Campus og studiemiljø - Bygningsstyrelsen

“ i dag skal jeg mødes med min gruppe for at udarbejde
en analysestrategi til vores projektarbejde. vi har booket
os ind i et af universitetets vidensværksteder / today, i am
meeting my group to prepare an analysis strategy for our
project work. we have booked ourselves into one of the
university's knowledge workshops
IntroductIon
Much too often, the debate about the physical
study environment is reduced to a discussion
of the number of student facilities and
services. Should we have more computers,
more reading places, more thesis places,
more party facilities, a canteen? And although
such discussions are important, we
think that the development of the physical
framework should take its starting point in
a wider discussion of which qualities the
university of the future as a knowledge institution
should inspire and provide room for.
The physical framework is the starting point
for the university’s architectural and material
set-up. But the significance goes beyond
bricks and buildings. The physical framework
determines, facilitates and stimulates
different forms of study life.
Our basis for writing this essay is thus that
the physical framework ‘creates space’. However,
to create space is more than just creating
places. Consequently, we have chosen
to combine concrete ideas for the physical
design and interior decoration with a discussion
of the qualities that we believe to be
central to the study life of the future. We
have selected four qualities, which we think
a physical framework should allow space
for: in-depth studies, knowledge, connectedness
and inspiration.
Basically, students differ. We study different
subjects. We study in different ways, at
different times, and we develop differently
in the course of our studies. It is therefore
a success criterion to us to create a lively
and flexible physical framework that does
not dictate which activities can unfold in
the space. The perfect study environment
emerges in interaction between people,
activities and the physical place. Material
and social aspects are closely related. In
other words, the physical framework cannot
be separated from the life that unfolds
within it.
The design of the physical framework must
consider local conditions at the individual
educational institution and the individual
subjects. This essay is written on the basis of
our own student life at the Faculty of Social
Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.
We are the special type of students whose education
is characterised by a high degree of
independent study. A large part of our study
life is spent either in a classroom or with our
heads buried in a book or our fingers on a
keyboard. Although the concrete design of
the physical study environment necessarily
will and must vary, we still believe that the
qualities we describe can be applied to the
work with physical frameworks at all institutions
of higher education.
tre stemmer: studerende / tHree voiCes: students
In-dePtH studIes: Peace and QuIet
and reFlectIon
I enter the room where I and four other students
have our workstations. The room is seething
with activity and atmosphere – knowledge is
created here. I have constructed my workstation
of four elements, which I have been able to combine
myself. My choice includes small bookcases
for my books, a locker, a height-adjustable table
and a couple of mobile partitions, so that I can
adjust my contact to the rest of the room. The
desk and the partition walls also serve as interactive
surfaces, on which I jot down my ideas,
make mind maps and drafts for outlines, which
I can transfer directly to my computer. I am
able to unfold my knowledge in several media,
forms and dimensions. The room is arranged
as a decentralised working environment. This
means, that close to my workstation, I have
everything I need: photocopier and printer, tea
and coffee and a small room where I can take a
power-nap.
Life as a student is a nomad’s life. We constantly
move around between classrooms,
with books and laptops under our arm. This
constant mobility is essential to student life,
but there is also a need for spaces where indepth
studies are the focus. Spaces created
for peace and quiet, where we can have a
private sphere and work with a concentrated
effort. One way of making this possible is by
providing us with a personal workstation. A
workstation that we can compose individually,
adjusting its boundaries both in space
and sound. A base, where we are anchored
and do not need to worry about practical issues
such as, where can I find a socket for my
computer, a network connection or a place
to put my stuff?
A workstation provides the basic conditions
for in-depth studies, but at times, it may be
necessary to have the opportunity to withdraw
completely into absolute silence. We
imagine that small physical spaces be created
within the space. Little cocoons or dens
where you can find perfect quiet and a different
atmosphere. A door that opens onto a
haven, where we can read or simply gather
our thoughts, find new energy and strength.
We imagine that the workstations be
gathered in little work communities in small
rooms, as otherwise noise would be inevitable.
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