Work 07 | copingincopenhagen

Copenhagen, DK

February 21, 2017

Architecture Foundations Core Course

& our first project

Our first studio project and critique

Studio Space and having lunch at our Professor's firm

Below you can get a glimpse of the layout of our studio. There are two sections of the Architecture Foundations studio core course this semester, each with about 10 students. We each have our own desk, locker and board where we can pin up our work. The rest of the photos in this section are of my Professor showing our class around his Architecture firm's studio space as well as introducing us to a traditional Danish meal and lots of his homemade rye bread. It was delicious!

In Architecture Foundations Studio we have a total of two projects. During and between each class period we work on sketches, hand crafted study models, a spread of inspirational works of art and architecture from online, software renderings of models, etc. During class we also usually have mini desk critiques with our professor or occasional group discussions of our work with peers. For the project we just completed, we got to choose a sculpture from the Glyptoteket Museum (I have pictures of the museum visit a couple blog posts ago). Our task was to create a structure that fit within a 5m by 5m by 5m cube to house the sculpture that would be located in a plaza right across from the Glyptoteket. While the maximum dimension/volume was in the shape of a cube, our final designs could take on any form so long as we did not go over the maximum boundaries of the 5x5x5 meter cube. For example, the exterior of my final model was not a cube but rather it was loosely the shape of an arch (when looking at the top-down plan view) and in the center of the structure I left an opening for a tree. The structure we were assigned to create would ideally tie the story behind our sculpture with both the architectural themes found within the Glyptoteket museum as well as the architecture of the plaza that the mini exhibition would be placed in. [Later this week I will add more detail about the specific designs of my project and how my project progressed to its final state].

*click on the photo to see it in full*

Every student at DIS has to take a "core course," which is the student's main course that is usually in the same area of study as their major back at their home university/college. The professor and the group of students in your core course are also the people you travel with during your short study break as well as one of your long study breaks. At my home university my major is Architectural Studies and at DIS I signed up for the "Architecture Foundations studio" core course. DIS offers a lot of core course options within Architecture and Design, including Architecture Foundations Studio, Architecture Design Studio, Interior Architecture Foundations Studio, Interior Architecture Studio, Urban Design Foundations Studio, Urban Design Studio and Furniture Design Studio. The difference between the regular studios and the Foundations studios is that if you are a student attending an undergraduate college/university where upon graduating you don't receive a professional degree to become a licensed architect, (aka you don't receive a Bachelor of Architecture degree) you usually join the Foundations class. I am attending a liberal arts college and although my major is Architectural Studies, I will not be graduating as a licensed architect. I was therefore recommended to sign up for Foundations studios. There are also students in my Foundations class who (back at their home university) are majoring in an area of study outside of Architecture and Design and are either minoring in Architecture or have a strong interest in the field and want to explore this interest while abroad. In my experience the Foundations Studio has been very accommodating to students with different levels of architectural experience and once presented with the project topic, everyone works at their own level.