LAA350 Projects in Urban Development. Architecture, Form and Space

Credits (ECTS):20

Course responsible:Anja Kristin Standal

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Norsk

Limits of class size:60

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:Aprox. 500 hours

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in Autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in Autumn parallel.

About this course

H-2022, LAA 350 will continue with the same case as in H-2021, to explore development opportunities along the local train section between Oslo and Ski, if the train line transformed into a light rail transit (bybane). . Last year, we explored the development potential around existing stations. This year we will also look at developments around possible new stops.

We will explore how such areas can be developed in a way that repairs and rebuilds the urban tissue. We will work with structures, volumes and spaces. The exploration should be interdisciplinary and the results show how the quality of built and unbuilt urban structure depends on a joint effort of various actors in urban development. How to achieve sustainable solutions is a pervasive question.The content of the course is urban development at the project level. Specific spots will be analyzed, opportunities will be explored and work will be done with quality goals related to physical density, structural relationships and effects on the city's form and content.

The emphasis in the course is project work (group) that goes through the entire semester. Each group will explore opportunities for higher exploitation in a given bounded property. The groups will program their task within a common framework. It should be done feasibility studies that 1) shall assess the financial performance of the unit 2) will be discussed in a contextual connection and transformation object 3) as a contribution to socio-cultural and economic values of the property 4) as a contribution to regional development 5) sustainable development. The course provides theoretical knowledge about:

- Development and change of architecture and urban design. - Ambient effect on people's use and experience - building conservation, energy use and new development possibilities.

The course emphasizes a high degree of independence. Students must through programming phase be able to understand and weigh the issues of the case and select methods to investigate these.Tools and presentations will range from a written material to presentation by means like film or web pages. It may be appropriate to carry out field work during the semester. This will not be mandatory.

Learning outcome

In LAA 350, students gain knowledge and skills to prepare proposals for developing different properties within the already built urban structure. At the end of the course, they have gained experience in interdisciplinary problem solving and project work. Students from the master's programs in landscape architecture, urban and regional planning and property development have learned to collaborate and develop a joint project proposal (a feasibility study). They have acquired a relevant competence for the reality they will attend as a graduate.

The course requires a strong self-going attitude to learning. The students' learning outcomes depend to a large extent on how the students take responsibility for their own learning and collaborate by utilizing their background knowledge. Students become aware of their own academic background and future role by communicating subject-specific knowledge to others and learning from their fellow students to find solutions across academic positions.

After the course, the students will be able to understand, describe and apply a wide range of theory and methods that are part of the urban development processes; - development and change of architecture and urban form. - the environmental impact on people's use and experience of urban space - building protection, re-use, energy use and new development opportunities, etc.

The course requires students to apply skills and tools acquired in other subjects. In this course, students will learn how to calculate plot utilization in combination with building digital 3D models to visualize and test density. Skills gained through the feasibility study are:

• Describe and analyse urban form

• Prepare and compile various analyses

• Use different calculation methods to calculate density and spatiality

• Assess the spatial qualities in between building structures (use and experience)

• Consider how the structural contexts provide accessibility and mobility

• Weigh different solutions towards sustainability goals

• Apply different presentation techniques to communicate contextual understanding, problem and solution

After completing the course, the students will have acquired a unique interdisciplinary competence that is relevant to the working life, for example:

  • Collaboration in planning goals, methods and process to get the assignment done and take joint responsibility for the result
  • Develop interdisciplinary insight by understanding and weighing different academic positions against each other
  • Develop trans-disciplinary (holistic) solutions by learning creativity and applying 'design thinking' in practice
  • Test different solutions through an iterative design process that involves receiving feedback and working on better solutions
  • Learn to recognize quality in built environment and communicate about it
  • Gain awareness of one's own professionalism through interdisciplinary collaboration
  • .Programming task, concept development, analysis, teamwork, exploring the relevant methods, fieldwork, visual presentation and communication. Enhance writing skills in individual essay.
  • Requires MA level.
  • The assessment of the students learning outcome is based on a project work (in group) handed in at the end of the course. During the semester must the students smaller mandatory tasks. The students will get feedback on their project work trough the whole semester. The final credit (A-F) is based on the assigned group work (the project).
  • Sensor will be present and discuss with the students during the presentation of the project work.
    • Present at Startup Seminar
    • Midterm seminar and conclusion seminar
    • Submission of all assignments (have to be approved).
  • Approx. 100 hours spent on seminars
  • M- LA, M-BYREG, M-EIE, M-EUTV
  • -
  • Letter grades
  • Minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (generell studiekompetanse)