Nature Agency and the Heritage Agency of Denmark.
The focus of the dissertation is the processes for creating meaning which are involved when architecture survives and is passed on to posterity. Rikke Stenbro demands a new kind of monumentality which is able to contain changeability as well as complexity. She breaks with autonomous concepts of creation and knowledge and with the understanding of the architect as an artistic “creative genius” who shapes a new architectural whole which is above
PHD DEGREES IN 2010
compared to their age, Louise Aagaard developed products and concepts for motivational speech and language pathological material for CI children. The PhD-dissertation of Darlan Boris Urban skov og landskabsinfrastruktur (Urban forest and landscape infrastructure) is the result of a PhD project under the auspices of the Centre for Strategic Urban Research and the interinstitutional research project Den grænseløse by (City Without Limits). In his dissertation Stefan Darlan Boris relates to the forest as a landscape-infrastructure which is an integral part of the “fragmented urban landscapes” of the city without limits. He confronts
a “Sunday-landscape”, instead, he sees the forest as an infrastructural element with potential for being a boundary, a connection and a space for development of self-organized use.
Based on current problems with regards to fragmented urban landscapes, Stefan Darlan Boris narrows down the values which are of importance for the general development of these landscapes.
Download the pamphlet describing current PhD projects on
http://en.aarch.dk/doctoral_studies/phd_students/
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60
80
100
120
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Projects and fulltime equivalents
Active research projects Fulltime equivalents
FACTS & STATISTICSUntil the end of 2010, the research activities of the School of Architecture were anchored within
drawn up the future organisation of the school
departments were: Department of Architecture Department of Landscape and UrbanismDepartment of Architectural Heritage Department of Design
The PhD students of the school were attached to the individual departments and to a joint research school which plans and implements PhD courses and functions as a unifying environment for the PhD programme.
In 2010, the school had 21 PhD students and 45 teachers who were given time to carry out research. In addition, there were 2 industrial PhDs as well as 12 PhD students attached to the Kolding School of Design.
The research activities of the school are managed by the Research Administration in cooperation with the Research Committee established by the School Council.
NOERREPORT 20 • DK 8000 AARHUS C • +45 89 36 00 00 • AARCH.DK
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