Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The student will recognize the intrinsic features and the multidisciplinary and multimethodological nature of the design disciplines. The student will gain essential skills to develop their knowledge base, follow good scientific practice, monitor the research scene according to their individual interests, and apply research thinking in their projects critically and independently.

Credits: 3 - 6

Schedule: 02.09.2024 - 24.11.2024

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Anni Vartola

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

Contact via email: anni.vartola@aalto.fi.
I’m available for consultation by appointment and happy to help you with any issues concerning this course.

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  The course gives an overlook to architectural and design research, their methods and core ideals through lectures, analytical and self-reflective exercises, textbooks, and research papers from the field of architecture, landscape architecture, and interior architecture.

  The course has three editions to choose from:

  • A) the 6 ECTS standard edition (autumn);
  • B) the 3 ECTS small edition (autumn); and
  • C) the 3 ETCS small self-study edition (spring; works both as a stand-alone course and as an add-on).

• applies in this implementation

  After the course, the student should:
  

  • comprehend the inherently multidisciplinary and multivalent nature of architectural research and its rich options;
  • be able to distinguish between the professional and the scientific domain in the field of architecture;
  • be keen to apply critical research thinking to their own academic and professional activities;
  • have an idea of how research and design can contribute to one another in a productive manner.
    
  It would also be nice if the student would:
  
  • be able to compose a credible and feasible research plan for their own projects – whether artistic or academic;
  • be able to assess and use various data sources for knowledge acquisition according to their interests.

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  The course is assessed pass/fail. Participation at classes is 100% mandatory; any absence must be compensated with individually negotiated extra coursework.

• applies in this implementation

  Accepted coursework requires that the student has completed all the tasks and exercises by the end of the course and been present at all the classes. Exceptions for course deadlines are negotiable.
  

Workload

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  The workload amounts to either 3 ECTS or 6 ECTS corresponding at a rough estimate of 81/162 hours of work: 21 contact hours, 40/121 hrs of group work, and 20 hrs of independent work.

  The course comprises of a discursive series of classes, readings, critical analyses of texts and textbooks, peer-reviewing, and online quizzes.

  The course applies digital online tools and is taught fully online.

• applies in this implementation

  As the course is not a traditional lecture course, but includes a substantial component of groupwork involving reading, writing, discussions, and information retrieval in-between the classes, the course's experienced workload depends heavily on the student's language skills in academic English and previous research experiences.
  

DETAILS

Study Material

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  The full list of readings and other study material will be announced on the course's MyCourses platform at the start of the course.

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Teaching Language: English

  Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Autumn I - II
  2024-2025 Spring III - V
  2025-2026 Autumn I - II
  2025-2026 Spring III - V

  Registration:

  Min 5 students, Max 100 students.
  Registration for the course is in Sisu. Priority order to courses is according to the order of priority decided by the Academic committee for School of Arts, Design and Architecture, https//www.aalto.fi/en/services/registering-to-courses-and-the-order-of-priority-at-aalto-arts

Details on the schedule

• applies in this implementation

  Full course programme is available on MyCourses.
  

Description