Denmark Elective | Arkitektur
Trans—arkitektur: exploring spatial experience and design through recording, digitalisation, and augmentation.
Trans – Arkitektur is an elective that has fostered an ongoing collaboration between UON Architecture and Aarhus School of Architecture (AARCH) in Aarhus, Denmark.
The annual trip, comprising of thirteen Architecture students, guided by Dr Nicholas Foulcher and Nicholas Flatman has recently returned from another successful collaboration, exploring design, digitalisation and augmentation.
The short course, spanning 10 days over the mid semester break seeks to examine the relationship between increasingly ubiquitous digital devices and perceptions of space.
The students workshop these ideas through recording, abstracting and visualising ephemeral and transient qualities of public space using everyday technology over the course of the program to develop architecture that is derivative of these momentary qualities.
Students worked in groups of 4 to develop architecture that enhanced and revitalised spatial quality. Third year student Miller French-Lightfoot’s project focused on reimagining and reactivating the public furniture that was scattered along the waterfront. Reflecting on his time at the Aarhaus campus Miller noted “In essence I believe this elective was a great opportunity to explore virtual platforms of communication”.
The workshop faculties and prototyping culture within the Aarhaus school made a huge impact on the students, with Miller keen to follow on with the project to another level - “future courses could expand on this and interact with digital fabrication tools and robotics available within the Aarhus School of Architecture”
Dr Nicholas Foulcher shared his perspectives on the collaboration process, in particular the similarities and differences in studio culture, design process and practice between the two participating Architecture Schools. “The studio culture is also very similar to our own. Our students were given a space to work that was very central in the campus, sharing doors and corridors with other students in the AARCH program. AARCH is renowned for its workshop—facilities for concrete casting/printing, wood working, metal working, robotics, 3D printing punctuate the student work, reflecting a very hands on connection to the design process and the particular area in which their architecture is created. This is where our connection is the strongest; a connection to site and place.”
If you would like to engage further with the work, download the Augument app and scan the red AR trackers to see the students designs come to life. https://www.augment.com
