Student chat: Martin Danais
AHO has talked with Martin Danais from Normandy in France, an exchange student from the Landscape school of Versailles. Martin is going to Tromsø to study landscape architecture next year.
What are you currently working on?
Longyearbyen in Svalbard. I am working with the river that divides the city in two, so I’m trying to reconnect the two parts and recover the old riverscape of the city. The river has shrunk and become smaller, so I’m figuring out plans to recover this area, create new riverbeds and new buildings along the river to attract people.
What is it like to study at AHO compared to Versaille?
It’s a great opportunity because I can study new topics like the Arctic, we don’t have that in France. Also, I really like the accessible equipment the school offers, like all the workshops - wood, plastic, metal, the computer room - it’s something we don’t have at my school in Versailles.
Also, the teaching is different. There is less critique than in my school in France, the classes are smaller, we get more time with the teachers, and it’s a more open dialogue between teacher and student.
What kind of students does your studio consist of?
We are an urban design studio so there are more architects in our studio. Out of 15 in total, we’re just four landscape architects. Most of us are exchange students.
What would you like to work on in the future?
I would love to work with the Arctic. This topic is not common France, there hasn’t been done too much work on it either. I have always loved the Northern landscape. I hope to work with this when I’m done with my studies, but that might be difficult in France so I’m staying in Norway for a while!
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