studio intro

Master studio BAS autumn 2011


Emerging arctic landscapes

The objective of the studio is to create a platform for critical discussions on the changes currently taking place in the Arctic region. These are changes in climate, ecologies, landscapes, societies and cultures - changes that by all accounts can be expected to accelerate in the close future.


We see an increasing tendency within the field of landscape architecture to focus on the ‘design’ of landscapes: as the development of new uses for post-industrial land or as transformations of existing land into new park landscapes in connection with strong forces of urbanization. A common feature that may be observed is how nature becomes artificial, generic and is reduced to a design object simply through processes of medialization and conceptualization, and how physical transformations often are linked to consumption – visual or otherwise.


The major part of the Arctic may still be seen as ‘genuine’ nature and as cognitive landscapes, and demand a different approach and different means of investigation than those applied for already ‘domesticated’ landscapes. Global warming, environmental disturbances and political pressures combine to create a completely new physical ‘ground’ which puts great demands on the enfolding response of architects and landscape architects. The need to develop a critical awareness and alternative forms of knowledge in connection with this development transcends the traditional design focus. Serving as a backdrop, the intention is to use the master studio to emphasize the need to focus on the northern regions, a focus which to a large extent has been lacking until now.


The studio will arise along a road trip from Hammerfest to Murmansk - a slow journey in a cross section of remote arctic landscape and intrusive development:
From the oil-driven growth of Hammerfest (from fish to oil – and the resurrection of the city after WWII), via the new urbanization of Alta, the surviving sami culture in Kautokeino and Karasjok, the decaying and mythical city of Vardø, and the abandoned fishing village of Hamningberg. The trip takes us to the pending economy in Kirkenes, the destructed landscapes of Bjørnevatn – crossing the Russian border into the remote and desolated landscapes, cities and settlements on the Kola-peninsula - via the extremely heavy polluted nature in Nikkel, the trip will end in Murmansk – a city in transformation, from a soviet military stronghold – to a modern and emerging economy, waiting for the oil to arrive.


There are numbers of possible points of departure for the debate, and for the issues wished focused on. In this studio we want to investigate a broad span of examples of landscape occupations and arctic urbanizations - and study the forces of growth and decline that are working in the arctic. The studio will debate the position of an architect in vulnerable landscapes and the intersection between careful awareness and complete destruction.


Through textual studies, lectures and comparative examples we will gain new knowledge that enable us to approach a concrete situation for a profound understanding of the context and the forces at work. We want to use a blog to communicate the learning and collect the findings from the process, and also for the students to present their work as a continuous process. The studio will expect curiosity and an open-minded effort from the students to learn, and to experience knowledge that is not obvious - and that has to be carefully investigated to be operative for the planning process.