2023 Høst

Start semester

2023 Høst

40 554 Speculative futures #1 Europe in transition: Venice case

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Speculative futures #1 Europe in transition: Venice case

Course code:

40 554

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Person in charge

Lisbeth Funck

Matthew Anderson

Required prerequisite knowledge

Admission to AHO and successful completion of three years bachelor level studies (180 ECTS).

Part of course series: Speculative futures

The course is open to students from: Architecture and Landscape architecture

Course content

Studio Positions propose an ongoing program of research and studio teaching within the framework of Speculative futures, through work based and theoretical research. Over four semesters the studio aims to question and develop innovative critical and sustainable approaches to architecture, positioning ourselves in relation to:

Cases studies – including art, architecture, and places,
Language – to frame architectural concepts and reflection,
Philosophy – ecological theory, aesthetic theory, gender/queer theory,
Ethics

In autumn 2023, the studio is part of a European collaboration project (BIP) with five other architecture schools in Europe. The program will focus on "the mutation of the built types and unbuilt spaces with regard to upheavals in uses and practices, climate change or new materials and construction techniques, cultural and political revolutions. This sharing of inter-university knowledge will allow students, researchers and teachers to become aware of the place of architecture in the face of the various crises that Europe is going through, a critical position inscribed in the architectural discipline. The work will thus aim at the search for architectural contributions to the transformation and quality of habitat in the broad sense of the term."

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

practice knowledge through case studies,
practice knowledge through architectural design (semester project),
material and structural knowledge

Skills:

work based and theoretical research skills,
conceptual architectural thinking,
interpret and convert theoretical data into disciplinary interpretation

General competence:

critical thinking, and
ability to develop an argument through an architectural project and written reflection.

Working and learning activities

How it is organized (brief description of content and teaching):

With these starting positions, students work towards an architectural project through three phases:

Framing an architectural concept
Imagining a life (scale, materiality, activity, accessibility, structure)
An architectural project

This work is accompanied by continuous written reflection (words) to be discussed in workshops.

The studio emphasizes and facilitates peer-review of works and words as a vital aspect of the learning environment.

Excursion:

Study trip and workshop in Venice in October. The students will receive a travel grant (financed by the BIP program).

At the end of the workshop, the students will be able to:

make a diagnosis and motivate an intervention on foreign territory,
work in international and multidisciplinary teams to present a common design,
synthesize pluridisciplinary and multicultural opinions in a coherent discourse, communicated through drawing, written and oral speech
defend an innovative project by argumentation before an international jury.

Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in an excursion will be given an assignment/a project that replaces this.

Curriculum

Course literature will be available in Leganto.

Mandatory coursework	Courseworks required	Presence required	Comment
Exercise		Not required	It is compulsory to hand in work on given dates stated in the semester calendar. Mandatory work requirements must be met for the project assignment to be assessed.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Project assignment	-	Pass / fail	The students work on a given/selected project throughout the course and the assessment is based on an assignment that counts for 100% of the grade. The students present the final project work orally to the examiners and the oral presentation itself is part of the assessment. Final project can consist of, among other things drawings (sections and plans), models, illustrations and text. Final submission requirements are detailed on Moodle.

Workload activity	Comment
Attendance	Participation and attendance in lectures, supervision at the desks in the studio, seminars and workshops is expected.
Excursion	Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in an excursion will be given an assignment/a project that replaces this.

Start semester

70 700 Pre-diploma Design

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Pre-Diplom Design

Course code:

70 700

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

Norwegian / English

Year:

2023

Person in charge

Rachel Troye

Required prerequisite knowledge

Completed 240 ECTS in total.

Course content

The PreDip course aims to help students to develop a solid launch pad for their diploma projects, one that will allow them to start their design/research process from a knowledgeable and critical position and with a clear plan.

The choice of theme is primarily in the hands of each student, and the direction in which this subject is to take is mainly the result of consultations between each student and their supervisor, the institute leader, and the course staff.

The course is organized in two main phases. The first phase focus both on the individual student’s own skills and interests and the choice of the actual theme of the project. This first phase will be presented and assessed at a midterm-presentation (after app. 1 month). The second phase deals with designing the actual project with a feasible project proposal as its main and final delivery.

Learning outcome

KNOWLEDGE

- A reflective, constructive and critical stance to his or her own disciplinary interests, strengths and weaknesses.

SKILLS
- An ability to pitch concepts for as well peers as for potential tutors and partners.

- An ability to develop a feasible diploma project as required at the Institute of Design at AHO.

- An ability to plan an independent or colloborative project.

GENERAL COMPETANCE
- An ability to convey his or her maturity as a designer at a level that make a positive outcome for a diploma project at AHO very likely.

- An ability to conceptualize design ideas into an actionable project proposal

- An ability to propose, discuss and plan an independent study and design project.

Working and learning activities

The course will mix lectures, own research and writing with presentations and tutoring.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Report	Individual	Pass / fail	The student is responsible for taking required initiatives to make agreement with both main and secondary tutor. Furthermore, the student should submit the required deliverables and present the given assignments in plenary presentations according to the timetable of the course. The final submission consists of a final written project description and a final plenary presentation, which both are compulsory. Passed course requires approved written project description and oral presentation.

Start semester

2023 Høst

40 557 Transformation in Practice: Extensions

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Transformation in Practice: Extensions

Course code:

40 557

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Person in charge

Amandine Kastler

Erlend Skjeseth

Required prerequisite knowledge

Admission to AHO and successful completion of three years bachelor level studies (180 ECTS).

Part of course series: Transformation in Practice

The course is open to students from: Architecture

Course content

No longer a fringe pursuit, transformation will arguably in large part be the future of architectural practice. The demand for a more sustainable building culture necessitates reuse first and new-build second. However, these seemingly opposing approaches are not mutually exclusive, as adapting an existing building for continued or new use frequently involves transformation through addition.

This semester the Transformation in Practice studio will center on the city's periphery to build into, on top of and around Oslo's suburban idyll. The studio will employ a typical architectural commission, transforming and extending an ordinary detached house. Designing domestic extensions in the suburbs is often the bread and butter of architectural practice in the early years. Although the mundane world of suburbia may feel like a stepping stone towards more lofty commissions, they usually entail modest size projects that require complex problem-solving. Nevertheless, they often hold the seeds of more significant ideas. So, the reciprocal ecosystem of house and garden will be essential as the studio asks: ‘is densification possible without the wasteful demolition of existing buildings and environments?’

The residential neighbourhoods of Oslo are a patchwork. The townhouses of Ullevål Hageby or Arctanderbyen are modeled on the British garden cities. The Byggmesterfunkis in Tåsen and Vinderen are Norwegian interpretations of Bauhaus modernism. Sveitserstil in Nordstrand travelled from the Berlin school of the mid-nineteenth century before finding its way into the design of domestic houses along the newly built Norwegian railway. Many of the timber buildings in Rodeløkka are vernacular houses moved from the outskirts of Oslo during the Industrial Revolution. Between these categorisable types is a plethora of ordinary suburban vernaculars that freely mimic, translate, and appropriate their neighbours while showing a noteworthy resistance to the influence of "High Architecture".

More than two-thirds of Oslo's inhabitants live outside the inner city, making the need to densify existing neighbourhoods a point of contention. The current dilemma is how to handle a forecast of continued growth inside a perimeter that is sanctified to protect the natural environments surrounding it. Crossing the line towards the outback is a no-go zone, and there is strong opposition to building tall buildings. One of the primary sustainability strategies involves increasing density within already built-up areas to diminish the need for cars, reducing CO2 emissions and protecting green spaces in urban environments.

The changing regulation for building individual houses has the clear ambition of preventing further densification of suburban areas with detached housing. While city officials are considering the implications of such a revision, the municipality put a temporary building ban in place. A divisive measure, the building ban was lifted on the 15th of February this year. In the age of climate change and circular economy, the value of everything that already exists increases. Desirable, yet environmentally inefficient, the detached house with its private garden will need to be radically reimagined.

This is architecture as general practice, working on ordinary everyday things. Working within the constraints and resources of a particular site and its environs, the studio will engage with the changing measures put in place by the regulations. The output of the studio will consist of well resolved projects with distinctive formal qualities built on clear intentions. The new architecture of the extension must enhance the existing place through a more sustainable form of development, one of addition without subtraction. Depending on the site, projects will engage with the transformation, connection and extension of existing buildings, as well the design of autonomous new additions.

The studio is closely linked to the practice work of Kastler Skjeseth Architects.

It is recommended to take the Restore: Values elective course in conjunction with this studio. The studio is part of the research project “Provenance Projected. Architecture Past and Future in the Era of Circularity”, run by Mari Lending and Erik Langdalen.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

Document and interpret the current condition, both quantitative and qualitative, of an existing building or site using architectural drawing convention.
Formulate individual architectural proposals based on close observation and analysis of existing conditions and identify the architectural qualities in one's own work that demonstrate a relevance to the field.
Understand the basic regulatory frameworks that govern architectural projects, such as zoning plans and heritage guidelines, assess their impact on one’s own architectural project.
Convey through oral presentation and writing an understanding of the key terms, definitions, and concepts of preservation and situate them relative to with to one’s own architectural project.

Skills:

Independently undertake a precise measured survey of a site, using analogue and digital surveying technology.
Design and build large scale material models as an approach to transform existing buildings and places.
Develop and architectural project using a research driven approach to working with existing buildings. This will involve working with archives and fieldwork

General competence:

Students will learn to practice as an architect within the field of building transformation.

Working and learning activities

A guiding notion for the course is that research, in its variety of forms, cannot be distinguished from ‘propositional thinking’. Rather, the act of reading, observing, surveying and fabricating new artefacts is all propositional by nature and therefore a powerful asset within design thinking.

The studio will be organised in three parts:

Survey: The studio will lend considerable attention to understanding context through fieldwork and surveying. Students will work on-site in the suburbs of Oslo to study variations in building culture, style and typology.

Artefact: The survey will be the foundation for the artefact, a large-scale material model that starts the inverted design process from fragment to building. The model is a physical and material manifestation of an essential component or junction found in the survey, translated into a three-dimensional piece at a detailed scale.

Proposal: Students will work iteratively to construct an architectural project that has contemporary relevance while engaging with the existing buildings and their gardens. Building on close observations of the context, students will develop their own architectural and technical agenda based on an understanding of current challenges.

Projects will answer to the specifics of the building while being relevant to the broader discourse on the future of this type of building. The architectural proposal will be developed through large-scale material models, both analogue and digital, and architectural drawings. Craft will inform contemporary construction methods and material exploration by learning from what has already been built.

The different work phases will be supported by workshops and seminars.

Case studies will form a collective repertoire of techniques for extending existing buildings that range in scale and character.

Curriculum

Course literature will be available in Leganto.

Mandatory coursework	Courseworks required	Presence required	Comment
Presence required		Required	Attendance and design production for twice-weekly studio meetings, attendance and presentation at mid-term, interim review and final crit is mandatory.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe)	-	Pass / fail	The final grade in the course will be given based on: - Attendance and design production for twice-weekly studio meetings: 30% - Mid review and Interim review presentation: 30% - Final review presentation: 40% The oral presentation is a part of the portfolio assessment. Mid review, Interim review and Final review: Work presented for the Mid review, the Interim review and the Final review will be evaluated according to the following criteria: - Conceptual Clarity: Students should demonstrate proactive engagement with the material and self-motivated intellectual pursuits that enhance their design ambitions. Students are expected to clearly articulate their ambitions and the intellectual underpinnings of their work in pin-ups and desk crits. - Technique: Students are expected to execute all assignments with care and precision. Assignments will be evaluated not only on the basis of the ideas but also to a large degree on the quality of the execution. Students are responsible for planning sufficient time for developing appropriate and thorough representations. Portfolio: The care taken in the compilation and design of the portfolio the presentation of physical models will be considered in the final assessment. The portfolio is to be formatted and printed at A2 or larger. Each student will also be required to design a portfolio booklet at A3 to accompany the printed portfolio.

Workload activity	Comment
Attendance	Students are expected to be present and working during all studio meetings, which occur twice a week. Students are also expected to be present during all seminars and reviews. Absences from studio meetings and reviews will affect the final grade and multiple unexcused absences can result in course failure. Students will be expected to work on site for parts of the semester. Teaching will consist of twice-weekly tutorials, seminars, peer to peer feedback sessions, pin-ups and reviews with invited critics. Students are expected to be active participants, to attend all trips, studio meetings, pin-ups and reviews, while keeping up with a rigorous level of production. This studio is a fulltime commitment.
Excursion	Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in an excursion will be given an assignment/a project that replaces this.

Workload activity

Comment

Attendance

Students are expected to be present and working during all studio meetings, which occur twice a week. Students are also expected to be present during all seminars and reviews. Absences from studio meetings and reviews will affect the final grade and multiple unexcused absences can result in course failure.

Students will be expected to work on site for parts of the semester. Teaching will consist of twice-weekly tutorials, seminars, peer to peer feedback sessions, pin-ups and reviews with invited critics. Students are expected to be active participants, to attend all trips, studio meetings, pin-ups and reviews, while keeping up with a rigorous level of production. This studio is a fulltime commitment.

Excursion

Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in an excursion will be given an assignment/a project that replaces this.

Start semester

2023 Høst

40 556 TAP 3 Buildings

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

TAP 3 Buildings

Course code:

40 556

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Person in charge

Beate Hølmebakk

Required prerequisite knowledge

Admission to AHO and successful completion of three years bachelor level studies (180 ECTS).

Part of course series: TAP - The Architectural Project

The course is open to students from: Architecture

Course content

The main goal of the studio is to give students systematic disciplinary training as well as design skills. The studio will be oriented towards the professional practice, focusing on architectural design of a given brief within a tight schedule. During the course, the students will develop three individual projects. Each project will be reviewed in a final presentation at the end of each project period. Thus, the studio will demand intensive work throughout the entire semester.

The three projects will focus on responsible building production through critical explorations of the following concepts: size, longevity, optimalization, adaption and reuse. Each project will have a specific architectural brief formulated by the studio teachers. The briefs will be fully developed before the beginning of the semester.

Project I: I Start 16./08. 2023 Review 22./09. 2023
Project II: Us Start 25./09. 2023 Review 27./10. 2023
Project III: All Start 30./10. 2023 Review 08./12. 2023

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

Responsible building production
Design methodology

Skills:

Architectural conceptualization
Architectural argumentation
Architectural representation

General competence:

Definition of design criteria
Curation of architectural process
Communication of architectural proposal

Working and learning activities

There will be a set semester schedule and a detailed program every week:

Mondays: Lecture and plenum discussions based on relevant texts.
Wednesdays: Individual desk crit according to schedule.
Fridays: Pin-up where students are encouraged to engage in each other’s work.

Each project will be reviewed collectively with an external critic. There will be different critics for each project, each chosen for their relevance to the project theme.

Final assessment will based on all 3 projects, at the end of the semester.

Curriculum

Course literature will be available in Leganto.

Mandatory coursework	Courseworks required	Presence required	Comment
Exercise	3	Required	It is compulsory to hand in and present work on given dates stated in the semester calendar. All three projects are to be submitted before final assessment.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe)	-	Pass / fail	Final assessment of work carried out in several stages throughout the semester. One overall grade is assigned to the folder.

Workload activity	Comment
Attendance	Participation and attendance in lectures, supervision at the desks in the studio, seminars and workshops is expected.
Excursion	Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in an excursion will be given an assignment/a project that replaces this.

Start semester

2023 Høst

40 555 Subject Matter: Rocks + Thoughts

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Subject Matter: Rocks + Thoughts

Course code:

40 555

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Person in charge

Thomas McQuillan

Required prerequisite knowledge

Admission to AHO and successful completion of three years bachelor level studies (180 ECTS).

Part of course series: Subject Matter

The course is open to students from: Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Course content

What should we be thinking about today?

This course will examine time in architecture and care in the extraction of material, to address sustainability as a basis of value. If we grasp the limitation of our time in relation to the eternity of the rock as a material, we might be able to design with a greater care for our environment.

At the cusp of the Anthropocene, we have begun to think differently about how materials are extracted and refined, and how they might repurposed in the future. With the growth of the idea of circularity and reuse, buildings can be seen as a ‘pause’ in the circulation of materials from the sites of their extraction to further future use whose conditions are unknown. As allied with the Provenance Projected project, this studio will study the origins of materials and their potential use as poetic markers of our time.

The students will be asked to design a space that questions how we think about our time. The project should deal with rock as a material, either extracted and transformed or in a natural state. In juxtaposition to this, the students will be asked to pair this material with one that addresses a different perspective of time: something fluid, transformable, shifting or immaterial.

Our teaching method aims to see each individual in their search for meaning and purpose in their development of professional core values. We see education as a time when students are able to develop ideas and meaning about their work and pay attention to what kind of architect and human being they would like to be. This requires independent thought, but also a sensitivity towards the fact that nothing is singular, but plural. For this reason, we see the studio as a whole group, and each project as a contribution to a larger discussion. We require the students to be involved in that common discussion.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

Knowledge of how a particular material comes about
Knowledge of the historical uses of a particular material
Knowledge of the environmental impact of a particular material

Skills:

The ability to conduct research
The ability to work with a particular material
The ability to design with and specify a particular material

General competence:

Competence in presenting ideas in word, image and artifact

Working and learning activities

The course is organized as collaborative studio in which student participation is essential. A weekly schedule includes lectures, tutorials and plenum discussions.

Excursion:

We believe that the study trip is an essential part of architectural education and see it as integral to the development of spatial awareness. There are several options for a destination. A final choice will be made by the course as a whole at the start of the semester.

Curriculum

Course literature will be available in Leganto.

Mandatory coursework	Courseworks required	Presence required	Comment
Presence required		Required	Students are required to attend tutorials and plenum discussions no less than 80%. Attendance at reviews (3 per semester) is mandatory. Students are required to present new work at each weekly meeting.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Project assignment	-	Pass / fail	The students work on a given/selected project throughout the course and the assessment is based on an assignment that counts for 100% of the grade. The students present the final project work orally to the examiners and the oral presentation itself is part of the assessment.

Workload activity	Comment
Excursion	Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in an excursion will be given an assignment/a project that replaces this.

Start semester

70 504 Systems Oriented Design: Design for Very Complex System

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Systems Oriented Design: Design for Very Complex System

Credits:

Course code:

70 504

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

Norwegian / English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Person in charge

Andreas Wettre

Required prerequisite knowledge

Passed foundation level (BA-level) courses at AHO in design or architecture or equivalent, 180 ECTS.

The course is suitable for all programmes; design, architecture, urbanism and landscape architecture students and is mainly open to 3. semester master students.

Course content

Learn to work with complexity – using Systems Oriented Design

For dealing with the complexity and uncertainty of complex contexts of interconnected social and ecological problems, a systems approach is needed to enhance the ability of the designer to design solutions that address the underlying drivers of the socio-ecological crises. This systems approach will empower students with the ability to rapidly learn and understand the complexity of the context to find the most effective places in the system to design interventions that are relevant to addressing the problems. The SOD methodology is applicable in any context and scale, from sustainable product design, better childcare services, to policy design to sustainability transitions of tourisme and society at large. An essential part of SOD is to use design skills to visualize complexity.

The methodology can also be used within a spatial framework, where one can focus on the spaces and places of a system as the drivers of the design project. Through the application of SOD to the fields of landscape architecture and architecture the course poses a challenge of expanding student’s work to address their spatial interests at a systematic context with a cross-scalar and transdisciplinary lens.

This SOD fall masters course invites you to get on the dance floor and jointly explore and play with ideas that are rooted in systems thinking and design doing. Through hands-on approaches and tools, you'll be able to take a systemic perspective to nurture your design practice to create things that are relevant to the complex world at different scales, from products to services to experiences to sustainability transitions of entire systems. It will allow you to learn how to use the toolbox you already know and expand it. If you are a curious person who likes to puzzle and have fun with exploring a context broadly and figure out what would be relevant to design to make systemic impacts, you have found the right course for you!

If you have done the “Introduction to SOD” in your 3rd year at AHO you will find that we in this course go deeper into SOD and adapting your thinking and skills in a different context.

If you want more information look up the menu Projects/Master projects at the website https://systemsorienteddesign.net

Teachers on the course: Andreas Wettre, Abel Crawford, Jonathan Romm, Corbin Raymond and Birger Sevaldson.

Learning outcome

Knowledge: Students will be introduced to System Oriented Design (SOD) as a method and approach, to:

Develop a sensibility for systems, relationships and consequences: cause and effect, to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales
Visualize complexity, and using these visualizations as a tool to understand and find interventions to improve the systems
Deal with uncertainty through unfolding and understanding complexity while working with “problematiques” (multiple interlinked problems)
Anticipate futures through developing an ability to understand and consider multiple future scenarios and evaluate the possible, probable and desirable, developing both individual and participatory visions of the future.
Anticipate thresholds for implementation and impacts of designed solutions.
Rich design space for working with interventions in complex problematiques
Critically think and self-reflect through considering questioning the norms, values influencing the opinions, behavior and decisions of yourself and the stakeholders they are designing for.
Considering your role as a designer and citizen in the local community and global society.
Navigate sustainability by being exposed to the state of the world and guiding design criteria for sustainability Regenerative, Resilient, Circular, Cross-scale design through a critical lens

Skills: Students will acquire skills in:

SOD as process-led methodology
Visualizing complexity and utilizing Rich Design Space
Research by design methodology
Systems Thinking
Sustainability Science
Critical Thinking
Dealing with uncertainty
Collaboration through interdisciplinary problem solving in groups
Visioning
Design Implementation plans
Workshop facilitation

General competence:

Students will be able to use SOD methodology to understand and tackle complex problems and to utilize systems thinking.

Holistic perspectives, ethics and sustainability as well as cultural, organizational, economic and technical considerations are central to the Systems oriented designer.

These perspectives and the ability to have the project overview is a very good competence for a designer in a team, and also excellent proficiency for a project leader.

Systems-oriented designers can play a decisive role in managing complexity in future societal developments. Systems-oriented designers typically can work in design consultancies, in organizations, in municipalities with service design, on policy level and in the private sector.

Systems-oriented designers are trained in techniques such as Gigamapping.

The systems-oriented designer is also a skilled workshop facilitator and leader of co-design processes.

Working and learning activities

Project plans are created for each project individually according to the demands. Each project requires, in principle, its own project design. The course itself is a dynamic social system that must be adjusted and tweaked in real time.In all modules you will develop your Rich Design Space. The students will choose whether to work in pairs, in a larger group or individually.

Structure of the course:

We aim for two “tracks” so that you can choose the one you prefer;

Systems-oriented design in ecologies of emotional experiences: A co-design project with youth, parents and workers in child welfare.
Sustainable Tourism, looking at various regions of Europe.

This course contains modules:

Module 1 (6 ETCS): Map, visualize and use design to understand the complexity of the systems you will be working with. Includes a week of boundary discussions to define your design brief. The plan is to do a field trip at the start of the module and possibly go back for back-testing later.

Module 2 (10 ETCS) Design your service/intervention.

Module 3 (8 ETCS) Back checking and design your implementation process.

Teachers: Andreas Wettre, Audun Formo, Abel Crawford, Birger Sevaldsson, Jonathan Romm, Corbain Rymond.

Curriculum

Designing Complexity : The Methodology and Practice of Systems Oriented Design (2022)
Author(s): Birger Sevaldson

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe)	Group	Pass / fail	At the end of the course the students shall deliver the following and this is what makes up the assessement: Final delivery: - Report (45% of evaluation) - Gigamap (25% of the evaluation) - Oral/visual presentation (20% of the evaluation) - Process board (Miro) (10% of the evaluation) These elements will include the work from all three modules. All project material is to be digitally submitted to an online assignment system.

Workload activity	Comment
Attendance	There will be milestone presentations at the end of each module to ensure and evaluate progress. Students are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials and presentations.

Start semester

70 510 Service Design 1: Service design practice

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Service Design 1: Service design practice

Credits:

Course code:

70 510

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Person in charge

Simon Clatworthy

Required prerequisite knowledge

Passed foundation level (BA-level) courses at AHO or equivalent, 180 ECTS.

Recommended previous knowledge:

Service design concepts, tools and methods
User-centred design methodologies
Qualitative research and analysis
Visualisation for dissemination
Ideation techniques
Prototyping
Concept communication

Course content

This semester allows Masters level students to further their knowledge of the key competences of service design within projects together with professional partners and in real service design settings. It aims to reflect on the methodologies related to service design in a real context, where projects are intended to be desirable and viable.

Students will hone their skills and practical knowledge of approaches and methods in service design, focusing on the design for front stage experiences whilst engaging with the complexity and challenges of back stage delivery.

Through the course students will work with one or a series of professional partners (private company and/or a public organization), where they will work as professional Service Design consultants. The students will be encouraged to challenge the assumptions of the professional partners in relationship to their (and customers) presumed needs as well as developing critical skills to reframe the design question.

The course’s orientation is essentially practical, it builds on the idea that the best way to develop skills is by means of projects and practical experiences, and by exposing the students to different experiences and feedback from multiple observers, multi-disciplinary actors and project partners.

Other teachers: Alberto Soriano

Learning outcome

KNOWLEDGE

Understand and appropriate Service Design methodologies relating to User-Centered Design for the development of service design projects.
Develop a reflective mindset about Service Design, its approach, process, deliverables, possibilities, limitations and implications.

SKILLS

Refine the skills of observation, analysis, and creativity that lead to the formulation of relevant and valuable solutions for the user(s) as well as viable and feasible for the service provider.
Develop the skills to understand how businesses and/or public organizations think and are structured, together with reflections on service designs role in working within these structures.
Visualize, communicate and prototype, both the current experience (what is) and the projected improved one (what could be).
Develop skills to evaluate the proposed solutions and business projects, according to the differential potential in the eyes of the user(s) and service provider.
Be able to plan and facilitate workshops for project teams.
Develop collaborative skills to work with other designers, users, and different stakeholders that enable a proactive and professional role in teams and in collaboration with project partners.

GENERAL COMPETENCE

Be able to describe the difference between products and services and what it means to design for service.
Gain methodical insight by actively participating in a service design process.
Promote professional experience in a real organization, strengthening the ability to work in teams with an emphasis on results.
Understand how service design can influence a company's strategy and value creation.
Experience of working with back stage service delivery and understanding the implications of designing in this space toward front end service experience.

Working and learning activities

Work with one or several real-life service design projects developed with a partner (a private company or public organization), where the students will work as professional Service Design consultants.

The main teaching will be based on tutoring sessions at the studio, innovation workshops, structured presentations and discussions within the course participants.

The course also integrates lectures, studio work (groups and individual), and project(s) in collaboration with external partners where the students will form and work as design consultancies.

Being a practice-driven course, the student’s progression through projects will be presented by means of:

Group and individual mid-term deliverables and presentations
Visualizations and communication of insights, findings and designed responses
Workshops
Evidencing material

Details regarding the calendar, main events, deliverables, and evaluation criteria will be described and detailed in the briefing for each project at the beginning of each section.

Teachers: Simon Clatworthy, Ted Matthews, Mari Suoheimo, Paola Trapani

Curriculum

This is service design doing: Applying service design thinking in the real world’ by Stickdorn, M., Hormess, M. E., Lawrence, A., & Schneider, J.

This is Service Design Methods: A Companion to this is Service Design Doing. by Stickdorn, M., Hormess, M. E., Lawrence, A., & Schneider, J.

An Introduction to Service Design: Designing the Invisible. Laura Penin.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe)	Individual	Pass / fail	The course will consist of one or several design projects with group and individual deliverables that will receive qualitative assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses. The students will be assessed on the quality of submitted major design projects and presentations throughout the course. The student must submit all assignments in the course to receive final assessment. The student’s progression throughout the course will be assessed by means of: • Evidencing material • Group and individual mid-term deliverables • Presentations • Project reports If a student does not submit these deliverables for whatever reason (medical absences etc), or if the delivery is too weak, he or she can deliver an improved project later in the semester, but must deliver before the final project commences (unless they have obtained an extension from administration). The project will have a final presentation, that will be assessed in pass or fail by an external sensor and the course leader. The details for each project regarding deliverables and evaluation criteria will be described in the brief for each project at the beginning of each module. Note: Whilst group work will be assessed as a whole as to the quality of their deliverables, individuals will be assessed in their contribution to this whole. Students who fail to contribute or show limited contribution or engagement will not pass this course. Therefore, assessment of group dynamics and collaboration will be ongoing throughout the course.

Workload activity	Comment
Attendance	This is an intensive course and it demands consistent and hard work from the participants. Although the projects are often developed in groups, individual deliverables will also be required during the projects. Students are expected to attend at least 90% of the main course events described in the detailed calendar for each project, in order to be able to pass the course. The course leader will take attendance 15 minutes after the beginning of each session. She/he will inform the students if they are close to failing the course, due to lack of attendance

Workload activity

Comment

Attendance

This is an intensive course and it demands consistent and hard work from the participants. Although the projects are often developed in groups, individual deliverables will also be required during the projects.

Students are expected to attend at least 90% of the main course events described in the detailed calendar for each project, in order to be able to pass the course. The course leader will take attendance 15 minutes after the beginning of each session. She/he will inform the students if they are close to failing the course, due to lack of attendance

Start semester

70 505 Design Studio

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Design studio

Course code:

70 505

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Required prerequisite knowledge

Passed foundation level (BA-level) courses at AHO or equivalent, 180 ECTS.

A third semester Master course (only available for students in their final year). Open for all design fields, but students are required to follow up and go in depth within their previous chosen specialisation/field in which they can document advanced design skills through a portfolio and application.

You must apply with a portfolio here before 2nd May: https://nettskjema.no/a/330736

Please specify which track you prefer.

Recommended prerequisite knowledge

This course builds on the design skills and methods learnt across the previous Foundation and Master courses. In “Design Studio” students and teachers integrate and push these skills and mindsets to create rich projects with a high degree of professionally. For students who want to take part in “Design Studio” a strong sense of curiosity, experimental outlooks and independence are therefore required. “Design Studio” allows students to tailor their own personal development as a designer in preparation for their diploma.

Course content

“Design Studio” is an advanced Master course where the students will develop projects across themes and partners curated by the Institute of Design. These can be connected to research projects, external partners or emerging problematics within the field of design. The ambition for this course is to develop stand-out projects where students go in depth into the issues they chose to work with, and create high level outcomes. The core values of the course are exploration and professionalism – meaning that the course encourages the development of reflection, criticality and new knowledge about emerging fields, but also has the ambition of developing high quality deliveries and communication.

In this course students will have a large degree of freedom and responsibility as to how their projects are developed. ‘Design studio’ is a place for students to integrate the knowledge they have gained throughout their education and work towards exploration, professionalism and specialisation. A central part of the studio course is to develop project-experience and knowledge about how different forms of larger design projects can be structured and executed.

Students work individually or in small groups. Each project will be followed throughout the semester by a supervisor and typically, a partner. Partners and supervisors depend on the specialisations and/or themes that the projects take up. Each track supervisor will be responsible for the students that choose to follow his or her track. The track may consist of one long project or several projects.

The main teaching structure is mentoring on project level and the ongoing evaluation of progress. There is a common structure for milestones and core-deliverables throughout the course (development of project descriptions and plans, documentation and deliverables, and main presentations). Co-learning is central across the projects, and students will be involved in developing research, lectures and course-materials for the whole group.

Projects will come out of curated themes and partners developed by the Institute of design or from research topics across the institute’s research projects. Projects can both be done as specialisations towards specific fields or in inter-disciplinary groups, where students from industrial design, service design and interaction-design work together.

Tracks for Fall 2023:

1. EDITORIAL

Track responsible: Mosse Sjaastad

Max amount of students: 12

Field: Interaction design

Prerequisites: Students will need to have had the course ‘Screens, or provide a portfolio, showcasing sufficient experience in designing for screen based experiences.

In this track, we will take a broad view of 'editorial', and engagement with content and information.

Through 3 modules, students will through hands-on and explorative approaches, look into :

- learning- and reading experiences

- storytelling

- news and public information

2.DESIGNPRO

Track responsible: Kathinka Bene Hystad

Max amount of students: 12

Field: Industrial design

Prerequisites: Students need to have at least one out of two semesters on master level focusing in industrial design or provide a portfolio showcasing an equivalent experience.

The course focuses on a professional execution of the subject, where the student is expected to take an active role in their own projects. The course is organized as a design studio where regular meetings, mutual contributions, workshops, evaluation and feedback between course participants provide deeper learning. The course is built around four themes.

• Sustainability week across the industrial design courses for increased competence and insight.

• Main project in a complex context where the students have to utilize their interdisciplinary design expertise towards industrial design.

• Seminar in inclusive design for empathetic, innovative and sustainable product development.

• A shorter project with an international partner focusing on sustainability and branding.

Learning outcome

KNOWLEDGE

The core knowledge outcome of the course is to integrate and mature the processes and methods learnt across the Master of Design.
Further, students are expected to develop domain-specific knowledge across their projects.
Knowledge about how advanced design projects can be structured and organised.

SKILLS

Develop and mature individual skillsets as designers.
In “Design Studio” students develop and expand core project-handling skills. Including scoping, research, project-description, time-management and communication.

GENERAL COMPETENCE
Across “Design Studio” the goal is to develop the maturity of the students’ design competence and skills. This is done by both focusing on exploration and professionality on an advanced project-level.

Working and learning activities

The main activities of the course will be project- and specialisation-specific. Across the course there will be a focus on learning project planning, developing and scoping. The course is run in a studio setting, and co-learning across the projects, with some shared lectures and presentations etc, are important. The students will be required to make and present one topic specific “lecture” to the whole “design Studio:”

Curriculum

Reading list will be available in Leganto.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Project assignment	Individual	Pass / fail	Students accepted to the different Design Studio tracks must define their own learning outcome together with the track responsible, after deciding their focus area. This will be the basis for their final evaluation. The assessment method is to be decided by the track responsible in dialog with the student. Students need to present and submit all projects, documentations and presentations in order to be assessed for the course. Students also need to schedule their own mentoring sessions.

Workload activity	Comment
Attendance
Workshops
Evaluation (mid term)

Start semester

70 509 Strategic Design

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Strategic Design

Course code:

70 509

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Person in charge

Einar Sneve Martinussen

Required prerequisite knowledge

Passed foundation level (BA-level) courses at AHO or equivalent, 180 ECTS.

A third semester Master course (only available for students in their final year). The course has interaction- and service-design as its starting-point, but is open for all design fields. Students are required to document advanced design skills in their chosen specialisation/field through a portfolio.

You upload the portfolio + motivation letter here before 2nd May: https://nettskjema.no/a/330741

Recommended prerequisite knowledge

The course builds on the design skills and methods learnt across the previous Foundation and Master courses. In “Strategic design” students and teachers integrate and push these skills and mindsets to create rich, reflexive projects that address societal issues through design. For students who want to take part in this course a strong sense of curiosity, experimental outlooks, societal engagement and independence is therefore recommended.

Course content

This is an advanced Master course about ‘strategic design’ and will introduce the students to how design methods and tools can be used to address societal challenges. Through this course students will learn about theories and methods from the field of strategic design and get practical experience from applying these in design projects. The course is led by Einar Sneve Martinussen and Joakim Formo, associate professor at AHO, and developed together with Dan Hill, former AHO-guest professor and former director of strategic design at Vinnova. Over the last decade, Dan Hill has been an important contributor to the field of strategic design and describes the approach as follows:

"Strategic Design takes the core principles of contemporary design practice – user research and ethnography, agile development, iterative prototyping, participation and co-design, stewardship, working across networks, scales and timeframes – and then it points this toolkit at ethical concerns, addressing systemic change within complex systems, and broader societal outcomes.” Dan Hill (2019)

This course has a focus on strategic design in the broader context of societal development. Students will get to apply and expand their skills and mindsets as designers through practical, exploratory projects that work with a range of societal issues - including sustainability, power and equity, policies for urban- and societal-development, innovation and knowledge, welfare and public services, and citizen participation. Alongside these practice-led projects the course will offer a rich selection of theoretical and inspirational lectures and seminars. A particular focus for this year’s course is exploring social infrastructures for everyday life, meaning the structures that enable social life and participation in society. We will re-examine the potential of traditional social infrastructures, such as libraries, schools, public pools, parks or markets. We will also explore and conceptualise a broader understanding of social infrastructure that could include nature, technologies, digital services, social relations and cultural experiences. Through the projects in the course students will use design methods to develop strategic interventions in the world today, as prototypes and pilot-projects, as well as designing future scenarios. The course brings together research-initiatives at AHO with ongoing projects in the public sector. Collaborators and cases for 2023 are not confirmed yet, but will likely include projects dealing with social sustainability and equity, neighborhoods and urban planning, innovation in the public sector, and designing for learning and knowledge-sharing in society.

The ‘Strategic design’ course is a part of D-Box, the National Centre for Transforming Public Services (a collaboration between AHO, BI and DOGA), and is organised together with the research-group Digital Urban Living. Key partners and collaborators from these research-groups and networks will be involved in the course. This course builds in part on the series of courses organised by Digital Urban Living over the past years, and will continue our exploration of many of the themes addressed in here, including digital society, sharing culture, inclusion, futures and trust

Learning outcome

KNOWLEDGE

Students will:

Get an overview of research, theory and projects within the field of strategic design.

Gain an understanding of issues faced by designers working with societal challenges.

Develop a critical framework for analysis, evaluation and discussion of design-work in the field of strategic design.

SKILLS

Students will:

Practice using their design skills as a part of a strategic design methodology, including prototyping, communication, scenario-building and iterative processes.
Design interventions with a focus on both engaging experiences and strategic outcome.
Expand their repertoire of practical and theoretical design skills.

GENERAL COMPETENCE

Students will:

Gain a stronger ability to explore and understand connections between design and society.
Develop the ability to conceptualise and communicate possibilities and solutions in the context of societal challenges.
Further develop design competencies such as curiosity, experimentation and critical reflection.
Get experience in collaborate across the class in a studio-setting

Working and learning activities

The course has two core components: a series of thematic seminars that run throughout the semester, and a series of design-projects. The seminars will be run by teachers and external guests and address a series of themes that will inform the development and discussion of the design-projects. The design-projects will be run with external partners and the students are expected to develop, and in part organise, these projects with a high degree of independence and professionality. The majority of the work will be done as pairs or groups, as well as through collaborations across the whole class. Projects typically have multiple presentations throughout in order to allow students to see and comment on each other’s work. Co-learning with and from other students is an important part of the course, and it is encouraged that the majority of the time is spent working in the class studio in order to develop an inspiring and encouraging design-environment.

Teachers: Einar Sneve Martinussen, Joakim Formo

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe)	Individual	Pass / fail	The students will be assessed on the quality of submitted design projects and presentations throughout the course. The student must submit all assignments in the course to receive final assessment. Other aspects that is evaluated are active participation and collaboration in class, independence, professionality, co-learning and collaboration with others. The students are expected to attend in all collective activities (workshops, presentations, seminars) and participate in the studio throughout the projects.

Start semester

70 303 Digital fabrication, technologies and processes

Credits:

Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:

Digital fabrication, technologies and processes

Course code:

70 303

Level of study:

Master

Teaching semester:

2023 Autumn

Assessment semester:

2023 Autumn

Language of instruction:

English

Year:

2023

Maximum number of students:

Required prerequisite knowledge

Passed foundation level (BA-level) courses at AHO or equivalent, 180 ECTS.

Prerequisite prior knowledge: Completed foundation education or equivalent. Basic prior knowledge in CAD tools such as Rhino, Solidworks, Alias, Blender etc. is required.

Recommended prior knowledge:

Prior knowledge of 3D printing and related technologies is recommended.

The course is open to design and architecture students.

Course content

Digital fabrication is in rapid development and increasingly involved in design and architectural processes, as a tool for prototyping and construction. The course is meant for design- and architectural students at master's level, that seek a deeper insight in the utilization of digital fabrication, in their studies and elsewhere.

This course will give insight into use, limitations and possibilities with some of these technologies through practical, hands- on exercises. The course is meant for both design and architecture students who want a practice based understanding of existing and emerging digital fabrication technologies. The course will enable the students to explore many of these technologies through small workshops and exercises.

SUPPLEMENTIVE INFORMATION

The course is a collaboration between the academic staff at the Institute of Design, the Institute of Architecture and staff at the workshops at AHO.

Learning outcome

KNOWLEDGE

At the end of the course the students will

have knowledge about SLA, SLS, FDM, 3DP, lasercutting, knifecutting and 3D scanning.
have hands-on knowledge in how to run the different machines.
know how to evaluate the usefulness of the different processes.

SKILLS
With the completed studies the student will

be better equipped in utilizing the latent potentials of the technology in the setting of product-/interaction- and architectural design.
possess the necessary knowledge involved in preparation and pre-processing of digital CAD files.

GENERAL COMPETENCE
The student should be able to explain the choice of methods for realizing the tangible object, and why.

Working and learning activities

As with other elective courses the course will consist of weekly learning activities, lectures, material exploration and use of available digital fabrication processes through exercises in the workshops. The course culminates with an exhibition demonstrating selected outcome of the course.

Teachers: Ricardo Simian, Geir Jarle Jensen

Curriculum

Anderson, C. (2012). Makers: the new industrial revolution. Random House.

Hopkinson, N., Hague, R., & Dickens, P. (2006). Rapid Manufacturing: An Industrial Revolution for the Digital Age. John Wiley & Sons.

Thompson, R. (2007). Manufacturing processes for design professionals. Thames & Hudson.

Form of assessment	Grouping	Grading scale	Comment
Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe)	Individual	Pass / fail	Assignments will be given between ordinary course days. 5 of these are required to be submitted and is part of the assessment. The will also be a final oral examination.

Mandatory coursework:	Exercise
Courseworks required:
Presence required:	Not required
Comment:	It is compulsory to hand in work on given dates stated in the semester calendar. Mandatory work requirements must be met for the project assignment to be assessed.

Form of assessment:	Project assignment
Grouping:	-
Grading scale:	Pass / fail
Comment:	The students work on a given/selected project throughout the course and the assessment is based on an assignment that counts for 100% of the grade. The students present the final project work orally to the examiners and the oral presentation itself is part of the assessment. Final project can consist of, among other things drawings (sections and plans), models, illustrations and text. Final submission requirements are detailed on Moodle.

Mandatory coursework:	Presence required
Courseworks required:
Presence required:	Required
Comment:	Attendance and design production for twice-weekly studio meetings, attendance and presentation at mid-term, interim review and final crit is mandatory.

Form of assessment:	Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe)
Grouping:	-
Grading scale:	Pass / fail
Comment:	The final grade in the course will be given based on: - Attendance and design production for twice-weekly studio meetings: 30% - Mid review and Interim review presentation: 30% - Final review presentation: 40% The oral presentation is a part of the portfolio assessment. Mid review, Interim review and Final review: Work presented for the Mid review, the Interim review and the Final review will be evaluated according to the following criteria: - Conceptual Clarity: Students should demonstrate proactive engagement with the material and self-motivated intellectual pursuits that enhance their design ambitions. Students are expected to clearly articulate their ambitions and the intellectual underpinnings of their work in pin-ups and desk crits. - Technique: Students are expected to execute all assignments with care and precision. Assignments will be evaluated not only on the basis of the ideas but also to a large degree on the quality of the execution. Students are responsible for planning sufficient time for developing appropriate and thorough representations. Portfolio: The care taken in the compilation and design of the portfolio the presentation of physical models will be considered in the final assessment. The portfolio is to be formatted and printed at A2 or larger. Each student will also be required to design a portfolio booklet at A3 to accompany the printed portfolio.

Mandatory coursework:	Exercise
Courseworks required:	3
Presence required:	Required
Comment:	It is compulsory to hand in and present work on given dates stated in the semester calendar. All three projects are to be submitted before final assessment.

Languages

2023 Høst

Start semester

40 554 Speculative futures #1 Europe in transition: Venice case

Start semester

70 700 Pre-diploma Design

Start semester

40 557 Transformation in Practice: Extensions

Start semester

40 556 TAP 3 Buildings

Start semester

40 555 Subject Matter: Rocks + Thoughts

Start semester

70 504 Systems Oriented Design: Design for Very Complex System

Start semester

70 510 Service Design 1: Service design practice

Start semester

70 505 Design Studio

Start semester

70 509 Strategic Design

Start semester

70 303 Digital fabrication, technologies and processes

Pages

Workload activity:	Attendance
Comment:	Participation and attendance in lectures, supervision at the desks in the studio, seminars and workshops is expected.