How to empower architectural students and prepare them for a work life where they potentially can take influence?  And engage themselves in formulating relevant and beautiful architectural answers to issues of society?

This book document and reflects a design process for a conceptual architectural design of a secondary school in Germany – made according to a Scandinavian pedagogical principle. And pose possible answers to the question by showing teaching examples and tasks of the Learning Journey of the students. The Scandinavian teaching approach systematically foster a safe non-competitive atmosphere by showing trust, caring for each other and allowing for failure. This significantly improved the Studio Environment.  

It is made with master students of architecture during a three-semester visiting professorship of the Sto-Foundation at the Technical University of Munich named: “A View North - Changing Architectural Practice”.

The aim of the professorship was to introduce a Scandinavian perspective in the teaching culture at a German university, focusing on issues such as methods in design practice, gender as well as opening up for new business fields in architecture. Students are introduced to contrary theoretical perceptions of “context” From the philosophical idea of phenomenology and genius loci to the idea of pragmatism and the influence of a complex financial and sociality reality on the built environment.

The ability to acknowledge the context of a project from multiple angles is a necessary competence today and in the future. Thus, while making a conceptual design proposal for a school, students systematically test out analytical and representation methods, each related to a different perception of context.

The book is structured in four chapters, each representing a working methodology. One can browse through the book and find - and copy if you want - the exact description of the tasks that was done on the way. As well as see the warm-up exercises, which had a more pedagogical and also social purpose. Target group is people interested in the field of architectural teaching and pedagogics as well as students of architecture who are curious to see how other students work and thereby reflect one’s own studies. 

The Learning Journey. documentation of the process of designing architectural concepts
Pages: 153
Type: Book
Author: Mikala Holme Samsøe
Editor: Mikala Holme Samsøe    
Department: Department of Architecture
Publisher: Technische Universität München
Chair: Sto Stiftung Gastprofessur
Year: 2021
ISBN: 978-3-948278-19-9