Course Syllabus
New Nordic Design |
 |
| Semester & Location: |
Fall - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Architecture, Design, Industrial Design |
| Faculty: |
Birgitte Borup, bb@blaataarn.dk |
| Program Director: |
Henning Martin-Thomsen, ht@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
Tue and Fri 11:40-13:00 in V10-A12 |
Course Description:
This course investigates the present state of design in Scandinavia, the New Nordic, as it currently unfolds. Focusing on architecture and design at all scales—from service design, product design, furniture and fashion to architecture, urban design, and infrastructure design—the course relates these areas to local traditions and cultures. It also acknowledges the importance of global connections and describes how we express and organize ourselves and our communities in the Nordic region at the beginning of the 21st century. The course will focus on Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Danish design and architecture. We will critically evaluate the relevance of regional design characteristics in the globalized world of today.
Furthermore, the course will dive into the formative beginnings of design in Scandinavia in the late 19th century and the world renowned “Golden Age” of democratic Scandinavian Design in the post-World War II era from the 1950s to 1970s. Studying these eras will help to frame a better understanding of the present state of design in Scandinavia—the New Nordic.
Throughout the course we will investigate the distinction between ‘making’—how cultural products like architecture, design, literature, film, and food come about—and ’identity’—what these cultural products mean to individuals, communities, and society. We will read and study texts on architecture and design issues, and also visit architecture and design sites in and around Copenhagen to use as case studies. We will meet practitioners involved in architecture and design and learn about how they view the world. We will work on assignments that try to bridge the gap between the world of thinking and the world of making.
Course Structure:
The course is divided into sections which follow the flow of the schedule with (travel) breaks.
The first section is an introduction to the term ‘New Nordic’ and aims to establish a platform for the course. We will learn how to critically study and communicate design topics, as well as how to discuss cultural products in general. We will spend time on the Manifesto of New Nordic Cuisine and study the rules regarding the region.
The next section will be about scale. How do we talk about the design of different objects? Is there a common language that will allow us to study, discuss, and understand the design of a bridge as well as that of a spoon without becoming disconnected?
In this section you will be introduced to The Nordic Paper – 6 weeks to research and write assignment 1 and you will execute the Midterm the last day before a break.
The third section will be a cursory introduction to the architecture and design identities and histories of the Nordic countries—Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland. This is a platform for understanding recent design developments in general, as well as a survey of regional differences in design.
The fourth section we will study the northern regions with and without autonomy such as Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Lapland/Sapmi. How can design be used or encourage an independent lifestyle in the challenging nature and far away from the capitals.
The Making – assignment 2 – take place in this section and here you will have an opportunity to create a visualization that reflects your personal interpretation of a Nordic topic. Presentations in class with critical feedback and debate.
The final section will focus on daylight in architecture and design.
The sessions during the course will be a combination of basic canonical knowledge and temporary interpretation of architecture and design. The readings will be a mix of articles in PDF format and information from websites.
About 1/3 of the time we spend out of the classroom - in the city.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course you should:
- Be able to orient yourself in the recent Scandinavian landscape of design
- Become familiar with the main design development trends in Scandinavia
- Understand how historical and theoretical design perspectives can be applied
to the study of contemporary cultural products - Understand the importance and fundamentals of critical reading and writing
- Be able to reflect on the role and task of design and the designer through the
application of critical thinking.
Faculty:
Birgitte Borup: Interior Architect, M.D.D. (Denmark’s Design School, 1986). Own design office since 1988. Design work includes interior design, exhibition design, graphic design as well as furniture design. Recipient of several international awards. Works exhibited nationally and internationally. With DIS since 1998.
Required Reading:
Deforge, Yves, and John Cullars. “Avatars of Design: Design before Design.” Design Issues, vol. 6, no. 2, 1990, p. 43., doi:10.2307/1511436.
Designmuseum Danmark, Danish Design from the 20th Century – selected furnitures
Rams, Dieter. “Omit the Unimportant.” Design Issues, vol. 1, no. 1, 1984, p. 24., doi:10.2307/1511540.
Heskett, John. Toothpicks and Logos: Design in Everday Life. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Arkitektur DK. Arkitektens Forlag, 2011.
Aav, Marianne. Marimekko: Fabrics Fashion Architecture. Published for the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York, and the Design Museum, Finland, by Yale University Press, 2012.
Gehl, Jan, and Lord Richard. Rogers. Cities for People. Island Press, 2013.
K.L.Weiss The Pragmatic Turn
K.L.Weiss the Pragmatic Utopias Interview Ingels
K.L.Weiss and Kjeld Vidum: A Conversation about the Architecture of the new Wave
Lund, Nils-Ole, et al. Nordic Architecture. Arkitektens Forlag - The Danish Architectural Press, 2008.
Poulsen, Louis. NYT 582: Jørn Utzon’s Use of daylight in Architecture. AIA.
Ehrström Margaretha. Nomination of Paimio Hospital for Inclusion in the World Heritage List. National Board of Antiquities, 2005.
Kingsley, Patrick. “How the Dogme Manifesto Reinvented Denmark.” The Guardian, 25 Nov. 2012, www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/how-dogme-built-denmark.
Reflections on a Nordic Public Architecture, Peter MacKeith
Sparke, Penny. An Introduction to Design and Culture: 1900 to the Present. Routledge, 2013.
Simon, Herbert A. The Sciences of the Artificial. The MIT Press, 1996.
Wegner, Hans J., and Jens Bernsen. Hans J. Wegner. Dansk Design Center, 2001.
Websites and videos:
Unfolding the potential of indigenous food cultures: Claus Meyer at TEDxCopenhagen 2012
Market halls on Israels Plads in Copenhagen, Arkitekturværkstedet
Reiulf Ramstad, The Nordic Way of Building, Louisiana Channel
Dogma 95 - Lars von Trier + Thomas Vinterberg
Light zone(s) - as Concept and Tool; Merete Madsen
Readings on Reserve in the DIS Library
- Dickson, Thomas, and Katrina O'Brien. Dansk design. Sydney, N.S.W.: Murdoch, 2008.
- Dybdal, Lars. Dansk Design Nu. Copenhagen: Strandberg Publishing, 2016. Print, in Danish only.
- Lund, Nils-Ole, and James Manley. Nordic architecture. Copenhagen: Arkitektens Forlag, The Danish Architectural Press, 2008. Print.
- Norberg-Schulz, Christian. Nightlands: Nordic building. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996. Print.
- Plummer, Henry. Nordic light: modern Scandinavian architecture. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2012. Print.
Approach to Teaching:
The class will meet twice a week and will consist of lectures, student presentations, and class discussions. This course relies heavily on reading. The type of reading that you will be required to do in this class moves beyond finding information, locating an author’s purpose, or identifying main ideas (as useful as these skills are). You will be asked to dig deep into the texts to ferret out meaning, systems of relationships between ideas, and examine your own response to these ideas and their impact on the world around them.
In short, critical reading requires that you question intensely. For critical reading, you cannot sit back and wait. These texts are not necessarily easy, nor are you expected to swallow the words without consideration. True reading demands that you first actively listen to the author without projecting your own agenda. In this sense, you might imagine that you are engaged in a conversation with the author. Once he/she has completed what he/she wants to say, you are then in a position to speak back and say something of your own—something meaningful and well thought-out. If you have no response, you are reading lazily and need to read more critically in order to formulate a response. Such response involves analysis, synthesis, and creativity.
Expectations of the students:
You are expected to be fully engaged in lectures, participate actively in discussions, and be open-minded to your fellow students’ contributions to class. You must help to establish an environment in which we can learn from each other—as well as from the texts and cases we engage with—and to actively support this approach. Readings must be done before class and should be done with inquisitiveness. The ability to frame the appropriate questions and to apply critical thinking will be valued.
Field studies:
The field studies are a primary experiential learning component of the course, and should be viewed as an integrated component of the course. The visits will illustrate and expand directly upon the content of the lectures and readings. Copenhagen and its examples of Nordic Design will provide the basis for in-class field studies.
Assignments:
The Midterm is an essay test completed on Canvas. Students must set aside 80 minutes to complete the test in one sitting. The test is based on the readings and experiences gained through the course and field studies. There will be specific questions available when the midterm becomes available.
The Nordic Paper is a research and reflection paper based on the themes we discuss throughout the course. It is an opportunity to reflect on the ethic and the aesthetic program in a historical and regional context, and gives you the chance to dive into a topic and critically debate it with analysis, sketches and personal reflections.
The Making is an exercise in producing an A2 poster to present your findings, investigations, and critical interpretations regarding the Nordic topic. The content must be laid out in an appealing way and presented in a joint class session.
Grading:
| Assignment |
Percent |
| Active individual participation, in-class presentations, and provision of question points |
20% |
|
Midterm Exam – essay format |
20% |
|
The Nordic Paper – 8 pages / 2500 words of critical writing and visualizations |
35% |
|
The Making – A2 poster including 400 words of critical writing and illustrations |
25% |
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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