Course Syllabus

Course Description

This course investigates the present state of design in Scandinavia, the New Nordic, as it currently unfolds. The focus is design at all scales which includes service design, product design, furniture, fashion, architecture, urban design, and infrastructure design. The course relates these areas to local traditions and cultures. It 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 21^st century.  The course looks specifically at Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Danish design and architecture. Students 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 19^th 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’ and how cultural products like architecture, design, literature, film, and food come about. We will address ‘identity’ what these cultural products mean to individuals, communities, and society. We will read and study texts on architecture and design issues, and 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 consists of 23 sessions and two 4-hour field studies. 

The course is divided into 4 sections;

1. Understanding the Origins and Language of Nordic Design

2. Modernism in Scandinavian and Nordic Architecture 

3. Nordic Furniture Design

4. Nordic Making 

Focus is on Nordic Architecture and Design in broad terms and we will cover design at various scales from light and furniture to buildings and the urban scale. We will also make excursions to neighboring fields in culture and making, such as food, film and pop literature.

A third of the time we will be outside the classroom to explore and use the city with all possibilities for interesting dialogues while observing first hand. We will seek out relevant exhibitions and include them in our dialogue about new Nordic Design. There will be guest lecturers to help frame the different topics.

• You will work on a research paper dealing with a Nordic topic and you will have about eight weeks to do an individual research and reflection.
• You will execute an online Midterm Exam based on topics we discuss in class.
• And you will produce an assignment called "the Making" which will be a creative assignment allowing you to discuss the topics we deal with in the context of your own creativity.

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

Sarah Alfast, Architect
Dip.Arch, Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow University, UK, 2008. BA Hons including year at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, 2007. Assistant Architect at Groves Raines Architects 2006-2007. Assistant Architect at Frank Harmon Architect pa, NC, USA 2009. Collaboration with arki_lab, Copenhagen 2012. Urban Design Journal and Visual Journal Lecturer at DIS, 2010-2014. Architect at Schulze + Grassov, Copenhagen 2014. Academic Experience;  DIS, Danish Institute for Study Abroad Assistant Professor, Architectural Studio, Urban Design Journal, Visual Journal, Art in the Making A and D, With DIS since 2010.

Cecilia Nilsson, Architect
Architect MAA (Royal Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Copenhagen, 1985)
Employment at: AART Architects (2019-2022), CCO Architects (2011-2018), SCAN Architects, Own Office (2003-2010), KHRAS Architects (1999-2003), Henning Larsen Architects (1994-1998), Vilhelm Wohlert Architects (1988-1993), PLS Architects, Interior design, (1987), Dissing & Weitling Architects (1985-1986). Worked as project manager in Building Design.
With DIS (2003-2012) Architectural Studio, Visual Journal, Watercolor, Urban Journal, Adjunct Professor at Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, School of Architecture (1999-2000, 2004-2006), With DIS since 2022

Required Reading

• See information in calendar before each class.

Approach to Learning

The class will meet twice a week and will consist of lectures, field studies, student presentations, and class discussions.

Be prepared, check that you have done your reading before Class:

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 way, you might imagine that you are engaged in a conversation with the author. Once he/she/they has completed what he/she/they wants to say, you are then in a position to speak back and say something of your own, something meaningful and well thought through.

Expectations:

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 be asked to complete the test online over 3 days. The test will be based on the readings and the experiences gained through the course and field studies. 

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 a creative exercise in producing an A2 poster to present your findings, investigations, and critical interpretations regarding Nordic Architecture. The content must be laid out in an appealing way and presented in a joint class session. 

Grading

Academic Regulations

• Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

  • Course Enrollment and Grading  
  • Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

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