This summer program, focused on Environmental/Architectural Design and Health, learning from Masterpieces of Alvar Aalto, Juhani Pallasmaa and Sigurd Lewerentz, offers an intensive two-week course in the interface between disciplines concerned with design of the built environment and scientific disciplines concerned with human perception and behavior. Grounded in the culture of Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland, participants will experience the rich cultural context of both cities, which hold many treasured works of architecture and landscape design including those by Gunnar Asplund, Sigurd Lewerentz, and Alvar Aalto. Participants will be offered tours of buildings and landscapes by these three architects and will also tour selected works by contemporary masters of landscape, architecture, interior design and lighting design such as Juhani Pallasmaa, Juha Leiviska and others. After spending nine days exploring Stockholm and participating in lectures, masterclasses, tours,  workshops, craft demonstrations, sketching sessions, and social events, we will travel by night ferry to Helsinki, Finland to continue our adventure. During three days in Helsinki, lectures, workshops and tours will continue, and the Program will finish with a celebration and dinner on the final evening. Participants will be offered recommendations to continue their exploration of works by Alvar Aalto in Jyvaskyla and other cities in Finland, after the Program. 

​

The course follows the first edition of our traveling workshop in Iberia, which took place in Spain and Portugal in July and August of 2022, the second edition which took place in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the third edition in Italy which featured several new distinguished faculty members, a deeper
investigation of two topics studied previously, multiple interactive sessions centered on participants, embodied learning opportunities during tours and sketching workshops in the city, and a focus on teaching practical applications of concepts from human sciences to architectural, lighting and interior design. In Scandinavia, participants will have a chance to present work and receive feedback during morning sessions. In addition to learning from the faculty and from one another during lectures and discussions, they will work on optional design exercises, in interdisciplinary small groups.

 

This course will feature lectures in which an architect or designer will be paired with a scientist, to promote interaction in a dialogical format. The course is open to architecture and design professionals, including architects, urban planners, landscape architects, lighting, interior and product designers, historians of architecture and design, artists, environmental experts, health professionals, educators, researchers in neuroscience, cognitive science, sociology, anthropology and psychology, as well as graduate and postdoctoral students in the above disciplines.

We will learn how scientific concepts and methods can help develop new tools and strategies in design. We will also explore the importance of history, regional culture and identity in the making and experiencing of architecture. Every participant will receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of the course. Please read our Mission Statement for more information.

 

For MB Nordic X, summer course tuition includes all lectures, roundtable discussions, workshops, rental of boat and/or bus for the all-day field trip and sketching sessions, Welcome Dinner and Farewell Dinner. Participants are responsible for their own lodging, transportation, and meals, with the exception of the two complimentary meals, and (optional) tour tickets. MB will coordinate all tours for the group and obtain group discounts where possible.  We are honored to host 24 of the most distinguished architects, lighting designers, historians, philosophers, educators, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, psychiatrists, biologists and environmental psychologists in the world. This course will be entirely on-site, although one or two speakers may join remotely. Course topics include Restorative Environments, Ecologies of Light in Space and Interweaving of the Senses in Design, explored through architecture, landscape, and lighting design. MB will coordinate tours of buildings by Asplund, Lewerentz, Aalto and Pallasmaa, and  travel  (by ferry)  to Helsinki, but participants should contribute to the price of their ferry ticket and optional tours. A sign-up list is available for those who wish to save money on lodging by sharing with other participants.

​

Please see the Course Brochure below: