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Moving Boundraries Nordic X, Program page header, A photo of Aalto Studio.jpg


The 4th Edition of Moving Boundaries: Human Sciences and the Future of Architecture and Lighting Design, directed by Tatiana Berger, Architect and Professor (ANFA Advisory Council Member and President of ANFA Portugal) , and Co-Chaired by Architect and Professor Kurt Hunker, FAIA and ANFA President (Chair-Professor of Architecture)  and by Scientist and Professor Katharina Wulff (Chair-Professor of Science), offers an intensive 12-day course in the interface between disciplines concerned with design of the built environment and scientific disciplines concerned with human perception and behavior. These disciplines include neuroscience, neurophenomenology, cognitive science, environmental psychology, health sciences and others. The course/conference will run from August 12-23, 2024 at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm and at Aalto University in Espoo/Helsinki. Hosts in Stockholm are Johanna Enger, Senior Lecturer at Konstfack and Ute Besenecker, Assistant Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Host at Aalto University is Jenni Reuter, Professor of Architecture. The Moving Boundaries Nordic X Program is dedicated to Finnish Professor and Architect, Juhani Pallasmaa, who joins us on the faculty. 

 

Grounded in the culture of Stockholm for 9 days, followed by Helsinki, Finland for 3 days, participants will experience the rich cultural landscape of both locations and will visit and study the work of Gunnar Asplund, Sigurd Lewerenz, Alvar Aalto and contemporary architects such as Juhani Pallasmaa and Juha Leiviska. A field trip will be offered outside of Stockholm and we will experience works by architects noted above, in Stockholm and Helsinki. Invited faculty include some of the most distinguished architects, environmental psychologists, lighting and interior designers, philosophers, cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, ecologists, anthropologists, sociologists and health experts in the world. 

In the Nordic world of long summer days and equally long winter nights, place shapes space for its greatest architecture. Here, the work of Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz in Sweden and Alvar Aalto in Finland, along with that of their contemporaries, defined a special, humanistic form of Modernism recognized early in the 20th century as a distinct counterpoint to the universality of the International Style. It is an architecture rooted in Nordic traditions and local materials, responsive in a most compelling manner to the unique conditions of daylight near the Arctic Circle and the impacts of seasonal extremes. It is one of carefully modulated light and of hapticity—truly an architecture of atmosphere, lending itself to investigations psychological, physiological, neural and biological as well as architectural. This 2024 edition of Moving Boundaries will explore the phenomenon of Nordic Architecture to uncover its paragons, lessons and inspirations towards a more meaningful—that is to say, humane—architecture and design for the twenty-first century and beyond.​

“The elements of architecture are not visual units or gestalt; they are encounters, confrontations that interact with memory.”

- Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin

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PROGRAM AND ROSTER OF SPEAKERS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

August 12th - 20th

STOCKHOLM 

August 20th

STOCKHOLM   -   travel by night ferry   -   HELSINKI

August  21st - 23rd

HELSINKI

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Ecology of Light in Space
  (Updated on July 25, 2024)
Monday, August 12
Stockholm

9:00

10:00

 

 

11:00

11:45

12:15

1:00

2:00

4:00

4:45

5:15

 

7:30

Coffee, Check-in at Konstfack 

Opening Remarks:Berger, WulffHunker

Welcome to Stockholm: Enger, Besenecker

Faculty Introductions  

Introduction: Berger  

Lecture 1: Cranz 

Q&A Discussion 

Lunch in Groups (Introductions)

Lecture 2: Panda (remote)

Q&A Discussion

Workshop Intros / Team Discussions; Depart by 6:45

Welcome Dinner (complimentary)

Celebration in Stockholm with participants and faculty

Tuesday, August 13
Stockholm
 

9:00

 10:00 

10:15

11:00

11:30

 

1:00

1:50

3:30

4:00

6:00

6:15

 

7:30

Coffee/Poster Presentations

Brismar Palsson    

Lecture 3: Hunker 

Q&A Discussion

Break; Lectures 4a/4b: Axelsson, Brismar 

Q&A and Panel Discussion

Lunch  

Poster Presentations/Networking (optional 30-minute session)

Workshop 1: Teams 1-6

Break

Discussion in Teams / Workshop continues

Dinner 

Wednesday, August 14
Stockholm


 

8:00

 

9:30

 

10:00

10:45

11:30

 

12:30

2:00

 

 

 

7:30

 

8:00

Tour: (50 ticket-holders max.) Stockholm Library

Travel to KTH Campus 

Welcome to KTH: Besenecker

Lecture 5: Wulff

Q&A and Break  

Lecture 6: Besenecker 

 Panel Discussion and Q&A 

Moderator: Hunker 

Lunch near KTH

Lecture 7: Örn 

Tours: Travel to Woodland Cemetery by Lewerenz and Asplund; Sketching with Mark Alan Hewitt and visit with Johan Orn

(Optional) Ostermalm Market Hall self-guided visit

 Dinner 

Theme 1: Ecology of Light in Space 

Moving Boundaries Nordic X is organized around two major themes, Ecology of Light in Space and Interweaving of the Senses in Design, each of which explores one particular aspect every day.  The program begins Monday, August 12th in Stockholm, cosmopolitan capital of Sweden, with its rich history of outstanding Modern architecture, urbanism and design.  Light is the topic and following the first day’s Introduction to Light and Human Biology, the activities of this first week examine distinctive aspects of light in space:  perception, psychologies and science.  Lectures by a distinguished roster of architects, designers, ecologists, lighting experts and scientists are augmented with  workshops and afternoon tours to the beautiful Woodland Cemetery of Asplund and Lewerentz and other sights.  Ecology of Light and Space concludes with a half-day field trip in the Stockholm Archipelago.

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Ecology of Light in Space
Thursday, August 15
Stockholm

9:00

10:00 

10:45 

11:20 

11:30

12:15

12:45

1:00

2:00

3:30

 

4:00

6:00

6:15

7:30

Coffee/Poster Presentations

Lecture 8: Hurlbert

Q&A Discussion

Break

Lecture 9: Enger

Q&A Discussion 

Break

Reflection (in teams)

Lunch 

Poster Presentations/ Networking (optional session)

Workshop 2: Teams 1-6

Break

Discussion in Teams / Workshop continues

Dinner 

Friday, August 16: FREE DAY

Recommended in Stockholm:

Swimming in center (off cliffs or piers), Kayaaking around Venice of the North, Exploring city center, Museums, etc.

 

Evening of Aug.16: Sauna, Walks in town 

Saturday, August 17
Stockholm

10:30

- 11:30

1:15

4:45

 

 

 

 

After 8:00

11:15 

 

 

Meet at Artipelag 

Lunch (self-organized)

Field Trip to Archipelago

Boat Trip 

Visit Island 

Return to Stockholm

Part 2 (Add-On): Ytterjarna kulturhus and village

Talk by Ahlin 

Sketching Outdoors

Free Time in late afternoon

 

Visit:

James Turrell - Skyspace

Return to Stockholm

  

Sunday, August 18
Stockholm

9:00

10:00 

10:45 

11:20 

11:30

 

12:15

12:45

1:00

2:00

3:30

5:15

6:00

6:15

7:30

Coffee/Poster Presentations

Lecture 10: Lowden

Q&A Discussion

Break

David Dorenbaum in Conversation with Ellen Ruge

Q&A Discussion 

Break

Reflection (in teams)

Lunch near Concert Hall  

Tour: Queen Sylvia Concert Hall 

(3:30-4:45)

Workshop 3: Teams 1-6

Break

Discussion in Teams 

Dinner 

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 Interweaving of the Senses in Design
Monday, August 19
 Stockholm

 

 

9:00

10:00 

10:45 

11:20 

11:30

12:15

1:00

2:00

3:20

 

7:45

Coffee/Poster Presentations

Lecture 12: Griffero

Q&A Discussion

Break

Lecture 13: Kjellander

Q&A Discussion

Workshop Presentation 

1 Team 

Lunch

Workshop Presentations 

5 Teams

Dinner and Pack  (last night)

Tuesday, August 20 
Stockholm
 

9:00

10:00

10:45

11:00

11:45

 

12:30

1:30

 

Coffee/Poster Presentations

Lecture 14: Robinson

Q&A Discussion

Lecture 15: Chiba

Q&A Discussion with Robinson/Chiba

Lecture (remote): Valero Ramos

Discussion and Q&A: Valero Ramos and Dorenbaum

Farewell Speech by President

of Konstfack Univ.

Free time in Stockholm

and Lunch (pack)

Prepare to travel to Helsinki

 

Boarding time TBA 

Night Ferry to Helsinki

(or fly this afternoon)

 

Wednesday, August 21
Espoo and Helsinki 

10:30

 

 

 

 

12:30

1:30

2:30

3:00-

3:45

4:00

 

4:30

6:30

7:30

7:45

Arrive in Helsinki by ferry

Disembark until approximately  11:15/11:30

Check in at Hotel/Airbnb, then at Aalto University, in Espoo  

 (Lumituuli Aud. in Dipoli Building)

Lunch on one's own at Aalto Univ.

Lecture 16: Pallasmaa

Response: Ingold (remote)  

Q&A Discussion

with Professor Pallasmaa

Travel to EMMA 

(4:00-4:20)

Visit: Exhibition Tapio Wirkkala: designed by Pallasmaa

Espoo Museum of Modern Art

EMMA

Leave EMMA (board MB buses)

for Boat Landing 

Celebration: Banquet on an island near Helsinki, in honor of Professor Juhani Pallasmaa

Theme 2: Interweaving of the Senses in Design

The second theme initiates the events beginning Monday, August 19th as the program nears the end of its Stockholm residency.  Sensing Light and Color and Atmosphere and Experience are the first topics, explored in lectures and workshops.  On Tuesday Moving Boundaries sails—literally, on the night ferry—out of Stockholm Harbor for Finland’s capital and largest city, Helsinki.  Over the next three days emotional, material and haptic qualities of light and color are considered in talks by globally-recognized speakers and in workshops and tours.  Helsinki provides a rich source of Alvar Aalto’s work, from his house and studio to major commercial and civic designs, where his mastery of what has come to be called “multisensory design” is on full, magnificent display.  Moving Boundaries Nordic X ends appropriately on Friday, August 23rd, with Summarizing and Interweaving. Participants will come away from this engaging and inspiring two weeks with a new appreciation for the very fundamentals of inspiring, humane design:  light and daylight, time, color, materiality, and atmosphere.  

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 Interweaving of the Senses in Design
Thursday, August 22
Espoo 

9:00

10:00

11:15

12:00

12:15

 

1:00

2:30

3:15

3:45/

4:00

6:15 

 

7:15

7:45

Coffee/Poster Presentations

Lecture 17: Roe

Response: Chiba and Jeffery

Q&A Discussion

Break

Lecture 18: Grafton Architects

LIVE-STREAMED from Aalto Symposium

Lunch at Aalto Univ. 

Lecture 19: Hewitt

Q&A Discussion 

Discussions: In tour groups

Parallel with Aalto Univ. Tours

Lecture 20: Pérez-Gómez (remote)

Q&A Discussion 

Dinner on one's own 

Friday, August 23
Espoo / Helsinki

9:00

9:30

10:15

10:45

11:30

12:00

1:30

 

 

3:00

3:30

 

 

7:30

Coffee

Lecture 21: Reuter

Q&A Discussion

Lecture 22: Jeffery

Q&A Discussion

Lunch at Aalto Univ.

Final Event: Panel Discussion with all Faculty; Q&A - Summarizing and Interweaving: Hunker, Robinson

Certificates of Completion

Travel from Espoo to Helsinki  

Arrive in Center

Tours: Helsinki (optional)

Finlandia Hall outside (int.closed); Aalto Studio/House

Library; Free Time in Helsinki  

Dinner in Helsinki (self-organize with your group)

Saturday, August 24
Helsinki

9:00

Coffee in Helsinki (location TBA)

Optional: this gathering is not part of the MB official program

 

Free Time in Helsinki or Self-Organized Tours of Buildings by Aalto, Pallasmaa, Leiviiska, and other architects

 

Self-coordinated w/Aalto Symposium visits or independently (MB can provide contacts) 

Optional "Add-On Program":

Join group tours at: Villa Mairea and/or

Paimio Sanatorium (Tour of Paimio at 6:30 / Dinner at 7:30 / Option to Stay Overnight)  - Extra Fees

 

Also Suggested: Buriel Chapels at edge of Turku; Turku city

For those with 1-3 more days: Travel to Jyvaskyla

Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design

At Sweden’s largest university specializing in art, craft and design, you can develop into and inhabit those obvious roles that stem from our programmes – artist, designer, interior architect, graphic designer, illustrator, teacher as well as a craftsperson in a range of materials – such as a jewellery designer. And of course there are a number of paths to take within the design field, from product and furniture design to designing services. But our alumni also include actors, directors, game designers, fashion designers, project managers and supervisors. A degree from Konstfack is a creative, academic, solid foundation on which you can stand, dig deeper into and develop from. An education which allows you to participate in contemporary social debate by developing attitudes, environments, products and services in private as well as public spaces.

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Aalto University, Espoo
(near Helsinki) 
Dipoli Building

 

The School of Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University is a merger of distinct institutions of higher learning in Finland, each with its own tradition and history. Before merging into Aalto, TaiK educated many of the household names of Finnish art, design and cinema. Many alumni, such as Tapio Wirkkala and Kaj Franck, are internationally recognised.The department of Architecture, while part of Helsinki University of Technology, was the alma mater of the preeminent names in modern Finnish architecture, most notably Signe Hornborg, Eliel Saarinen, Alvar Aalto, Viljo Revell, Reima Pietilä, Timo Penttilä and Juhani Pallasmaa.

The campus at Otaniemi is considered by some to be one of the finest ensembles of Finnish architecture in the world, as it has been planned and built by renowned architects. We will teach in the Lumituuli Auditorium, inside the Dipoli building, designed by Reima and Raili Pietilä.

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