This program, based in a collaboration between the Yale School of Architecture and the Architecture Department at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, introduces Yale students to the rigorous study of urban form and space and their social uses in relation to the context of historic and contemporary architecture and urbanism in the north of Europe. The program includes an intensive, 4 week residency in Gothenburg, with field trips to other Swedish and neighboring cities, during which time Yale students will collaborate in hands-on research on the representation, analysis and design of urban form and space.
Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, busiest port, and major industrial center, is in the midst of a massive transformation centered in the former riverfront port area but extending to social housing estates on the periphery of the city and to undeveloped suburban areas. In 2020 Gothenburg also became one of 9 Swedish cities that signed the radical Climate City Contract 2030, promising to become climate neutral by 2030. The work of the Yale-Chalmers program will be informed by, and in turn inform, the city agencies and companies charged with guiding these transformations. Ultimately the goal of the summer program is to contribute to the building of a new Urban Atlas of North American and Northern European Cities, which is an ongoing project of the Yale and Chalmers collaboration.
Prior year’s editions of this course have explored the patterns of urban expansion, and districts of knowledge production characteristic of specific periods of cultural, economic, and demographic change in Gothenburg. This summer’s course will focus on understanding the evolution of industry—including typologies of industrial architecture and their integration with energy sources, housing areas, logistical spaces, and infrastructure, along with new urban cultures and lifestyles that emerged in parallel.
In New Haven, following the end of the semester, students will be introduced to methods and techniques of urban analysis, including graphic and modelling approaches to understanding the interface between building form and typology and larger patterns of urban use and movement. This work will continue in Gothenburg, with typical days devoted to both field work and studio work based on the Chalmers campus. Building on the local knowledge of northeastern U.S. cities developed in the Yale M.Arch. program, especially the fourth semester urbanism studio, this year students will visit and study rapidly developing cities such as Stockholm, Malmo, and Oslo, as well as the Ruhr Valley of Germany, where innovative contemporary architecture has supported the construction of sustainable, resilient, and vibrant new urban fabric and districts that enhance the continuity, evolution and identity of those cities.
Throughout the course, an emphasis will be placed on the full range of documentary, representational and analytic approaches, from notebook sketches to computer models, and students will be challenged to invent new and creative ways of describing and projecting the form and use of urban space. The work of the program will be exhibited and published at both Yale and Chalmers, and the expectation is for a high standard of technique and content. The third year of the program is designed for up to 18 Yale students who will live, travel, and work together as a research team.