Applied Architecture

Studio Theme Architecture distinguishes itself from other art forms in that the discipline is affected to a higher degree by limitations which the architect cannot control: Besides the simple fact that a building cannot be realized without a client/investor there are social conventions, topographic, functional and technical factors we must take into account. One of the skills necessary to succeed as an architect is thus the ability to react to a given framework in a creative and intelligent manner. Instead of perceiving limitations as unwelcome obstacles we would like to welcome them as a kind of resistance which can release creative forces.

The studio work will stretch from a small scale interior design to the geographic scale in a project for a large building placed in a semiurban industrial zone. Shifting focus in every task we will look into the principles of wood, steel and concrete constructions.

A central theme will be the relationship between construction and architectural expression. In order to focus on the connection between these categories we will collaborate with structural engineers who will participate in the studio work as lecturers, supervisors and critics.

Teaching Methodology The path leading up to an architectural project is most often more chaotic and less linear than one would like it to be from an academic point of view. At the same time every student is supposed to develop his/her own working method. Hence we do not consider It to be the teacher’s task to teach a working method. We would rather see ourselves as interlocutors confronting the students with insights resulting from our own experience and encouraging them to make their own choices – in agreement with the teacher or by rebutting the teacher’s point of view. The starting point or the generating idea for a project can be highly personal and can in general not be judged as right or wrong. An idea is in that sense not discussable within the framework of architectural education. Our discussions will instead revolve around the process of translating an idea into architecture with the architect’s tools, i.e. sketches, models, horizontal and vertical projections. Project 1 1. Measurement and documentation of five interiors in central Stockholm 2. Design of a piece of furniture (coffee bar, wine bar, information disc) in one of the documented interiors Range of representation scales: 1:20 - 1:1 Architectural themes: relating to a historical/thematic context, use of color as a design tool, architecture as a creator of atmospheric qualities… Seminars/lectures: History of the buildings to be documented, digital measuring techniques

Project 2 Apartment building with commercial facilities in central Stockholm Range of representation scales: 1:500 -1:20 Architectural themes: Relating to a historical context, grammar of the city, public/private, timber prefabrication Seminars/lectures: Means of city planning, architectural/technical/ environmental aspects of prefabricated timber constructions, “core and shell”

Project 3 Hangar for business jets, Bromma Airport Range of representation scales: 1:2000 - 1:20 Architectural themes: “The building as a sign”, skeleton structures, relationship between structure and architectural expression… Seminars/lectures: Material properties of steel, structural principles in wide span constructions, functional aspects of air traffic

Project 4 Wooden observation tower or pedestrian bridge in a Swedish municipality: student competition followed by physical construction of the winning scheme in scale 1:1 Range of representation scales: 1:100 - 1:1 Architectural themes: Architectural engineering, engineering architecture, designing within the limited framework of structural and logistic aspects Seminars/lectures: Principles of bridge construction, dimension standards of industrially produced timber, prefabricating and building on site

Mats Fahlander MF studied architecture at KTH and HDK in Berlin. His office, Fahlander Arkitekter is located in Stockholm. Besides his architectural practice he has been working as a teacher in different terms at KKH and KTH. matsfahlander.com Tobias Nissen TN earned his master’s degree at the ETH Lausanne. He has been working on and off as a teacher in the undergraduate and graduate programs at KTH since 2000. TN is a cofounder of the Stockholm based office Vera Arkitekter.

www.vera.se

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1. Residential building in central Stockholm, collage (student Astrid Lindén) 2. Oyster bar, interior rendering (student: David Janson) 3. Residential building in central Stockholm, model 1:50 (student: Einar Palmberg) 4. Oyster bar, plan (student: Martin Lättman)