Research 2012

RESEARCH 2012

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

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CONTENT

FACTS

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The research activities of the School of Architecture are based on

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INTRODUCTION Claus Peder Pedersen

Introduction Researching at children’s level The Blank Spaces on the Map New Researchers 2012 PhD Degrees 2012 Researchers and Projects Research Centres and Networks Conferences and Seminars Research Communication

Head of Research

a dynamic structure which in 2012 consisted of 14 platforms each focusing on specific professional issues. Every year the relevance of each platform and proposals for new platforms are evaluated making it possible to reflect new demands for architectural research.

The PhD students of the school are each affiliated to an individual

In 2012 the new structure implemented at the Aarhus School of

Aarhus School of Architecture contributes to Bygningskulturarv 2015

platform and to a joint research school which both plans and

Architecture started to manifest itself, and the contours of a new

(Architectural Heritage 2015), a cross-institutional research project

implements PhD courses and functions as a unifying environment for

academic landscape is beginning to take shape. In addition to this,

funded by Realdania, by providing a research group. The Danish

the PhD programme.

the Aarhus School of Architecture has identified three new focus

Council for Independent Research chose to support the development of

areas: transformation, habitation and sustainability. The intention

an international research network on the cultural heritage of the cold

In 2012, the school had 17 PhD students and 37 academics with

is that these focus areas should support the school’s ambition of

war. Towards the very end of the year, the school received confirmation

research obligations. In addition, there were 2 industrial PhDs as well

contributing to the development of a socially relevant involvement

of EU funding for an ambitious international practice-based PhD

as 9 PhD students affiliated to the Kolding School of Design.

related to architectural practice. We have focused on developing the

programme in cooperation with five European and one Australian

overall framework of research in a way which will enable it to support

schools of architecture.

The research activities of the school are managed by the Research

such perspectives. Towards the very end of the year, a new research

Administration in cooperation with the Head of Research and the

plan for the next three years was approved. The aim of this plan is to

In 2013 research will be given a significant boost. The Aarhus School

Research Committee.

develop the focus areas of the Aarhus School of Architecture, to create

of Architecture has given research a higher priority and funding for

new research initiatives and to ensure the continuation of the best of

research has been increased. This will result in a number of new

Published by Aarhus School of Architecture 2013

our existing research settings. It also identifies a number of challenges

research positions being advertised. New professorships with special

Edition: The Research Administration

and potentials for research which are to be unfolded in the years to

responsibilities, known as MSO professorships, are intended to

Layout: Anders Søren Damsgaard Nielsen

come.

strengthen the research-based development of the new focus areas of

Print: Lasertryk A/S

the school. We will begin a badly needed push to recruit new PhDs. In This spring the Aarhus School of Architecture advertised and filled a

combination with our EU cooperation on a practice-based researcher

number of new positions. This recruitment was particularly directed

training programme, this should result in the creation of a new “growth

at teaching but also included researcher positions in interaction

layer” for research. We will also be organising activities to encourage

design, architectural theory and digital design. In the course of the

greater cooperation and in the school creating more qualified research

year several PhD students successfully defended their dissertations.

applications. We are also working on new formats of publication.

Introduction:

We were also successful in obtaining external funding for a number

These are truly exciting times for research at the Aarhus School of

Photo: Jacob Bredahl

of projects and initiatives. External funding has made it possible to

Architecture.

Front page: Ørslev Abbey The PhD project ”Documenting Architectural Heritage” by Nina Ventzel Riis Photo: PhD fellow Nina Ventzel Riis

continue upgrading the school’s workshop facilities with advanced digital tools. This will provide new opportunities for doing handson research in building processes and building components. The

More on this in Research 2013...

RESEARCHING AT CHILDREN’S LEVEL

By Leif Leer Sørensen

In the past year, Aviaja Borup Lynggaard and Kari Moseng

institutions, businesses, municipal authorities - and, most importantly,

have been trying to think from the perspective of children. As

the kids.

part of the project “Kids n’ Tweens” they have been developing interactive learning environments and tools aimed at involving

Having had to relate to how children can be involved in democratic

children in design and decision-making processes - in close

design and decision-making processes has been both exciting and

interaction with the children involved.

instructive; the same goes for experiencing how rewarding this can be as a source of inspiration,” adds Aviaja Borup Lynggaard.

How can we develop interactive learning environments for children?

And how can we involve children in design processes? These have been

Sounding out the situation

the main issues for Aviaja Borup Lynggaard and Kari Moseng, both

This results in the following remark by Kari Moseng:

employed as research assistants at the Aarhus School of Architecture.

“It is precisely the fact that we have had to cooperate with many

Aviaja is a designer and holds a PhD, and Kari is a building architect.

diverse partners that has taught us the importance of sounding out

Together they have been running the Laboratory of Architecture

the situation and relating to the different cultures and environments

and Design under the project Play and Learning - Kids n’ Tweens

you have to interact with - instead of just relying on your own

Lifestyle. A project initiated by the Region of Southern Denmark with

preconceived ideas.”

financial support from the European Regional Development Fund and the Growth Forum of Southern Denmark. The long-term objective

The Aarhus School of Architecture has been running a total of six Kid’s

is to develop, through cooperation between companies, knowledge

n’ Tweens projects; the first three were managed by a colleague of

institutions and authorities, meaningful offers for children and young

theirs, Tina Holm, until she was employed as Research Consultant at

people - thus strengthening companies, attracting partners, customers

the LEGO Learning Institute at the beginning of 2012. Kari and Aviaja

and tourists, and branding the Region of Southern Denmark as “the

have been handling the last three projects: one large joint project and

region where children and adults play the best!”

two smaller ones which have been their individual responsibility.

Anchoring in practice

LITiRum

“Having been a part of the Kids n’ Tweens projects has been extremely

The most extensive project has been LITiRum; a project aimed at

rewarding. In particular anchoring the project in practice has been

integrating learning, information technology, and space (LITiRum =

very valuable. The fact that the initiated projects are supposed to

Learning and IT in Space). Instead of reducing IT to standardised

The Reseach project: “Kids n’ Tweens”

result in real proposals means that you are given an opportunity to

products, which are taken from the shelf and implemented directly in

Photo: Henrik Kastenskov

test whether they actually work in practice,” Kari Moseng explains.

existing teaching, the aim has been to involve children, teachers, and

“Yes, and on top of that the project has been conducted as cross-

school management in the development of new interactive spaces, so-

disciplinary cooperation, with many participants: other research

called ‘hybrid learning environments’, where there is a match between

The School Yard of the Future

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7 pedagogy, space and technology. The project has been developed in

The name Galaxen was something the pupils came up with; the

cooperation with sixth form pupils from Kjellerup Skole and Vinding

idea is to use Galaxen to improve connections between schools and

Skole, in Jutland, and is based on technologies school children use in

businesses. The intention is that through, among other things, video-

everyday life.

conferencing school children will become acquainted with different companies and get an insight into what these companies do and

“We have carried out seven workshops involving pupils, teachers and

how they work. Conversely, businesses may gain an insight into the

school management; during these workshops we have, based on

everyday lives and abilities of the children involved.

specific learning situations and learning objectives, developed new technologies together. Up to 100 participants have been involved in

“As a result of industrialisation schools and industry have increasingly

each workshop.

drifted apart. In the past, children took part in work at home, working in agriculture or carrying out a craft. Vejle Municipality would like to

The result of these efforts has been a piece of interactive furniture

see this connection restored, as it is of great value to both industry

which contains social technology that encourages physical activities

and schools. But it can be used for other purposes as well, such as, for

and cooperation within a new knowledge network. In order to do

instance, language training and in connection with study trips,” says of

something like this statements such as ‘I think’ or ‘ I like’’ are not

Kari Moseng.

sufficient,” Aviaja Borup Lynggaard explains.

Galaxen was inaugurated at Engum Skole on 11 January 2013.

The piece of spatial furniture and its digital platform will be launched

However, Vejle Municipality is already considering the introduction of a

in March 2013 and will be built as a mock-up at Vinding Skole. It

similar system at other schools.

was developed in collaboration with experts in interactive computing technology and e-learning at Aarhus University and VIA University

Children as partners in design

College, and with suppliers from the IT company DigiTales; the

Aviaja’s project “Children as partners in design” actually consists of

physical design was provided by RUM arkitekter, Aviaja and Kari have

four smaller subprojects:

been managing the process.

One was carried out in cooperation with Danish publishing house Galaxen

Egmont, who wanted to involve children in the development of iPad

In a somewhat similar vein, Kari Moseng has created a different kind

apps. In cooperation with Designbørnehuset SanseSlottet, located

of interactive learning environment: Galaxen (the galaxy), which she

in Vonsild near Kolding, she has developed a method for involving

The Research project: ”Kids n’ Tweens”

has developed in close cooperation with Vejle Municipality and Engum

children aged between two and five.

Photo: Henrik Kastenskov

Skole, a small school in the remote countryside located at a great

“The Galaxy”

distance from the nearest place of business.

Another project was carried out in cooperation with Billund Munici-

9 pality, which wanted to introduce public involvement in physical plan-

Finally, she has been given the task of developing tools to facilitate the

ning at the level of children. This has led to the development of a num-

involvement of children and families in the development of Naturama,

ber of design tools, a kind of tool box with cut-and-paste ingredients,

a museum of natural history in Svendborg - the museum wants to

as well as the creation and the qualification of a “task force” consisting

move more of its offers outside into the surrounding nature area.

of five primary school teachers charged with involving children in various future projects.

Knowledge acquisition Two projects are about to be implemented:

“The research aspect of the Kids n’ Tweens projects was systematic reflection and knowledge acquisition – an aspect which we add to from

For Labofa, a company that produces furniture, Aviaja has been given

one project to the next. Innovation occurs when you elevate research

the task of developing a toolbox which can be used by designers for

to becoming a practice with a life of its own,” Aviaja Borup Lynggaard

designing the school facilities of the future, as part of the project

concludes.

“Tanker Tager Form” (Giving Form to Thoughts). In the spring of 2013, this project will be part of a two-week course at Studio MAD at the

There can be no doubt that Kids n’ Tweens has contributed new

Aarhus School of Architecture.

knowledge and innovation to the Region of Southern Denmark. EU funding will expire during the month of May 2013, but several efforts towards ensuring that the project is continued have already been made.

“LITiRUM” The Research project: “Kids n’ Tweens” Photo: Henrik Kastenskov

THE BLANK SPACES ON THE MAP

By Leif Leer Sørensen

During the Cold War they were non-existing, or at least something

“We are focusing on aspects related to architecture, urban planning

you did not talk about openly: the closed cities and areas which were

and landscape. But it is also a transnational and interdisciplinary

inaccessible to the public. They either had strategic military purposes

project. Historians, museum curators, people working with cultural

or were used for actual military production. The Aarhus School of

heritage, and urban planners from Estonia, Latvia, Sweden and

Architecture is currently heading a research network which, over

Denmark participate in the project. Some of them have been involved

the next two years, will be examining more closely how these towns

with the cold war period and with closed cities and areas for several

and areas can be preserved, communicated and reused. Research

years, but now we will set up a common focus, i.e. building cultural

Professor Niels Albertsen leads this project.

heritage,” the Professor says.

“The Soviet Union had many so-called ‘closed cities or areas’, not least in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Towns and

Dissonant heritage

areas which were blank spots on the map - did not figure on official

“CLOSED CITIES AND SITES - International and Cross-Disciplinary

maps and had no postal codes. Today they are open to the public, but

Research Network 2012-14”, which is the full title of the project,

to many citizens they are a cause of irritation as symbols of occupation

includes a series of workshops, the first of which will be held at the

and oppression. For this reason they are steadily falling into decay,

University of Lund in Sweden during the spring of 2013. This workshop

and if nothing is done, we risk losing this architectural heritage. But

will focus on the shared theoretical framework of the project:

how can such a task be handled without upsetting the feelings of the

dissonant cultural heritage.

Baltic states? Handled in a way that will help them come to terms with the fact that these closed cities and areas are part of their history.

“Our starting point will be the concept of ‘dissonant heritage’; a

That is the big question,” explains Niels Albertsen.

concept originally proposed by Gregory J. Ashworth, who has been doing research in cultural heritage, urban tourism, urban planning and urban branding for many years. Until 2006 he was employed as a

A new focus

professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and he will

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet

be the main speaker at our first workshop. Among other things, he has

Union, curators in the Baltic Sea Region have taken an interest in the

done work on dissonance in Dutch society; a society where protestants

closed cities: how can this history be told and disseminated? Some

and Roman Catholics have managed to live peacefully side by side,

of these curators are part of the new network of researchers which is

despite differences or disagreements - separately, but together.

The Research Network: “Closed Cities and Sites” - International and Cross-Disciplinary Research Network 2012-14

headed by Professor Albertsen. What is new about this project is that

One might say that the Baltic countries were left with a dissonant

Photo: PhD student Martin Weihe Esbensen

it is primarily concerned with architectural heritage: how can it be

heritage from the Soviet era, we consequently believe that the concept

understood, how can it be documented, and how can it be turned into

of dissonant heritage may provide a way of approaching the closed

something positive for the future.

cities and areas which may give them a future, and, at the same time,

Today the formerly closed city Skrunda in Latvia is abandoned

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13 turn them into places the Balts can live with,” says Niels Albertsen.

that virtually no one knew existed have materialised. Such as, for instance, a huge underground facility in Rold Skov, Denmark’s second largest forested area, which was constructed with the intention of

A field trip

housing the Danish government and the royal family in the event of

This spring, the researchers of the network will be given the

a nuclear war. This is precisely a case where it is, right now, being

opportunity of participating in a field trip to some of the closed cities

discussed how the facility can be communicated and used in the

and areas, to Sillamäe, for instance. This previously closed city,

future”. “Over the next few years the project will be running we hope

located on the northern coast of Estonia, used to be a centre for

to build a strong network of researchers, who by joining forces can

chemical and nuclear military industry. The neo-classical town with its

help shed light on this blacked out heritage and make it part of history

broad boulevards and its large squares aptly reflects the architecture

- turning it into something that can be of use in the future, mentally

of that period, and as it is located by the sea the town presents many

as well as functionally - not least to people who have hated it because

possibilities.

they associated it with retaliation and oppression,” Niels Albertsen concludes.

Klaipedia in Lithuania was the largest European naval base of the former Soviet Union, and home to, among other things, a

FACTS

large military shipbuilding industry. In 1989 the city had 200,000

In the period 2012-14 the project will receive a total funding of approx. DKK 1

inhabitants; a fact which may give you an understanding of just how

million from the Danish Research Council for Research and Communication.

big these ‘blank spots on the map’ could be. The town of Skrunda is

This period includes three workshops and PhD seminars, a field trip, and a

in Latvia; it was built in 1964 to provide radar monitoring and radar

concluding symposium.

warning. Today, Skrunda is left a ghost town, devoid of inhabitants. As something of a Paradox the Latvian government has recently sold the

The steering committee consists of Research Professor Niels Albertsen, Aarhus

city to a Russian investor. So the Russians are back - albeit this time in

School of Architecture; Professor Mats Edström, Lund University, Faculty of

a more commercial version.

Engineering; Professor Simon Bell, Estonian University of Life Sciences and Ugis Bratuskins, Riga Technical University, Museum Curator Peer Henrik Hansen, Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort (a Cold War museum), as well as Network

The formerly closed city of Sillemäe in Estonia is today still mainly inhabited by Russians

Danish blank spaces

Coordinator and PhD Student Martin Weihe Esbensen, Aarhus School of

In Denmark we had our own blank spaces on the map during the cold

Architecture. Other participants from the Aarhus School of Architecture include

war?

Associate Professor Anne-Grete Andersen, Assistant Professor Stefan Darlan Boris

The Research Network: “Closed Cities and Sites” - International and Cross-Disciplinary Research Network 2012-14 Photo: PhD student Martin Weihe Esbensen

and Teaching Associate Professor Thomas Juel Clemmensen.

“Yes, two of them being Langelandsfortet and Stevnsfortet, both of which are today Cold War museums. During the Cold War these areas were inaccessible to most people. And since then different facilities

http://closed-cities.aarch.dk

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NEW RESEARCHERS 2012 Annette Svaneklink Jakobsen:

Timothy Merritt:

Assistant Professor, PhD

Assistant Professor, PhD

PhD from Aarhus School of Architecture 2008 with the

PhD from National University of Singapore 2012 with the

thesis Architecture in "the public image"

thesis “A Failure of Imagination: How and why people respond differently to human and computer team-mates.

Annette Svaneklink Jakobsen investigates experience as a

Former Senior Consultant at Siemens IT Solutions and

parameter in the creation and design of architecture with a

Services

special focus on contemporary museum architecture. How can the physical framework be designed in such a way that it

Timothy Merritt’s research focuses on understanding

matches today’s exhibition concept based on experience and

differences in experience, perception and behaviour that

interactions related to feelings and moods – as an interaction

occur when people interact with humans as compared to

between the person who experiences, architecture and the

computers. This has involved extensive investigation of

exhibited? The aim of this research is to explore the potential

players engaged in fast-paced cooperative games and game-

for bringing about an understanding of the work which is

like situations. This research is relevant to understanding

based on this type of relations.

what people want and how they react to technologyenhanced products and spaces - an exciting future direction

Susan Carruth:

is to examine human needs and reactions to "smart" spaces

PhD fellow

and augmented physical objects.

M.Arch. from University of Strathclyde 2004.

Former associate with Piercy & Co. /Piercy Conner Architects,

Niels Martin Larsen:

London

Assistant Professor, PhD PhD from Aarhus School of Architecture 2012 with the thesis

Susan Carruth’s PhD-project is called “Energy, territory &

Generative Algorithmic Techniques for Architectural Design

place” and explores potential infrastructural landscapes created by the energy evolution. Focusing on renewable

Niels Martin Larsen is engaged in developing algorithmic

energy in northern Europe, it examines the experiential and

methods which can be used in architecture and in

systemic characteristics of potential energy plans and the

manufacturing through digital production technologies. His

impact they might have on landscapes and the people that

research is concerned with how the processing capabilities of

The Research project: Experience as an Architectural Parameter of Design and Creation - on affect and relationality in contemporary museum

live in them. It will suggest strategies for sensitively and

the computer could be used in a more direct way for creating

architecture”.

creatively planning such large-scale civil engineering, knitting

new architectural patterns, formations and structures.

it into broader sustainable planning.

Methods which will make it possible for architects to handle

Photo: Annette Svaneklink Jakobsen, Assistant Professor, PhD

a higher degree of complexity while maintaining control with geometric aspects.

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PHD DEGREES 2012 Maiken Hillerup Fogtmann:

Mette Volf:

Designing with the Body in Mind – Kinaesthetic Empathy

Når nogen ler, er der noget på spil (When Someone Laughs

Interaction

Something Is at Stake)

In her PhD dissertation Maiken Hillerup Fogtmann engages

In her PhD dissertation Mette Volf focuses on the design

with the possibility of promoting physical interaction between

process as a social construct for which humour plays a crucial

people through the design of interactive systems.

role.

To give an example, participants in Wii games use their

There is an interaction between creativity and humour which

bodies to control the avatar on the screen and their

is of great importance to the design process, and which has

movements are registered and translated by the computer,

the potential to influence the formal power structure of a

this is known as kinaesthetic interaction, but as participants

design team. A person who raises critical issues and who

are placed next to each other, they only have a peripheral

insists on examining problems over and over would in many

sense of each other’s actual movements - in a manner of

other disciplines be thought of as a nuisance as he or she

speaking they are not playing with each other but with the

continues to challenge what is going on, but actually this

computer and its display, which they have visually become

person is in charge, as he or she controls the development of

completely dependent on. Maiken investigates how the

the process.

physical connection between multiple participants can be made to play a greater role.

Mette points out that the use of humour can be a creative strategy - humour may for instance be used for coming up

She has developed two prototypes for games that operate

with ideas which are different or creative – it can also be

without a display, and she has investigated in what way

used as a social strategy for e.g. positioning yourself, or for

interactive tools can be used to promote interaction between

ensuring that you or others do not lose face.

users to further learning and physical skills.

As a result of her PhD project Mette Volfs makes available an analytical apparatus that makes understanding the

Her PhD project has resulted in a design taxonomy which

design process as a social construction possible. This allows

integrates a number of important considerations for

practicing designers to learn more about the influence social

interaction designers who wish to incorporate physical

relationships and social interactions may have on design

PhD thesis: “Designing with the Body in Mind” by Maiken Hillerup Fogtmann

relationships between several people in their work. In her

processes - and consequently on the final artefacts. Her

Photo: Maiken Hillerup Fogtmann

taxonomy she identifies a number of issues that interaction

PhD dissertation makes it possible to address the silent

designers ought to take as their basis for designing products

knowledge of the architectural and design profession,

for multiple simultaneous users, and it also provides a tool

including aesthetic preferences and the shared understanding

for working with kinaesthetic empathy interaction in practice.

of what the creation of form and design means.

BodyQuake – a computer-based playground tool

19 Solvej Colfelt:

Grith Bech-Nielsen:

Wayfinding på danske hospitaler (Wayfinding at Danish

Restaurering versus instaurering og transstaurering

Hospitals)

(Restoration Versus Instauration and Transstauration)

The subject of Solvej Colfelt’s PhD dissertation is finding your

In her PhD dissertation Grith Bech-Nielsen problematizes the

way around large, complex hospital building projects.

complicity of professional settings and the fact that decisions pertaining to the assessment, valuation and processing of

The accessibility of a hospital depends on the messages it

architectural heritage are based on opinions. She calls for

sends as a public place. If a user does not feel safe and taken

greater objectivity and linguistic accuracy in the profession.

care of, he or she will find it difficult to orient themselves.

Herlev Hospital

And if the hospital complex does not provide its users with

She examines the way three central architectural

the means of orienting themselves, for instance by means

theoreticians argue their positions by taking a closer look at

of lines of view, overviews, and clear landmarks at choice

how they use linguistic effects to hide the subjective aspects

points, users will feel insecure and show a tendency to lose

of their presentations, thus making “opinions” appear as

their way.

objective premises.

Solvej Colfelt has attempted to verify four parameters in

This is, in her opinion, also the case when the architectural

three Danish hospital complexes: Plan configuration which is

profession and custodians of cultural heritage make decisions

concerned with how the many spatial aspects of a building

and formulate guidelines regarding, for instance, preservation

complex are connected. Signage involves internal signage

cases. This is fully legitimate, but it should be made

and directions by means of arrows, walking lines on floors,

clear that it is a matter of opinions and not scientifically

pictographs, etc. Differentiation is about colours, materials,

substantiated insights. In writing her dissertation Grith

the admittance of light, the arrangement of windows, artistic

wants to contribute to achieving a greater awareness of

decorations – all design elements which, when combined,

the arguments that are used in the profession and to help

have the potential to create variety and diversity in a

develop a stronger theoretical and methodological framework

building. Views is about the possibility of orienting yourself

as well as an unambiguous language.

by using landmarks and in relation to the points of the compass.

PhD thesis: “Way-finding at Dansih Hospitals” by Solvej Colfelt Photo: Solvej Colfelt

In her dissertation she concludes that there is a complex interaction between many different parameters and parameters other than lay out and signage. What is most important is that the plan arrangement should contain as few choicepoints as possible and that they can be taken in throughout the entire wayfinding process.

21 Aviaja Borup Lynggaard:

Niels Martin Larsen:

Homing Interactions – Tactics and Concepts for Highly Mobile

Generative Algorithmic Techniques for Architectural Design

People Niels Martin Larsen has done research in how digital tools In her industrial PhD project Aviaja Borup Lynggaard

in architectural design can be used for other purposes than

examines how highly mobile people can create a feeling of

pure representation and specification, i.e. as more efficient

home as they constantly travel around the world, commute,

versions of corresponding manual tools.

or move back and forth between different homes.

Recent developments allow architects to use computing as such in the design process - thus creating geometry instead

Based on empirical studies she introduces a taxonomy

of drawing it ‘manually’. At the same time, information

which includes a total of seven tactics that mobile people

needed for production is generated, resulting in new

use to achieve a feeling of homeliness. One such strategy is

possibilities of establishing smooth flows between digital form

Connecting: keeping in touch over distance – a concept on

generation and realisation.

which she has based her design experiments.

Computer-based design techniques make possible the For business partner Bang & Olufsen she has designed

creation of unique architecture which it would otherwise

prototypes for interactive products and services that help

not be humanly possible to produce as such techniques are

people achieve a sense of homeliness outside their primary

capable of handling a high degree of complexity, in terms of

homes. This includes MusicLink, a product concerned

both geometry and functionality. Architects, however, still

with creating a sense of fellowship and intimacy over

define the parameters and rules that result in the generation

long distances using synchronous music playback and

of geometry.

HomeAwareness, a more abstract project which makes it possible to create an emotional connection to a different

The dissertation of Niels Martin Larsen is precisely a stage

place by reproducing the atmosphere of this location by

step in the development of the way algorithmic techniques

means of sound, light and temperature.

can be used for creating architecture in completely new ways that merge various parameters and intentions used for

Algorithms describing the movement patterns of bird flocks can form the basis for facade constructions

creating form - techniques inspired, for instance, by models developed in the natural sciences.

PhD thesis: “Generative Algorithmic Techniques for Architectural Design” by Niels Martin Larsen Photo: Niels Martin Larsen

23

RESEARCHERS AND PROJECTS Architectural Experiment through Representations

Digital Tectonics

Tom Nielsen, Associate Professor: Contemporary Urban Development.

Anne Elisabeth Toft, Associate Professor: Representations of Architecture.

Karl Christiansen, Professor: The Tectonics of Architecture.

Jørgen Dehs, Associate Professor: Theory of Architecture and Art.

Claus Peder Pedersen, Associate Professor, Head of Research: Digital Tectonics.

(resigned 2012)

Architectural Workshop

Kristian Agger, Associate Professor: Digital Construction.

Carlo Volf, PhD Fellow: Light and Well-being.

Charlotte Bundgaard, Associate Professor: Tectonic Sustainable Building Culture in the Perspective of Industrialisation.

Urban Landscape Niels Albertsen, Professor: Strategic urban research.

Nordic Perspectives

Niels Martin Larsen, PhD Fellow/Assistant Professor: Generative Algorithmic

Stefan Darlan Boris, Assistant Professor: Landscape, Architecture and Transfor-

Louise Grønlund, PhD Fellow: Light’s Space – the spatial potential of the facade.

Techniques for Architectural Design. (PhD Project completed in 2012)

mation.

Sebastian Gmelin, PhD Fellow: Complex Geometry.

Technology and Practice

Thomas Juel Clemmensen, Teaching Associate Professor: Urban landscapes and

Asbjørn Søndergaard, PhD Fellow: Computed Morphologies.

planning.

Per Kortegaard, Associate Professor: BIM and Integrated Product Delivery Systems

Ole Egholm Pedersen, PhD Fellow: The Tectonic Potential of Concrete – now and

Anders Toft, Part-time Teacher: Danish Train Station Towns.

David Kjøller, PhD Fellow: The House as an Integrated Product Delivery System.

in the future.

Martin Odgaard, PhD Fellow: Landscape-related Urban Models.

Architectural Heritage

Context

Lars Nicolai Bock, Associate Professor: Documenting Building Cultural Heritage

Leif Høgsfeldt, Associate Professor: Architectural History and Culture.

Anne-Grete Andersen, Associate Professor:The Mapping and Architectural Planning

Thomas Hilberth, Assistant Professor: Territorialisation, War and Security Archi-

of Valuable Cultural Environments .

tecture.

Louise Kjær Christoffersen, Post Doc Fellow: Coastal Qualities.

Nina Ventzel Riis, PhD Fellow: Documenting Architectural Heritage.

Materiality and Spatial Experiment

Sonja Marie Overgaard, PhD Student:The Buildings for Agriculture and Breeding of

Anders Gammelgaard, Associate Professor:The Importance of Materials to the

Manors/ The Agricultural and Breeding Buildings of Manors.

Architectural Creation of Form and Space.

Susan Jayne Carruth, PhD Fellow: Energy, Territory & Place.

Martin Weihe Esbensen, PhD Fellow: Costal Culture and Its Future.

Marie Markman, PhD Fellow: The Limitless City – the limitless landscape.

Gert Bech-Nielsen, Professor: Digital Photogrammetry.

Spatial Intelligence

Distribution across destination of occupation 2012

Professors

Assistant prof./post. docs

Associate Pofessors

PhD fellows

Other researchers

Development in full-time equivalents

Design

Niels Nygaard, Teaching Associate Professor: Residential Life and Types of Dwell-

Development in research positions and full-time equivalents

Jørgen Rasmussen, Associate Professor: Strategic Design.

ings – potential for development in suburbs.

During 2012 a large number of associate professors, who until now

Birgitte Geert Jensen, Associate Professor: User-Driven innovation, Inclusive Design.

Lena Kondrup Sørensen, Associate Professor: Storage – on living with things.

Peter Gall Krogh, Professor: Design in Complex systems.

Karen Olesen, Associate Professor: Habitation.

have been the largest group of researchers at the Aarhus School of

Kätte Bønløkke, Associate Professor: Light and Light Design.

Mads Tolstrup, Associate Professor: The Art of Buildings.

Jan Fugl, Associate Professor: Light and Light Design.

Peter Dahl, Associate Professor: Typologies of the Urban Building and the Art of

had reached the lowest level ever and is now surpassed by the number

Mie Nørgaard, Assistant Professor: Interaction Design.

Juxtaposing to Create Wholes.

of PhD fellows, which has not changed over the last year.

Timothy Merritt, Assistant Professor: Responses to Technology/Agents.

Poul Bæk Pedersen, Associate Professor: Compact Structures, Flow and Trans-

Martin Ludvigsen, Associate Professor: Technology and Digital Design.

formation.

Architecture, has retired and at the beginning of 2013 their number

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2010

2011

2012

Although the development in the full-time equivalents of associate

(resigned 2012) Tina Holm Sørensen, Research Assistant: Kids’ n Tweens Lifestyle.

Sustainability

(resigned 2012)

Boris Brorman Jensen, Associate Professor: Urbanism and Architectural Theory.

Kari Moseng, Research Assistant and Rune Clausen, Research Assistant: Kids’ n

Inge Vestergaard, Associate Professor: Sustainable Transformation – the sustain-

Tweens Lifestyle.

able facade, daylight, energy and well-being.

Richard Herriott, PhD Student: Accessibility Through User-centered Design and

Terri Peters, PhD Fellow: Strategies in Sustainable Building Transformation.

Inclusive Design Processes.

professors has also declined it does not show an equally dramatic fall but a decline parallel to that of the PhD fellows.

Development in research positions 40 35 30

All this illustrates a concentration of resources on fewer researchers due to a number of retirements amongst the research staff. Actions

Sofie Kinch, PhD Student: Changing Atmospheres in Interaction Design.

The Theory and History of Architecture

Aviaja Borup Lynggaard, PhD Fellow /Research Assistant: On the Move - creating

Erik Werner Petersen, Professor: Immanence in Deleuzian and Chinese philoso-

domesticity through experience design (completed 2012)/ Kids’ n Tweens lifestyle.

phy.

in the near future in order to strengthen and expand the research

Solvej Colfelt, PhD Fellow: Wayfinding at Danish Hospitals.

Annette Svaneklink, Assistant Professor: Architectural Creation and Design

community of the School.

(completed 2012)

Parameters.

have been taken to announce vacant positions that focus on research

25 20 15 10 5 0 2007

2008

2009

RESEARCH CENTRES AND NETWORKS Center for Strategic Urban Research in cooperation with University of Copenhagen and Aalborg University. Funded by Realdania Closed Cities and Sites – an International and Cross-Disciplinary Research Network. Funded by the Danisk Research Council for Research and Communication

“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 Terminated 31.12.12

Consortium for Strategic Design Funded by Danish Center for Design Research Terminated 31.12.12

”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

Danish Center for Design Research in cooperation with Kolding School of Design and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture and School of Design, Copenhagen Terminated 31.12.12

“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

“Dansk Center for Herregårdsforskning” (a Danish centre for research in manor farm buildings) in Gl. Estrup. Funded by Realdania Dansk Lys – Lys i byen (Danish Lighting / Light in the city). An innovative network under the Danish Lighting Centre. Member of the consortium European Association for Architectural Education 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 Terminated February 2012

Kitchen garden at Nørreport The PhD project: ”The Limitless Landscape” by Marie Markman Photo: PhD fellow Marie Markman

PIT STOP – knowledge refuel for creative enterprises Terminated 31.12.12 ”Renord” – a Scandinavian research network focusing on sustainable modernisation of the housing stock built after 1945 Partnership agreement with SmartCity - a commercially operating foundation: development of the building industry and related professions ”Systemleverancer i byggeriet” (Systems Deliveries Within Construction) - a research network comprising the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and The Royal Danish Art Academy for Fine Arts focusing on strengthening and qualifying the development and application of systems deliveries in Danish construction. Funded by Realdania Terminated 31.10.12

25

CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

PUF – Practice/Education/Research and Practice/Development/Profession, seminar on cooperation, Aarhus School of Architecture (4 January)

Increase in peer-reviewed Publications

Space as a Pedagogical Ally – the Layout of Day Care Centres, symposium under the project “Play and Learning” – Kids n’ Tweens Lifestyle”, Spinderihallerne in Vejle (27 April)

The development in the distribution across peer reviewed and nonreviewed publications from Aarhus School of Architecture shows a

27 Publications 120

significant tendency. From 2007 until 2012 there has been an overall Futoriet, a Conference in Search of Creativity and Experiences in Business Development, Danish Centre for Design Research (28 January) Communicating with Children, symposium under the project “Play and Learning” – Kids n’ Tweens Lifestyle”, Spinderihallerne in Vejle (9 February) Seminars on Integrated Product Deliveries, Forskningsnetværket Systemleverancer i Byggeriet (the research network: integrated product deliveries in the building sector), KA, AAA and DTO, respectively (8, 22 and 29 February) Open Here, conference on user-friendly packaging, Aarhus School of Architecture (8 March) Model/Method/Process, Seminar on architectural representation, Aarhus School of Architecture (22 March) Service Innovation Management, Seminar within the innovation network: Service Platformen (16 April) From Idea to Product, feature day for Plastindustriens Designklub (the Design Club of the Danish Plastics Federation), Aarhus School of Architecture (26 April) UPGRADE’ 12, conference on architectural quality in the future conservation of architectural heritage, Aarhus School of Architecture (26 – 28 April)

Landscape Infrastructures: The Development of New Urban Nature, Seminar, Aarhus School of Architecture (24 May) Open Land: Agriculture and Landscape in Municipal Planning, Dansk Byplanlaboratorium (Danish Town Planning Institute), Klarskovgaard. Assistant Professor Stefan Darlan Boris was a member of the planning committee (30 May) Framework for Learning in the ‘Folkeskole’ (the Danish municipal primary and lower-secondary school) of the Future, Seminar on learning spaces under the project “Play and Learning – Kids n’ Tweens Lifestyle”, VIA UC, Aarhus (30 May) PitStop, final seminar on Business Modelling in creative companies, Korsør (11 – 12 June) BIM Finland, conference, Aarhus School of Architecture (20 September) The New Wave in Danish Architecture, mini-seminar in connection with book launch, Aarhus School of Architecture (27 September) How Can Architectural Practice use the Research of the Aarhus School of Architecture? Seminar on the potential for cooperation between research and practice, Aarhus School of Architecture (28 September) Instant Urbanism: Temporal Art and Architecture in Urban Environments, the network ‘Instant Urbanism’, the Utzon Center, Aalborg. Associate Professor Tom Nielsen was a member of the group of initiators (2 October)

decline in the number of non-reviewed publication, whereas the number of peer reviewed publications has increased in the same

100

80

period, and for the first time it surpasses the number of non-reviewed publications.

60

40

This might be seen as an indication of the increasing possibilities for architecture- and design researchers to publish in peer reviewed media and of the growing consolidation of architectural and design research as an academic field. Locally it could also be a manifestation of the deliberate support from the Research Committee of the School to engage in peer reviewed activities.

20

0 2007

2008

2009

Non-reviewed

2010

2011

Reviewed

2012

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