Start semester
60 523 The Green Fields of Hovinbyen
Emnenavn på Norwegian Bokmål:
The Green Fields of Hovinbyen
Credits:
24
Course code:
60 523
Level of study:
Master
Teaching semester:
2019 Autumn
Assessment semester:
2019 Autumn
Language of instruction:
English
Year:
2019
Maximum number of students:
24
Required prerequisite knowledge
Admission to AHOs Master program in Architecture or Landscape Architecture. Mandatory first semester course for Master of Landscape Architecture. Basic knowledge in architecture, urbanism and landscape.
Course content
The aim of the studio is to explore how to design a park structure - den grønne ringen (the green ring) - in connection to existing landscapes and programs in Hovinbyen, by combining a macro perspective on area development with a small scale design intervention.The purpose of the park is both to provide a space of recreation for the people living in the area, and to function as a mobility axis, connecting the different parts of Hovinbyen to the rest of the city.
Today, the area of Hovinbyen is characterized by its history as an industrial area, with infrastructure dominating the landscape. Over the last decade, the area has gone through a transformative development process, with thousands of new housing units coming to, and new inhabitants moving to the area to live and work.
Still in its formative stage, the area faces several challenges and opportunities to define meaningful relationships to the surrounding areas and programs, and to establish its identity as a neighborhood in the greater city of Oslo. The green ring could potentially be a critical element in pursuing these opportunities and a tool in facing these challenges.
The green ring aims to be both a mobility axis, a recreational park structure, an attractive destination for inhabitants across Oslo, and an ecosystem that successfully integrates with tangent biotopes. One focus of the studio work will be to explore how to design programs and systems that integrate human and non-human ecosystems.
In 2015 a plan and idea competition for Hovinbyen was held to collect new suggestions and perspectives for how to develop the area. Today, there is an ongoing invite only competition focusing on the programming and identity of Hovinbyen. The students participating in the studio will have a real chance to influence this process by means of presenting work to both key governmental actors and firms participating in the competition.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
The course presents the students with a theoretical understanding-, and a framework for assessing and understanding the landscape, building on key concepts for designing and evaluating interventions in public spaces.
Over the course of the semester we engage in theoretical discussion, focusing on the application of different theoretical perspectives to specific cases.
As a student, you will acquire knowledge about the frameworks for mapping and understanding the complex dynamics of the landscape and its processes, complete with accurate terminology, building on relevant theories. In addition you will become familiar with mapping and design processes, knowing different stages, process elements, and other key concepts.
Skills
The coursework relies on basic tools and software within landscape design in order to represent spatial and material conditions. Examples of these are Autocad, Arc GIS, Adobe package, 3D modelling programs (Civil, Rhino), and others.
We will apply various tools for mapping, analyzing, and assessing sites, and capture insights about needs, challenges, and opportunities for design. Through the creative group process of integrating insights from mapping into feasible designs, you learn key principles and tools for designing and running creative processes: Both individually and in groups.
General competence
The course aims to develop the students ability to combine and integrate insight about the landscape in a creative process, leading to a specific design, that can convincingly contribute to achieve specific development aims for the area.
Graduating from the course, students will have developed awareness of how various aspects and factors affects a specific site, and will be able to describe these factors from a theoretically informed perspective. Using mapping tools, they are able to derive insights about the specificity of the site, and review those insights in both a theoretical and an applied perspective. Finally, using a conscious creative process, they are able to integrate theoretical and applied perspectives to device designs that take site specific aspects into account, and make meaningful interventions.
Working and learning activities
The studio is organised around three phases:
01
Mapping phase. Group work. Contextualising the site. GIS-based mapping and series of walks on site. Lectures by experts, stakeholders and users.
02
Concept phase. Individual work. Study trip: park, gardens and public spaces. Addressing spatial and material conditions through models and maps. Reference lectures. Theoretical discussions.
03
Design phase. Individual/Group work. Formulation of project. Small scale design intervention. Reference and Methodology lectures.
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project assignment | Individual | Pass / fail |