Course Syllabus

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20th and 21st Century Danish Architecture

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vadehavscentret

[The Wadden Sea Centre, Dorte Mandrup, 2017. Vadehavscentret press photo by Adam Mørk]

Semester & Location:

Spring 2024 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:

Elective - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:

Architecture, Urban Design, Design
Prerequisite:

None
Faculty:

Rodrigo A. Rieiro Díaz (current students please reach out to faculty via Canvas Inbox)
Time & Place:

Tue and Fri 8:30-9:50 in V23-301

Please note: Any changes to the calendar will occur on Canvas.

Course Description 

This course focuses on studying and situating 20-21C Danish architecture in relation to the periods' salient historical, political, social, and environmental conditions. This includes positioning and debating Danish architecture in light of, amongst other things, developments in the welfare state and influences from wider European and international architectural movements.

Throughout the course, case studies are used as a primary method, and are deliberated both chronologically and in terms of key thematics and narratives. A combination of lectures, field studies, readings, plenums, written exercises, and group presentations are interwoven to support and strengthen students’ abilities in identifying, analyzing, and discussing varying architectural concerns, values, and qualities.

Learning Objectives

  • To demonstrate deeper understandings of 20-21C Danish architecture and the contexts and conditions of its developments.
  • To demonstrate an enhanced ability to undertake and communicate informed analyses and criticism based on field studies, lectures, readings, in-class discussions, and case study research.
  • To demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the relations between the key developments in Danish architecture in the 20-21C and the Danish welfare state.

Faculty

Rodrigo A. Rieiro Díaz Architect MAA, PhD. 

Ph.D. in Architecture with the highest distinction. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, ETSAM: “Make yourself at home. A critical retracing of the legacy of the housing utopias built in the Nordic countries in the 70´s” (2023). Before, I was guest researcher at the SBi (Danish Building Research Institute), teaching assistant in Project Design, ETSAM, and Master in Architecture from the same school of architecture. 

Senior architect with more than 12 years of experience working for several prestigious offices in Copenhagen (ERIK, WERK, Dorte Mandrup, Mikkelsen, EFFEKT) and before in Madrid (Ábalos+Sentkiewicz, DL+A) on many different kinds of project, ranging from housing developments and residential to refurbishments, public and mixed-use buildings, life science, competitions, etc. I have been responsible for developing these projects in diverse phases, from conception to construction.

With DIS since 2023.

Readings

The specific readings are listed in the calendar date details and must be completed before the given class session. The required readings are available on Canvas under Modules or in the DIS Library.

  • Brae, Ellen, Urban Planning in the Nordic World. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2022. 43-54.
  • Braae, Ellen; Riesto, Svava; Steiner, Henriette; Tietjen, Anne. "Mass Housing of the Scandinavian Welfare States: Exploring histories and design strategies." University of Edinburgh, 2020. 13-23.
  • Crudi, Franco. Urban Development Projects: The best way to build our cities? The Sydhavn case, Copenhagen. 2020. 10.13140/RG.2.2.22211.43047. 
  • de Neergaard, Maja, and Jesper Pagh. “Welfare’s Space as Architecture-Historical Construction.” Forming Welfare. Ed. Jannie Rosenberg Bendsen et al. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2017. 252-263.
  • Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Kim. "Welfare for Everyone" Danish Architecture Since 1754." Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2007. 237-310.
  • Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Kim. "The Modern Breakdown." Danish Architecture Since 1754." Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2007. 311-395.
  • Faber, Tobias. New Danish Architecture. Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., New York. 1968. 69-94.
  • Fisker, Kay. "The Moral of Functionalism." Nordic Architects Write. Abingdon: Routledge, 2008. 35-39.
  • Harlang, Christoffer. “Danish Introduction.” Nordic Architects Write. Abingdon: Routledge, 2008. 9-17.
  • Jensen, Boris Brorman, and Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss. “Liberation, the Death of Utopia and the Big Community Machine.” Art of Many. Ed. B. Brorman Jensen and K. Lindhardt Weiss. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2016. 196-205.
  • Jensen, Boris Brorman. “The Prelude to the Breakthrough.” Arkitektur DK, vol. 56, no. 2, 2012, 90-93.
  • Katz, B., & Noring, L. The Copenhagen City and Port Development Corporation: A Model for Regenerating Cities. The Brookings Institution. City Solution No. 1, 2017.
  • Keiding, Martin ed: 50 Buildings - Danish Architecture 2016-2022. Arkitekten Books, 2022.
  • Kjeldsen, Kjeld et al., eds.: New Nordic. Architecture & Identity. Humlebæk: Louisiana Museum, 2012.
  • Lund, Nils-Ole. “The Nordic.” Nordic Architecture. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2008. 22-34.
  • Lund, Nils-Ole. “The Danish Tradition.” Nordic Architecture. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2008. 56-85.
  • Lund, Nils-Ole. “The Requirement of Authenticity.” Nordic Architecture. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2008. 124-155.
  • Nielsen, Tom. “Ethics, Aesthetics and Contemporary Urbanism.” Nordisk Arkitekturforskning, no. 2, 2004. 23-46.
  • Nygaard, Erik. “Introduktion.” Arkitektur Forstået. Transl. Henning Thomsen. Copenhagen: Bogværket, 2011. 8-11.
  • Pagh, Jesper. “Follow the Food: How Eating and Drinking Shape Our Cities.” Sustainable Consumption and the Good Life, ed. Karen Lykke Syse and Martin Lee Mueller, Routledge, 2015.
  • Pagh, Jesper, ed. Arkitektur DK 2. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2013. 
  • Pagh, Jesper, ed. Arkitektur DK 3. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2013.
  • Pagh, Jesper. “From the Common Good to the Common Market.” Forming Welfare, edited by Katrine Lotz et al., The Danish Architectural Press, 2017, pp. 28-41. 
  • Patteeuw, Véronique, and Szacka, Léa-Catherine. “Critical Regionalism for our time.” Architectural Review, 2019. 92-98.
  • Plummer, Henry. "Introduction." Nordic Light: Modern Scandinavian Architecture. Thames & Hudson. 2012. 1-13.
  • Rasmussen, Steen Eiler. “Basic Observations.” Nordic Architects Write. Ed. Michael Asgaard Andersen. Abingdon: Routledge, 2008. 41-49.
  • Swenarton, Mark, Tom Avermaete, and Dirk van den Heuvel. “Introduction.” Architecture and the Welfare State. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015. 1-23.
  • Søberg, Martin. "Kay Fisker's Classical Principles for Modern Housing." Reflecting Histories and Directing Futures: Proceedings Series. 2019. 55-74.
  • Sørensen, Erik Christian “On Form, In Space.” Nordic Architects Write. Ed. Michael Asgaard Andersen. Abingdon: Routledge, 2008. 50-59.
  • Vestergaard, Hedvig. "A short history of housing and housing policy in Denmark since 1945." Housing in Denmark. Aalborg University, 2007.  15-ff.
  • Vindum, Kjeld, and Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss. “A Conversation About the Architecture of the New Wave.” The New Wave in Danish Architecture. Ed. Kjeld Vindum and Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2012. 364-376.
  • Wagner, Judith. "Fishing Naked: Nordic Early Childhood Philosophy, Policy, and Practice." Young Children. 2004. 56-62.
  • Weiss, Kristoffer Lindhardt. “The Pragmatic Turn.” The New Wave in Danish Architecture. Ed. Kjeld Vindum and Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press, 2012. 14-21.
  • Diverse publications from Women in Danish Architecture research portal: www.womenindanisharchitecture.dk

Approaches to Teaching

The course is anchored in a combination of group and individual field studies to exemplary case studies, which are supported by a series of lectures, required readings, and in class discussions. Furthermore, two half-day field trips are woven in to the course structure, affording more time for deepening collegial debates and experiential learning on-site. 

Expectations of Students

Active participation, group work, individual research, and personal reflection are required. Moreover, the required readings are to be read in advance of the associated class session, and it is expected that students show-up ready to discuss the readings' main points in connection to the material presented during class.

Workload

The general rule of thumb is that students are expected to spend approximately 2-3 hours of work/study/prep time outside of class for each hour that they spend in class.

Field Studies

The field studies - both group and independent site visits - are the primary experiential learning components of this course. They are integral and integrated in order to illustrate and expand upon the contents of the lectures, readings, and plenums.

Assignments

In addition to class participation (an ongoing assessment across the duration of the semester), there are three other grading moments in the course. Each of these three assignments is crafted and positioned to challenge and support students in developing and demonstrating skills relative to the course's learning objectives. These are briefly described below:

Field Study work

Four short assignments, each based on a different field study. Students will analyze each work of architecture using different frameworks, ranging from theoretical to visual. These will be announced in the assignments' briefs.

Case Study Analysis & Presentation (group work)

This assignment is a group effort: an oral and visual presentation communicating in-depth analytical research on a Danish urban design / architecture case study. Each group will be comprised of 3-5 students to be determined in the first week of the course. As a minimum the analysis addresses the social-political, environmental, and economic contexts and responses of the project. The guidelines for this group assignment will be discussed towards the start of the course, including tutorial. The presentations themselves will occur approximately 2/3 into the semester. Furthermore, all students in the class are required to provide written peer (and self) assessment on all the presentations. 

Take-home Exam: Logbook (individual work)

The 'take home exam' is in the form of a logbook; a tool and (weekly) practice for weaving and tying knots between our diverse field studies, discussions, lectures, course literature, peer presentations, and the student's personal lines of inquiry. The 'log' entries are made in response to a series of given questions ('prompts') that stem from the main topics and thematics of the course. Each log is to be a thoughtfully balanced combination of the student's own words and images, supported with apt academic citations. There will be one logbook peer review session in class, and aside from this all work on the logbook is to be treated fully as individual student work just as an ordinary exam setting.

Grading

Assignment

Percent
Participation (active individual participation in class and on field studies)

25%

Field study work

25%

Case Study Analysis & Presentation 

 25%

Take-home Exam (a.k.a. Logbook)

 25%

Academic Regulations

Make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website, including the regulations concerning: 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org

Course Summary:

Date Details Due