The Leeds School of Architecture Yearbook 2023

Copenhagen
BA (Hons) Architecture and BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design students have
recently returned from a fieldtrip to Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen.
The group spent four days soaking up the culture at the epicentre of ‘Scandi-Cool’ with
its enigmatic blend of contemporary architecture, creative reuse, and centuries old
history. The goal was to explore architectural design driven by a clear sustainability
agenda, with high-quality urban master planning and public green spaces.
Students visited some of Europe’s most interesting buildings, including the
impressive Danish Architecture Centre by OMA, Copenhill by BIG, and the modernist
masterpiece SAS Hotel by Arne Jacobsen.
The opportunity to physically visit examples of high-quality architecture is incredibly
important for students who are developing their own style, searching for inspiration,
and looking to gain a global perspective. This is especially important post-lockdown
as fieldtrips provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of space.
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Third year undergraduate and post graduate Landscape Architecture students visited
Copenhagen for four days in November 2022. Copenhagen is at the forefront of
planning green infrastructure for city living and students experienced this by cycling
the harbour and city centre viewing residential living, recreational waterfront leisure
and urban park development.
They also visited the university of Copenhagen landscape architecture department
to sample their learning and visit their studios and local environment. We offer a
post graduate international exchange programme with this University. We also took
the train over to Malmo in Sweden to have a glimpse of future sustainable living at
Bo01 in the Western harbour.
Northumberland
London
Lisbon
Second year undergraduate Architecture students visited Lisbon, Portugal
to explore a range of abandoned sites as a basis for their design projects in
semester one.
They explored ‘daily life’ in Portugal’s urban locations and took the opportunity
to document historic sites in the Mouraria neighbourhood of Lisbon. Through
individual and group work, students collated their findings through experimental
analogue and digital methods.
Whilst here, students examined the commonplace of daily life routines and
memories of the city.
Mouraria is the birthplace of Fado music, a traditional Portuguese sound that
developed as a communal documentation of life, but also as a political message
during the dictatorship regime. Although the area has a lot investment, there
are pockets that remain neglected and in need of cultural infrastructure.
The trip coincided with the Lisbon Architecture Triennale at the Centro Cultural
de Belém Foundation (CCB), which helped to define the importance of contextual
and ecological relationships with site, and reinforced the practice of curating
artefacts, film, and narrative.