Architectural Concept

Architects are mainly interested in form, engineers much more in technology and economy, and both groups are largely apt to fall into overpositioning in their assumptions. Construction managers, on the other hand, are more pragmatic and indulge themselves in communicating and planning their relationships. Architects often strongly deny that they follow some specific style, rather allege that they tend to adhere to a set of "guiding principles". 

These were conclusions of one of the students groups participating in the course "Architectural Concept" (AI2802). As part of the final session for project presentations, a number of construction projects were introduced mainly with regard to the relation among the designer and the construction manager. One of prominent examples was Aula: the 7-storey landmark at Karolinska Institute in Solna. The well-coordinated collaboration among the client (Akademiska Hus), the design firm (Wingårdh Arkitektkontor) and the contractor (NCC) has made it possible to bring the complex curvy mass of the building and its intricate glasswork detailings into reality. The students' conclusion was that the well-established and seamless oral communication among the two teams helped developing the trust required for underpinning a fruitful collaboration.

A number of mixed rental apartments and condominiums together with a number of public projects were also introduced with Rosenbergs and Vera consulting firms as the designer and Wallenstam as the contractor. All of these projects are located in Norra Djurgårdsstaden, the new sustainable district of Stockholm. Higher energy saving, better environmental performance, efficient rain water management and higher green building scores are some common goals in Norra Djurgårdsstaden; while economic hurdles of green roofs, structural difficulties with wide cantilevers of continuous balconies and conflicts with the Royal National City Park (Kungliga nationalstadsparken) on land exploitation are the main challenges.

The last presented project was The New Karolinska Complex (Nya Karolinska Solna - NKS) which I had briefly introduced in one of my previous posts: a mixed research, education and healthcare center located at the conjunction of and joining together the two municipal divisions of Solna and Stockholm. NKS will be the third but the foremost component of the planned lifecycle cluster encompassing Stockholm University (SU), The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and NKS. The major design firms - White and Tengboom - have aimed to provide equipped rooms, a combination of modern and light and brick-like materials, a handful of artworks and interior intricacies as well as uninterrupted machine pathways all around the building. These are devised respectively for a commendable integration with the existing urban context, a warm and hospitable atmosphere for patients and their visitors and robot-aided transportation of clothes and instruments. The major criticism against the design is though the lower number of beds maintained compared with existing facilities.

Initiatives such as the course "Architectural Concept" are valuable steps towards a more collaborative approach to education of building construction and design. The course was being held at the KTH School of Architecture aiming for exposing the construction managers of tomorrow to the atmosphere, mindsets and working contexts of design professionals of the future. The career is heavily dependent on an array of digital tools that over increasingly demand for more trans-disciplinary collaboration and converging workflows.

Sources:
http://www.ncc.se/sv/Byggnader/Offentliga-byggnader/aula-karolinska-institutet-solna/
http://stockholmprojekt.blogspot.se/2012/02/norra-djurgardsstaden-norra-2.html
http://www.nationalstadsparken.se/default.aspx?id=1777
http://www.nyakarolinskasolna.se/