This was my first module at SLU
Alnarp and quite possibly, the best module I have ever taken. I have never
worked so hard (I seem to say that every time I do a new module, but this time
I really mean it) nor have I been pushed
so hard, nor has so much been demanded of me. The same goes for the
rest of my peers. Despite this, or maybe because of this, the Theme Course;
Thinking Eyes module was the highlight of my academic year (s).
Theory (which I feel is so missing
from design education today, see Why I want to be a Landscape Architect),
Literature, Design Critiques, Presentation Skills, Layout, Art, Conceptual
Models, Scale Models, Collage, Film, Exhibition development and presentation
and of course, design were all key elements of the course. We touched upon all
of the above and learned something new (for the first time, or perhaps
developed upon existing skills). Thoroughly the most rewarding course I have
ever done.
Lisa Diedrich (professor of Landscape
Architecture at SLU Alnarp) lectured upon design critiques, methodology and
theory, always encouraging to the very last. Mads Farso Rasmussen (PhD, landscape
architect FARSO HAVE and senior lecturer at the University of Copenhagen)
demanded us to be constantly ‘brutally poetic’ in all our endeavours and we
hoped we matched, succeeded, his expectations. We were also supported by Peter
Dacke and Kani Abu-Bakr.
The course gave us an opportunity to meet with, interview and
discuss some of the key figures in landscape architecture today and we were
exceptionally lucky to have Andrea Kahn, of Site Matters fame, as a guest crit
at the final exhibition.
OUTLINE OF THE COURSE
“ Imagine the procedure for the European-wide EUROPAN competition for young architects were revised. The reason is that the EUROPAN cities and juries are fed up with receiving useless architectural fantasies produced by designers who sometimes have even not put their feet onto the competition sites. However, on the threshold of 21st century and in view of climate change, shrinking resources, social turbulences and economic precariousness, the European cities are increasingly in need of innovative approaches for site-specific urban transformation proposed by designers who are able to identify and work with existing site qualities – this is something landscape architects are good at (at least after this course). Consequently, the EUROPAN authorities have decided to open up the competition for teams headed by landscape architects (this is reality since 2013’s EUROPAN), and to restrict participation through a prequalification stage (this is the plot of this course). To prequalify for EUROPAN, the students of this course had to elaborate a candidature, comprising a critical reflection on contemporary site-specific design and an own approach to site specificity, and they also had to defend their ideas in front of a EUROPAN jury.
In order to elaborate the own profile and present the own competences and ambitions in site-specific design, the students needed to gain an overview of contemporary European design approaches and explore the underlying theories. Once they had critically reflected on this state of the art, it was easier for them to position themselves, create their own profile and defend it. In this course, they used their eyes (and other senses) as well as their thinking for the academic exploration of artistic work as well as for the artistic elaboration of an academic reflection and a professional positioning – they were ‘Thinking Eyes’.”
-
Lisa Diedrich, November 2013
All work was done as group work and I was very lucky to find
a like-minded individual in Lisa Markström. I do not believe I could have
pushed myself as far and been so happy with the results if we had not been
thrown together.
The first half of the course was meant to provide us with an
overview of site-specific design, to learn artistic and academic tools and to
formulate a design critique.
 |
| The first few weeks saw us define what we believed was meant by 'site specificity' |
 |
| A conceptual model of Monika Gora's Glass Bubble, Malmö. A reading of site specificity. |
The second half of the course was dedicated to the
exploration of our own approach to site specificity. All the groups worked on the Alnarp Campus of SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), imagined as the EUROPAN competition site.
The images below are screenshots of the panels produced by Lisa and I
at the end exhibition. These formulated our site specific design proposal for Alnarp.
ARCHIPELEGAO (28 Mins)
We were also asked to do a conceptual model to compliment our
panels. For Lisa and I, it seemed important to do a film as this seemed an apt
way to represent all the site dynamics, all the elements we spoke of in the
first week when deciding what constitutes site specificity.
As the film is too large for Vimeo, one can only hope you are
entertained by the film stills. Imagine the soft rustling leaves on the ground,
the harsh wind by the sea, the noise from the afar road as you look at them…and
you will get a glimpse of Alnarp.
The film is
an interactive piece. First of all we wanted to show the qualities that we
found in Alnarp. Secondly it is a comment on how we interact with landscape,
both as individuals and as designers.
We encouraged the audience to walk into the film and explore
what happened when one interacts with it. We wanted to ask questions; what
effect does it have on the screen/landscape depending on how close you are,
where you stand, how you position yourself? All this effects what happens on
the screen and to the landscape contained within. In terms of design, you can
position yourself as a designer in different ways. Critically, this means that
you can read different aspects of a site, or read the site in many different
ways, this then alters how site specific your site design becomes.
Lisa and I’s portfolio for the course can be seen in full here.
END CREDITS
Course leader
Lisa Diedrich, professor of
landscape architecture at SLU Alnarp
Course teachers
Lisa Diedrich, professor of
landscape architecture at SLU Alnarp
Mads Farso Rasmussen, PhD,
landscape architect FARSO HAVE,
senior lecturer at the University of
Copenhagen
Peter Dacke, arts lecturer at SLU
Alnarp
Juan Carlos Peirone, arts lecturer
at SLU Alnarp
Kani Abu-Bakr, PhD Fellow at SLU
Ultuna
Students
Frida Cartbo
Alexander Henriksson
Sonia Jackett
Hanna Lönnqvist
Lisa Markström
Jóhann Sindri Pétursson
Linn Stevensson
Lecturers
Maria Hellström, professor of
design theory and practice, Malmö University
Stig L. Andersson, SLA Copenhagen,
professor at the University of Copenhagen
Roland Gustavsson, professor SLU
Åsa Klintborg, researcher SLU
Tiina Sarap, professor SLU
Caroline Dahl and Per-Johan Dahl,
smog, Malmö
Helle Juul, Juul & Frost
Architects, Copenhagen
Critics
Gunilla Bandolin, professor of
arts, Konstfack Stockholm
Andrea Kahn, professor Columbia University
New York
Gunilla Lindholm, senior lecturer
SLU
Gunilla Kronvall, Akademiska Hus,
Malmö
Stig Hesselund, Juul & Frost
Architects, Copenhagen
Interviews with
Monika Gora, GORA
art&landscape, Malmö
Martin Arfalk, Mandaworks, Malmö
Ewa Sundström, City of Malmö
Jacob Kamp, 1:1 landskab,
Copenhagen
Sara Nissen, project manager
Lejerbo, Copenhagen