Poiesis of Place: Inhabiting the edge - Domesticating the terrain

  Iceland

• Other Cities in Iceland: 
Reykjavik,  Rural Areas

Term: Summer 
Dates: August 14-22, 2010

Description: The course explores the concept of living at the intersection of human settlement and nature; the urban and the edge. We will explore natural and cultural landscapes in relation to social networks and the spatial morphology of habitation in rural and semi-urban settlements.

The course is based in the remote, privately operated nature and heritage centre at Skálanes, on the east coast of Iceland; a region characterised by high mountains and deep fjords, agricultural land and small-scale historical fishing towns.

Along with a study of the local nature reserve, we will examine the historically affluent and cosmopolitan 19th-century small town of Seydisfjordur; its environs and amenities, cultural context and material reality and explore the morphology of spatial relations to allow for experimenting with new forms for the articulation of space.

Seydisfjordur, a small settlement of distinctive older timber buildings, is now a place of renewed cultural interest hosting a lively art scene attracting numerous visitors each summer.   Coupled with the fact that it now harbours the only scheduled passenger ferry between Iceland and continental Europe, this makes it a prime location to study the interaction of resident and visiting social networks leading to a larger discourse on the social construction of space in the larger urban context. We will look at the built environment in relation to time and scale, the interaction of the human body and nature, the relationship of social and cultural networks with the built and urban settlements and the influence of local and global networks on the local social and spatial context. Obliquely, the global reference of the hydropower station at Karahnjuúkar raises poignant questions of vulnerability, global capital and energy networks to the local context.

By exploring the interrelationship of the social, the built environment and nature, the course aims to explore research methods and analysis of spatial relations to further the understanding of the continuous and manifold interactions of culture and nature.

Highlights: We will partake in a dialogue with Juhani Pallasmaa and study the theories of the architecture of the seven senses, applying these to our local context by exploring the intimacy of nature trying our hand at vernacular methods of turf construction.

We hope to travel to the mountainous highlands and visit the macro-scale transformation of the landscape around the Karahnjuúkar power station, so allowing participants to explore the extremity of landscapes in terms of scale and transformations from the remote seashore of the east fjords to the expansiveness of the highlands, with the town of Seydisfjurdur as a point of reference.
Additionally, participants will be given the opportunity to enjoy a supplementary four-day excursion through the Icelandic highlands.

The course is designed for students who wish to explore the dynamic interrelationship of social relations and cultural context with the natural and built environment. The approach is interdisciplinary and investigative, encouraging the conceptual, theoretical and practical study of the connection between the social and the built environment.

The course will explore ways of reading and analysing the environment. Students will gain a comprehensive insight into social system theories and apply these to their study of the interaction of man and environment.   

Students will be able integrate theoretical studies of landscapes and urbanism with analysis, interpretation and communication of the environment to allow for experimenting with new forms for the articulation of space. Students will acquire advanced knowledge of phenomenological approaches to the study of architecture, nature and the built environment.

Degree Level: Masters Degree

Minimum Education: Bachelors

Cost in US$: 2,500

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Iceland Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Svartarkot: Culture and Nature's Mission Statement: A dynamic initiative of the Reykjavik Academy and the local community in rural northeast Iceland, the Svartarkot Centre for Research & Education is dedicated to research and providing higher education on the interaction between culture and nature. Straddling the margins of settled landscape and the vast empty wastes of Iceland's wilderness highland interior, Svartarkot provides a unique setting for studying this interaction. The approach is multi-disciplinary, incorporating cultural studies, literature, history, anthropology, sociology, folklore, geography, geology, ecology and the natural sciences.

Year Founded: 2005