BETWEEN SPATIALITY AND THEORETICAL REFLECTION

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Between SPatiality anD theoretical reflection
the phd programme at aarhus school of architecture
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Mette Volf
The following pages provide a brief presentation of
current PhD projects at Aarhus School of Architecture.
The school’s three-year PhD programme primarily
addresses graduates of architecture and design.
Emphasis is placed on students becoming familiar
with general academic standards of relevance for
performing a PhD project. To this end, there are
courses in the theory of science and academic
prose.
The programme also presents students with a se-
ries of current debates on themes connected with
the common professional culture – and the connection
of this culture to a more general aesthetic
and intellectual tradition. Furthermore the PhD
programme constitutes the institutional framework
around a communicative fellowship between
students, and great importance is attached to participants’
knowledge of and discussions concerning
each other’s projects.
From a more programmatic angle, studies are
intended to stimulate a research practice that
involves more than simply adapting to academic
models. This is because it is important to continually
produce new examples that reflect the special
professional character of research into architecture
and design. Inquiring architects and designers are
encouraged to promote a dialogue between visualspatial
phenomena and the linguistic-conceptual
framework that characterises theoretical analysis
and reflection.
Jørgen Dehs
Head of the Research School 2010