Today´s world, like never in the history before, is under the pressure of constant and revolutionary change caused by the ever-growing DIGITALIZATION which is already affecting every aspect of our lives. A major unexplored area of the effects and future potentials of this on-going digital revolution is to be found in the field of the built environment. More specifically, there are huge opportunities for the built environment in the interrelation of the new DIGITAL TOOLS, the traditional building CRAFT techniques, the current DESIGN PRACTICE and the VALUES behind the process of shaping the built environment. The core question of the BuildDigiCraft strategic partnership is the question of how we are shaping the future built environment in a world of growing digitalization and professional specialization.Consequently, the project seeks to embrace the huge opportunities arising from the available DIGITAL TOOLS (i.e. BIM-Building Information Modelling, software tools for parametric design, digital fabrication, rapid prototyping, CNC technologies, drones, robotics, etc.) while at the same time it reconnects the actors (designers, builders and users) and the projects (e.g. the built environment) with the work qualities of CRAFTSMANSHIP. Taking the traditional Hanseatic and Nordic craft guilds as a starting point and based on the understanding that craft values are deeply sustainable as their core value is quality and reducing wasteful approaches, the project addresses the NEED to introduce a new MINDSET for a high-quality BAUKULTUR in the future generation of European designers, planners and building practitioners. Here, the German term BAUKULTUR, officially agreed by the European Ministers of Culture at the Davos Conference in January 2018, has been introduced to underpin the understanding that the built environment is not only the collection of the existing and contemporary building stock and infrastructure, but also involves all the processes and activities required for its creation. Based on such an understanding, the Davos Declaration gives further incentives to society, politics and science to RE-THINK the current situation which is marked through disciplinary blinkers, ephemeral profit maximization or digital automation, just a few examples to sketch the situation.Therefore, the OVERALL OBJECTIVE of the BuildDigiCraft project is to establish a EUROPEAN TRAINING NETWORK for young researchers, teachers and practitioners, which promotes INNOVATIVE TEACHING APPROACHES for shaping the built environment in the digital age. By addressing the potentials of digitalization and its effects on the built environment, the new teaching approaches will be aimed at enabling the introduction of an imminent and highly necessary cultural and organisational change in the planning and building sector in Europe.Furthermore the project aims at equipping all target groups with a set of high-quality and transversal skills which will enable them to: (a) handle processes, materials and resources in a sustainable way(b) gain the ability to transfer knowledge(c) handle implicit knowledge in a scientific environment and transfer it back to design, construction and maintenance processes(d) Identify themselves with the values behind the design and construction processes and with the object of work.The methodological approach of the project reflects the understanding that the shaping of the built environment is a result of complex and diverse PROCESSES and includes design, planning, construction and maintenance. Generally speaking, these processes are influenced by the available KNOWLEDGE and understanding of MATERIALITY. As a result, the project outputs will be developed reflecting these three perspectives: process, knowledge, material.Four Intensive Study Programmes (ISP1-ISP4) will be realized within the three years of the project. Thematically they deal with the following topics: (1) fundamentals of Baukultur and craftsmanship, (2) digital reality and (3) knowledge-transfer. The last ISP “Re-think Baukultur” will be focused on an overall reflection of the first three study programs. At this last ISP a new understanding of the concept of Baukultur in Europe in the digital age will be generated and consolidated on a network level. The project outcomes will be shared with a broader audience during the final project conference.BuildDigiCraft brings together eight partners from the Baltic Sea region, from Germany, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark, all leading universities in the disciplines of the built environment in their countries. The project builds on a previous strategic partnership which was focused on interdisciplinary teaching in the field of the built environment and is part of a long-term strategy for sustaining and further developing of the established network.

‘Spaces of Danish Welfare’ er et forskningsprojekt på Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole om de rumlige aspekter af danske velfærdssystemer. Projektet undersøger de forandringer, en række velfærdssystemer undergår i disse år gennem seks konkrete og lokalt forankrede studier af ældrepleje, psykiatri, hospitaler, skoleinklusion samt byområder med dalende befolkningstal. Formålet er at analysere, diskutere og synliggøre de forandringer, der foregår i disse områder, med fokus på hvordan de rumlige ændringer indvirker på hinanden og på en gang afmonterer og forstærker velfærdssystemerne. Projektet er tværfagligt, og bringer perspektiver fra antropologi og arkitektur/urbanisme sammen for at kunne spørge kvalificeret til, hvilken rolle de rumlige forandringer spiller i folks hverdagsliv og hvilke implikationer dette har for arkitektur og planlægning. Dette perspektiv vil tilvejebringe nye måder at betragte velfærdssystemers dynamik på, som kan supplere og nuancere den eksisterende forskning gennem fokus på konkrete cases, nutidige transformationer og rumlige aspekter. Gennem opbygning af en sammenhængende teoretisk ramme, og særligt gennem udvikling af nye visuelle metoder vil projektet udfolde konkrete og komplekse, men også ofte usynlige rumlige tilstande og forandringer på tilgængelige og forståelige måder. Projektet indskriver sig i en global debat, hvor interessen for de nordiske velfærdssystemers potentialer og udfordringer har været stigende efter krisen i 2007/8.

The FARO 3D laser scanner will be used to characterise bio-based materials as sustainable alternatives for the built environment. The versatility of the tool will allow us to position this characterisation across different sites; within their ecologies, interfaced with robotic fabrication and at test sites to observe material behaviour.What? Why? How?

Designing an Irresistible Circular Society (DESIRE) aims to create an alternative way forward for the built environment supporting the EU mission of ‘100 climate-neutral and smart cities’. Against seemingly insurmountable challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion we need to rethink our approach to finding solutions. Departing from architecture, design and art we will create an open learning environment with principles, methods and guidelines to support us in designing an irresistible circular society. We will present a DESIRE lighthouse demonstrator, built on insights and learnings from on-site demonstration activities taking place on sites in Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Slovenia, and The Netherlands, encompassing various themes and scales. By this, we will set the foundation for a school of thought and practice, and establish a scaling framework for widespread learning across the EU utilizing digital infrastructure, stakeholder involvement and empowerment across a partner community of European cities, youth organisations, NGOs, academia etc. Our territorial sites form the core of DESIRE. Three themes have informed our choice of sites and partners. ‘Creating social and inclusive housing’ addresses the need for inclusive processes, ‘the power of we’, in circular transformation of social housing. ‘Reconciling cities with nature’ is about designing livable habitats and functional ecosystems from a multispecies perspective while rebalancing ‘land use’ to accommodate resource generation and biodiversity. ‘Transforming through symbiotic relationships’ focuses on how to optimize use of materials flow when rethinking urban landscapes in cities. In depts on-site demonstration activities will unfold in three Danish sites (an old asphalt factory in Herlev, a social housing neighbourhood in Taastrup, and an urban transformation project in Kalundborg) and contribute to similar demonstration activities in Amsterdam, Ljubljana, Milan, Riga and Turin.