We are happy to announce that Pirjo Sanaksenaho, Head of Department of Architecture, Aalto ARTS is inviting all NBAA members to AALTO on Thursday April 18^th and Friday 19^th.

In addition to the Heads of Schools, Education and Architecture Programmes/Majors, the study coordinators are welcome to join and meet in Finland.

The theme is dealing with questions related to the post-covid teaching environment, curriculum updates caused by sustainability, AI teaching and smooth study paths. Each member school attending should prepare 10 minutes presentation of their curriculum and current issues.

Please find the preliminary program under “Next Meetings” and remember to register.

We are happy to announce that Prof. Kimmo Lylykangas is inviting all NBAA members to TALTECH on Thursday October 26^st and Friday 27^st. So far, we have tree main speakers:

Prof. Dr. Oya Atalay Franck, president, EAAE European Association for Architectural Education will join us on a discussion on the relationship between NBAA and EAAE.

• Pärtel-Peeter Pere, an MP, advisor for green transition at TalTech, and Editor in chief of the Climate Neutral Construction Roadmap 2040 for Estonia, has also promised to give us a talk.
• and finally professor Sofie Pelsmakers will introduce us to the new digital curriculum on climate change, developed by a consortium of five European schools of architecture in the Arch4Change

Please find the preliminary program under “Next Meetings” and remember to register.

We are happy to announce that the Head of Research and Deputy Head of Umeå School of Architecture, Cornelia Redeker, would like to invite all NBAA members, including the international coordinators, to Umeå in Sweden on Thursday April 27th and Friday April 28th.  The main theme of the meeting will be practice-based research assessment methods. There will also be a NBAA members meeting, a session on how to support the Ukrainian Architecture Schools and a visit to Sara*s Kulturhus.

Please fint the preliminary program under “Next Meetings“

We are happy to announce that the Head of Oulu School of Architecture, Janne Pihlajaniemi, would like to invite all NBAA members to Oulu in Finland on Thursday November 17th and Friday November 18th!  He also wants to point out that the 10th annual Lumo Light Festival is organised from November 18th to November 20th, so there will also be an opportunity to join in on this event during the visit.

Please note that the program will be presented later.

Creative workshop for the Nordic Baltic Academy of Architecture network students

Apply here
Application deadline: June 5, 2022

Workshop leaders: 

-Marius Pranas Šaliamoras, architect, Dean of Vilnius Faculty, Vilnius Academy of Arts (VAA)
– Aušra Siaurusaitytė Nekrošienė, architect, head of the Architecture department at VAA
– dr Marius Daraškevičius, architect, director of Panemunė Castle, part-time lecturer at the department of History and Theory (VAA)
-other external speakers.

Dates: July 27 – August 3, 2022
(arrival Wednesday, departure the following Wednesday)
Where: Vilnius, Vilnius Academy of Arts
ECTS: 5
Level: BA & MA
Seats: 17

Panemune Castle

Funding:

Grant:
Once accepted, students will be able to apply for NBAA travel grant (330 euros per person from outside Lithuania, Icelandic participants 660 EUR), students are encouraged to book the most economical and ecological means of transport. Grant application form here.

Accommodation: students will be accommodated for free at the VAA dormitory, situated in the very heart of the Vilnius old town (Latako St. 2, Vilnius).

Meals: Lunches daily on 28 July – 2 August, two dinners and a barbecue will be arranged for free by the VAA. Students are expected to take care of breakfast and other meals by themselves.

Please note that the Nordplus funding can only be allocated to the mobile students (those, whose home country is other than Lithuania). Students from Lithuania would not be provided with accommodation, even though they would be invited to participate in all other activities (lunches, dinners, trips) for free.

Summer course description

 This is the first NBAA/ Nordplus summer course, which will be hosted by the Vilnius Academy of Arts, in Vilnius (Lithuania).

Over the course of 7 days students will be working on the concept of green architecture, specifically researching the below:

1. How to meet the need of the urban population to have a garden in the city;
2. Integration of nature in the urban environment;
3. Reconciliation of private and public interest in green architecture objects.

 

Keywords: sustainability, green growth, community co-work, local contexts, local

governance, lessons from 20th century history, challenges of 21st century.

The creative workshop will examine the formation of a new urban environment, the transformation and adaptation of existing buildings and spaces to create green architecture. The possibility of transforming the existing street of massive gardens (with narrow, mono-functional, deficiencies of public spaces, etc.) into a full-fledged urban structure of green architecture, friendly nature and man is examined.

The phenomenon of collective gardens is mainly associated with the Soviet period and the situation of economic deprivation at that time.

The question is: Can new (not necessarily) collective gardens emerge: a place for the city residents to spend their free time, a space to replace the park, an informal horticultural farm and similar objects and spaces?

One of the major challenges of the contemporary world is to reduce carbon footprint, how to create solutions which are sustainable and green in a long run and how to create urban environments that are addressing these problems collectively in local contexts. How to examine, research and look at these matters is in every architecture- and design schools’ curricula today. Most of the member schools of NBAA schools offer studio-based education, which means comprehensive studio practice is the key element of mostly 5- year architecture and urban studies programmes. The studio work focuses on project work, integrating academic knowledge and applied skills. A low faculty to student ratio is a cornerstone of individual development and collaboration. Basing on this information, it is clear that bringing students together from different NBAA schools means that their approach to contemporary architecture education is similar and they all have a solid foundation for completing the workshop.

 

 

Jakob Brandtberg Knudsen was elected as the new rector for the NBAA in the member meeting at the Aarhus School of Architecture on Friday April 29th.  Jakob is the Dean of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy.  He is following Ole Gustavsen, rector at the Oslo School of Architecture, who has been NBAA rector since 2015.

In the same meeting Jūratė Kamičaitytė, Head of Architecture study programs at Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the Kaunas University of Technology was elected as the new vice rector for the NBAA.  She is following Ugis Bratuskins, Dean at the Faculty of Architecture at the Riga Technical University, who has been NBAA vice rector since 2013.

Please find the preliminary program for the NBAA member meeting at the Aarhus School og Architecture and note that the theme for the meeting is RECALIBRATE.

Please also use the “Registration” under Next Meeting and do so before April 21st.

We are looking forward to see you all in person for the first time after two years of pandemic.

The NBAA network of 19 Nordic and Baltic schools of architecture stands together with educators, scholars and students – and with all the people in Ukraine.  We stand for freedom, for sovereignty, for peace.  We stand against violence and aggression. We are profoundly condemning the brutal, senseless war and shocking invasion of Ukraine.  Independent Ukraine is not a threat to any country.  President Putin’s refusal to accept this country’s right to freedom and self-determination has had devastating consequences not for just one democratic country, but attacks the values of individual freedom in the democratic world at large.  It attacks the people in favour of democracy in his own country.  We are against the terroristic violence, which destroys the freedom and possibility of building a hopeful future for both the Ukrainian and Russian people.  We are against the tragic violence, which destroys the freedom of building a hopeful future for both the Ukrainian and Russian people.  

We stand for unwavering support and solidarity with our Ukrainian colleagues.  And at this darkest moment, we also stand for our Russian colleagues who are refused their free future as well.

Please note that the next NBAA Member meeting on Thursday October 28th and Friday 29th 2021 at the Bergen School of Architecture in Bergen and not at the Aarhus School of Architecture in Aarhus.  The meeting at BAS will be a physical meeting if the C19 restrictions allow for it and we will arrange for an online option for some of the program.

If the C19 restrictions do not allow for a physical meeting there will be an online meeting on Friday October 29th at 12:00 to 14:30.

The NBAA Member meeting next spring in April 2022 will be at the Aarhus School of Architecture in Aarhus.

 

CALL for project applications to Nordplus Higher Education Programme through NBAA  network
DEADLINE: January 25, 2021, to be sent to sandra.mell@artun.ee
(Nordplus deadline is Feb 1, 2021).

We kindly ask your project descriptions along with the budget file in order to insert it in the application system of Nordplus. Please use Nordplus Handbook (pages 26 – 34) or turn to NBAA at home to find out more.

The type of projects that we are waiting for are:
1. INTENSIVE COURSES (please use the forms below)
Download application form 
Download budget form 
2. JOINT STUDY PROGRAMMES (please use the forms below)
Download application form 
Download budget form 
3. DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (please use the forms below)
Download application form 
Download budget form 

MORE IN DETAIL (copied from NP handbook):

Intensive courses
Nordplus Higher Education awards grants for intensive courses lasting between one week (five working days) and one month. Courses may take place during term time or in the summer by way of short courses, symposiums, master classes or workshops. Intensive courses must include students and academic staff from at least three different countries. The courses must yield ECTS points and must be recognised as part of the students’ degree. The number of ECTS points should be stated in the application.
PhD students may act as teachers on intensive courses. They are not eligible for a grant if they are students in the programme. The same intensive course can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted. It is recommended that the hosting institution is rotated.

Examples of past intensive courses in sister CIRRUS network:
Urban Gaming
Nature Design and Innovation. Imprint
Traditions and Innovation

Joint study programmes
Nordplus Higher Education awards grants for development of joint study
programmes.
Nordplus joint study programmes are defined as follows:
– Programmes are full-degree study programmes established according
to national legislation.
– Programmes lead to a degree recognised by national authorities.
– Degree certificates with a Diploma Supplement are issued according to
national legislation.
– Mobility is integrated into the programme setup.
– Programmes are developed jointly, and all courses and study units
should be approved by all participating parties.
– The collaborative venture is governed by a signed agreement defining
its aims as well as the roles of the participating parties.
The same joint study programme can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted. Joint study programmes are complex processes. HEIs can combine Nordplus and Nordic Master grants in various ways. More information on Nordic Master is available on www.nordicmaster.org. The website consists
also of many useful handbooks and guides on joint programmes.

Development projects
Nordplus Higher Education offers grants for innovative development projects within the field of Higher Education.
Apart from joint curriculum planning and joint
modules, projects may focus on issues such as:
– Collaboration with the labour market
– Quality assurance
– The dissemination and use of results achieved by networks and projects
– The development of collaborations with other institutions in the public
or private sectors as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
within Higher Education
– The development of new teaching methods.
The same project can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted.