AHO WORKS STUDIES 2011-2012
Studio-Based
environment, a doctoral programme involving
approximately 50 research fellows and three
research institutes. About half the studio
courses are closely linked to research pro-
grammes; the other half are linked to artistic
and creative practice.
Then there are profound differences. The
design education at AHO seems to have a very
unsentimental relation to its own history and
inherited industrial identity, and is striving,
very successfully, to be a part of the Norwe-
gian systems for innovation. The Institute
of Design has a rich portfolio of innovative
research projects financed by the Norwegian
Research Council and collaborates closely with
industrial partners. Architecture, on the other
hand, is very conscious about cultivating an
established tradition and adapting established
ways of working with current challenges. In
my opinion, this is not opposed to a critical
attitude. The school has grown an excellent,
internationally speaking research environment
within the theory and history of architecture.
Today’s lack in relevant innovative work with
real influence in architectural and building
practices is met by strategies for knowledge
development within the housing sector and
urbanism.
Directives issued by the EU and national au-
thorities are most often aimed at quality con-
trol and compatibility, but my impression is
that schools of design and architecture are spe-
cialising rather than standardising, ambitious-
ly trying to define and refine their own profiles.
This might be seen in the light of competition
between supplier of education, but also as at-
tempts to adjust to the needs of practice and to
open up new fields for practice. An interesting
study done a few years ago by the EAAE – an
organisation networking European schools of
architecture – looked into what knowledge or
performative abilities employers were looking
for in the newly educated. Traditional profes-
sional skills were rated lower than expected.
Creativity, an ability to think conceptually,
skills in communication and teamwork, and an
understanding of other disciplines and other
fields of knowledge were extraordinarily high-
ly appreciated.
AHO adheres to the academy tradition in
teaching. Organised in studios, learning is
predicated on doing, synthesising knowledge
in investigations and projects. The intention
is try to treat each student individually and
to maintain a resource situation that retains
this as a possibility. A problem with the old
master/apprentice studio model was that it
had the both positive and negative potential
of conserving old skills and knowledge. The
transformation of the school into a research
and investigative institution has renewed the
studio as a platform for education.
