STUDIO 4:

ARCHITECTURE FOR EXTREME CONDITIONS – Wood for Good

STUDIO THEME

Studio 4 is a platform for architectural investigations closely connected to research. Our studio seeks to push the boundaries of what architecture is, by exploring what architecture can be. We choose design topics that address relevant problems in society to make the studio a centre for design-led experimentation, prototyping and discussion on how we, as architects, can address the dynamic development that society is currently facing. In recent years, to meet the challenges of global warming and our planet’s limited resources, we have explored new materials and innovative technologies that are applicable to extreme living conditions in different parts of the world. This year, we want to focus on a material that has been the basis for construction since the beginning of time: wood. We believe there is a lot to learn about the use of wood in the global history of architecture, and it is our expectation that the studio will contribute future-oriented and innovative design approaches.

TEACHING METHODOLOGY

At Advanced Level, we expect our students to already have an individual approach to design thinking. Although architectural training has equipped you with various design tools and methodologies, there is still space for improvement in terms of sharpening your personal artistic voice. It is our job in the studio to help you mature, for example by scrutinizing work processes and in helping you position the project in a broader context — always seeking to address the challenges of our future society.

In Studio 4, we focus on process but also expect students to excel in the way they present designs and discuss architecture, hereby developing a critical and creative mindset. The studio projects often result in public exhibitions that students produce in collaboration with external parties. We also collectively produce a studio catalogue.

We seek to ensure that the Diploma Degree Project, during the last term of studies, becomes a personal landmark and a springboard for our students’ future careers as architects. For this reason, we sometimes make slight adaptations to the course design, allowing our 5th-year students to work in preparation for their Diploma Degree Project.