In this studio you engage in an exploration of Danish and Scandinavian design practice through challenging assignments addressing real sites and issues in and around Copenhagen. Studio groups combine students of different levels and backgrounds. This course is taught vertically, and expectations relate to you as an individual student.
Enrollment in a professional school or department of architecture or design. Two spatial design studios at university level.
Faculty
Sine Lindholm
Cand.arch. MA (Architecture). Certified Nature Therapist. Architect and Founder Sine Lindholm Studio (2018-present). Architect and Founder, Husum & Lindholm (2016-present). External lecturer at DIS (2016-present). Architect, Project Leader Briq Group (2016-2019). Several artist residencies in Bermuda, Iceland, Mallorca, Rome, Provence (2014-present). With DIS since 2016.
Christian Reese Cordes
Cand.Arch, Architecture and Sustainable Materials, Aarhus School of Architecture, 2022. Guest Teacher, Architecture and Furniture/Interior/Product Design, Scandinavian Design College, 2018–2022 and 2023–present. Teacher, Architecture, Scandinavian Design College, 2022–2023. Project Consultant, Saint-Gobain DK, 2023–2025. Guest Critic, DIS DK, 2025–present. Teacher, Architecture, Krabbesholm Højskole, 2026–present. With DIS since 2026.
Jarl Peter Angelo Gottlieb
M.arch, Architecture, Architecture and Extreme Environments, The Royal Academy – School of Architecture, 2019. Architect, PLH 2019-2021, ARUP 2021- present. With DIS since 2026.
Christina Lotzemer-Jentges
Diplom Ing. (Architecture, Design and Construction, RWTH Aachen, Germany, 2007). Project leader at Christian Kerez, Zurich (2007-2008). Competition Lead at Wiel Arets Architects, Maastricht (2008-2012). Scientific Researcher at TU Dortmund GER (2012-2015). Docent at Peter Behrens School of Arts, Düsseldorf (2012-2018). Project manager at Gottlieb Paludan Architects, Copenhagen (2023-2024). Self-employed founder of L-J STUDIO. With DIS since 2025.
Long Study Tour
About this tour
The week-long study tour to Finland or Sweden forms an integral part of the studio curriculum by exposing you to high-quality historic and modern architecture, as well as urbanism in Scandinavia. You will see city spaces and significant buildings in locations such as Stockholm, Helsinki, or Turku, as well as architectural patterns of inhabitation in the more natural settings of central Finland or Sweden.
We will focus on themes of memory and identity as a framework within which the designs and sites can be understood. Particular emphasis is given to innovations in spatial organization, constructive and material expression, and the treatment of daylight in public buildings, museums, libraries, and funerary chapels.
To add to your understanding of the cultural identity of Northern Europe, you will have the opportunity to explore nature, visit museum exhibitions, see the major sites, and taste local cuisine. The sites visited, as sensory architectural experiences, provide opportunity to develop your critical observation skills and diagrammatic and representational proficiency. Simultaneously, you will be equipped with a vocabulary of design concepts, strategies, and materials, which can be applied in your own creative work in studio and beyond.
Learning outcomes
Study contemporary and historic Scandinavian architecture and landscape architecture
Understand how design shapes human experience through the manipulation of light, material, spatial proportion and sequence, and integration of landscape and architecture
Develop sketching and note-taking skills for recording impressions of sites in a journal
Possible activities
Visit religious architecture: Skt. Petri Chapel at Klippan, the Woodland Cemetery near Stockholm, Chapels of the Holy Cross and Resurrection in Turku, or Myyrmäki in Helsinki
Tour works by Alvar Aalto including Jyväskylää University, Saynätsalo, Muuratsalo, Paimio Sanatorium, the Academic Bookstore, Finlandia Hall, or the Aalto Studio and Home in Helsinki
Explore patterns of urban development in major Northern European cities like Stockholm or Helsinki
Looking for some advice? We’ll support you every step of the way.
