Application form
http://www.aho.no/Om_aho/Hovedadministrasjon/ledige_stillinger/Soknadsskjema_phd2006.doc

Research topics
AHO`s institutes have defined research topics which are of particular interest to the school, and encourage applications within these topics. The topics are:

Norwegian architectural history (Institute of Form, Theory and History) Institute of Form, Theory and History (FTH) is developing Norwegian architectural history as one of its key areas of research, emphasising the modern period (1800 - present). The post war years in particular represent a little studied period in Norwegian architectural history. We are interested in a recontextualised history which situates architecture within a broad cultural and intellectual context. Applicants are therefore encouraged to widen the traditional style-based perspective, and to emphasise architecture as a cultural product. FTH aims for an integration of theoretical and empirical studies, and encourages applicants to place Norwegian architectural discourse and practice in an international context.
Contact: Mari Hvattum

Norwegian urban planning history (Institute of Urbanism)
Institute of urbanism aims to strengthen its research in the history of urban planning, with a main focus on Norwegian developments seen in an international context. There is a lack of comprehensive and theoretically updated surveys of modern Norwegian planning history. There are both important historical periods and individual planners that deserve more research attention. As such, Norwegian urban planning history is a thematic field that gives new possibilities for empirical and theoretical exploration. Norwegian urban planning history has traditionally focused on the development of modernist urban planning in the period 1930-1960. There are few historical analyses of the period when the modern planning discipline was established (from the end of the 19th Century to the 1920`s), and much the same goes for the development from around 1970 and onwards. The institute will give priority to research on both these periods, with a particular emphasis on recent developments. New and critical readings of the hegemonic period for modernist urban planning will be encouraged. The institute endeavours to develop a research team in urban planning history that combines both discipline specific and cross-disciplinary approaches, with the aim of developing both new theoretical positions and exploring new historical methods. Research that focuses on social and cultural frameworks and effects of urban planning practices will be encouraged. The interrelationship between the production of physical environments and socio-cultural developments will also be emphasized. A project labelled "The Norwegian urban planning history" is about to be established.
Contact: Jonny Aspen, Karl Otto Ellefsen

Modern architectural theory / design theory (Institute of Form, Theory and History)
Institute of Form, Theory and History (FTH), together with Institute of Industrial Design (ID), places great emphasise on architectural- and design theory in teaching as well as research. We wish to encourage an internationally oriented PhD project that approaches contemporary theory in a critical and interpretative manner. We are interested in exploring the connection between design activity and the formation of theoretical reflection, and wish to see modern thinking on architecture and design in a wide intellectual and historical perspective. We particularly encourage projects that explore theoretical communalities between architecture and industrial design.
Contact: Mari Hvattum

Urban Transformation (Institute of Urbanism)
How do we analyse forces working on the physical form and life of the city, and how can we influence these? Cities, particularly the larger cities, are undergoing transformation of a magnitude which can only be compared to the industrialization in the 18th and 19th century. The driving forces are globalization of economy and culture, the digitalization of technology and the deregulation of politics. The results are new economic and productive frameworks for urban life, new urban scales and connections as well as changes in the physical form of the city. This urban transformation has for the last 10 years been the central theme for research and development activities as well as teaching at the institute of Urbanism. It is a broad field, and can be approached from a variety of academic fields and research traditions. Thematically, the research and development activities at the institute have ranged from studies of processes and development of methods for urban analysis, to urban theory and architectural theory. The projects should aim at theoretical and practical investigations of the relationship between spatial/physical aspects of urban transformation and questions of economy, identity, culture and factors of social transformation.
Contacts: Peter Hemmersam, Jonny Aspen

New strategies for the design and production of the environment This broad area encompasses reflections on current mechanisms guiding the generation and shaping of the man made environment (space, building, urban space, cities, landscape etc.). More specifically, studies in this area seek to address changes both in processes and outcomes arising from new social practices and technological developments. The generation of new strategies for design and production of the built environment is seen as one of the most important issues in AHO`s teaching and research, and also closely linked to the practices of related design professions. The focus of research in this field is innovation and development of architectural and design practice.

1. Strategies for the formation of urban form (Institute of Urbanism)
The theme invites reflection on approaches and strategies in the formation of urban form on regional, urban or individual project scale. Development of strategies for design and production of physical environments is an important part of the research and development activities as well as teaching at the Institute of Urbanism, and it is essential to the disciplines of urbanism, architecture and landscape architecture.

In recent decades, much of the initiative in the development of urban form has shifted from public authorities to private property development. This raises a number of central issues concerning urban project development processes, including such tings as:

• The challenge posed by the limited capacity in planning for handling changes in circumstances over time and the uncertainty that is inherent in urban development,
• The lack of transparency in planning processes.
• Challenges connected to the representation of projects
• Challenges connected to architectural quality and quality of construction
• The challenge posed by the fact that urban projects tend to be inward looking, failing to relate to unstable and unpredictable urban contexts.

The project should investigate new strategies for the production of urban form and the urban environment. It should focus on the relationship between the current production of build form, the practise of Norwegian and international designers involved in urban projects, and the relevant theoretical literature. Innovation and the development of new design practices should be emphasized.
Contact: Peter Hemmersam

2. Practice Related Knowledge (Institute of Architecture, Institute of Architectural and Design Technology)
The process of globalisation is having a marked impact on the practice of architecture. The monopolisation of initiatives and resources in a climate of increased competition is promoting structural changes in all of the building industry.

Within the architectural profession this has lead to new types of commissions, new roles for the architect, a tendency towards increased specialisation, the confrontation with new economic processes, increased demands for quality control, and stress on the production of sustainable developments.

The challenge for applicants to the PhD grant in the area of Practice Related Knowledge is to propose a project whose outcome contributes to the understanding of the changes to the design and building processes described above. Applicants are encouraged to submit a diversity of themes and approaches within this area. However, the proposed study should be focused on current practice, on the attainment of architectural quality, and on the elucidation of those critical factors which contribute to this process.
Contact: Margrethe Dobloug, Christian Hermansen

Interaction design (Institute of Industrial Design)
Interaction Design is one of IDE`s key research areas and is divided into the following three sections: ‘Digital lives`, ‘tools and methods` and ‘strategic design`. IDE encourages project applications in each of these areas to further develop the projects already underway.

The area of ‘Digital lives` is a broad area, and we are looking for projects that can develop scenario-based futures within the area of digital products and services, projects investigating social computing, contextual solutions, design of public services, future TV and emotional computing. Project approaches that include embodied interaction are desirable.

Within the area of "Tools and Methods" we are looking for proposals that focus upon the designers role in innovation processes, designing conceptual development tools, the designer as facilitator, emotional design and user-centred design methods and service design.

The ‘Strategic Design` initiative would like to see projects related to the role of design in strategic decision-making in ICT companies, the relation between design maturity and strategic design thinking in organisations, the designer as facilitator of strategy processes, service design and projects mapping the experience economy to interaction design skills.
Contact: Simon Clatworthy

Architectural Conservation (Institute of Form, Theory and History)
Based on FTH`s recent initiatives in the area of architectural conservation, we wish to establish a PhD project dealing with Norwegian architectural conservation in a historical, theoretical, and practical perspective. We are particularly interested in the following issues:
a) Explorations of the ideological and theoretical presuppositions that governed Norwegian conservation in the 20th century. This involves questions concerning value and selection: what were the criteria for the listing of buildings in the different periods, and how were the buildings selected? By exploring the ideological framework behind 20th century conservation practice, one may establish a better understanding of Norwegian architectural heritage, as it is maintained and used by public and private interests.

b) Discussions of the processes, methods and agents acting within contemporary Norwegian conservation, submitting current conservation practice to a critical academic scrutiny. During the 20th century, many important conservation programs have been undertaken. These programs are, however, relatively little studied with regards to their underlying ideological position, their processes, and their results. One important issue is for instance the question of how different agents (users, political government, conservation professionals etc.) relate to each other in a conservation process, and how such processes work.

Projects should be based on a Norwegian empirical material, but should be situated within an updated international theoretical discourse.
Contact: Mari Hvattum

Augmented Reality (Institute of Architecture)
Institute of Architecture is establishing a research project on Augmented Reality. The aim of this project is to elucidate and make a significant contribution to the way in which civil society is able to participate in the process of shaping our urban environment and thus make a contribution to the transparency and quality of local governance.

The current ways in which design proposals are presented to the public, projections, perspectives, models, 3D digital models, etc. embody both the need for significant levels of abstraction and interpretation, and are thus both difficult to understand and subject to high levels of manipulation by those with greater design knowledge. Conventional means of visualization often mislead those not trained in these media, whose expectations, built up as a result of the interpretation of a representation, often far exceed the perceived qualities of the real project.

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