[diss] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS

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Accelerating the energy transition toward zero-emission district heating systems through policy codesign
(Aalto University, 2024) Auvinen, Karoliina; Juntunen, Jouni K., Assoc. Prof., University of Vaasa, Finland; Muotoilun laitos; Department of Design; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Hyysalo, Sampsa, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Design, Finland
Achieving zero-emission energy systems is necessary for mitigating climate change. This requires replacing fossil fuels with energy-saving measures, low lifecycle-emission primary energy sources, energy storage, and smart control systems. A significant portion of fossil fuels is consumed in district heating systems in cold climate regions worldwide. The main research question in this thesis is: "How can the energy transition toward zero-emission district heating systems be accelerated with policy codesign?" My research intersects with literature on socio-technical transitions, energy system decarbonization, transition management, and codesign. My research was conducted in collaboration with four research groups in Finland. The research methods included a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative approaches, such as interviews, energy system modelling, and prototyping. In the context of transition management, we designed and developed a mid-range pathway creation toolset and a transition arena process, which we then experimented with high-level influencers. Furthermore, by engaging with investors and other key stakeholders, we investigated socio-technical barriers and formulated policy proposals aimed at decarbonizing district heating systems. Finally, we proposed a transition pathway model for Helsinki, incorporating heat auctions to promote third-party access to the local district heating network. Our research in Finland confirmed the presence of numerous barriers to energy system decarbonization. Our research experiments indicated that mid-range transition arena processes, along with other policy codesign events, have the potential to produce effective policy suggestions for accelerating zero-emission energy transitions. Achieving energy system transformation requires wide-range policy interventions. However, implementing these in formal policy decision-making processes is contested and challenging. Transitions produce uneven costs and benefits across society. Transforming energy systems requires destabilizing the existing regime, and incumbent actors often resist this change due to path dependency. In conclusion, I propose a transition management model to accelerate the zero-emission energy transition, aiming to achieve emission reductions within district heating systems that are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement's timeline. Transition management and codesign approaches need to evolve toward institutionalization in order to create societal impact, and they must develop further in order to handle the related tensions and conflicts. However, given the current paradigm and system complexities, achieving a rapid energy transition appears improbable.
Experiencing urbanity in the making - Embracing uncertainty in design for social diversity and rich public realm
(Aalto University, 2024) Kholina, Anna; Mäkelä, Maarit, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Design, Finland; Muotoilun laitos; Department of Design; Empirica; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Hyysalo, Sampsa, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Design, Finland
This thesis looks at urbanity, a quality reflecting cities' ability to attract diverse people and translate a concentration of differences into active public life, creating possibilities for social interaction and contributing to the richness of urban experiences. Social encounters in public spaces have been proven to benefit human wellbeing, promote longevity, improve safety and create positive economic effects. While often linked exclusively to city centres, urbanity is crucial for peripheries of cities which frequently lack qualities that attract a diverse pool of people and businesses, resulting in sterile or homogenised environments. In the context of polycentric development, one of the strategic goals of Finland's capital region, urbanity could support the development of multiple active centres in a decentralised suburban periphery, enhancing economic vitality and living conditions in the region. Despite its significance and many benefits, the concept of urbanity is understudied and is often reduced to vague terms like vibrancy or equated with dense and compact form. This dissertation challenges the idea that public life is a consequence of good design or policies alone and suggests shifting the focus from the properties of the environment to the process of its production to recognise and cultivate the unique potential of the urban periphery to create urbanity in alternative forms. The research uses a case study of Otaniemi, a suburban area in the capital region of Finland which is evolving into a research and innovation hub, to investigate the emergent forms of urbanity. The case study, conducted over four years, employs ethnographic methods and a framework based on Henri Lefebvre's production of space. The results of the study surfaced several conflicts and tensions which threatened to flatten emerging differences, such as the contradiction between supporting student guilds with private rooms and the need for inclusive spaces for social encounters, the densification of the centre and the emergence of backstage urbanity on the periphery, or the renovation projects for commercial use which produce sterile environments and lose their role as places for ad-hoc activities and interactions. The implications of the study are two-fold. First, it clarifies the definition of urbanity as a place where differences evolve and engage in productive exchange, which can be instrumental in guiding suburban growth and supporting regional economic development. Second, this research has brought together an analytical framework based on Lefebvre's production of space and several ethnographic methods, which could be added to the toolbox of planners, architects or participatory designers who want to engage with the messy process of tracing urbanity in the making and embrace the uncertainty of designing for public life.
Beyond the Craft — Three Perspectives on the Creative Process in the Innovation of Television Formats
(Aalto University, 2024) Morney, Elisabeth; Kaihovirta, Hannah, Assoc. Prof., University of Helsinki, Finland; Aaltonen, Jouko, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Film, Finland; Elokuvataiteen laitos; Department of Film; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Helke, Susanna, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Film, Finland
The invention of new television formats is vital in the ever-changing world of media to maintain and gain the interest of the audience. The innovation of television formats leads to an overarching question: What does the creative process encompass when innovating new television formats? And that question leads to three sub-research questions: 1) Which elements belong to the creative process when innovating new television formats? 2) What is quality across genres in television? and 3) What are the prerequisites for creativity in group collaboration in the context of television format development? To answer these questions, this research consists of three published peer-reviewed articles. The first article, a case study of the Fenno-Swedish television format, Strömsö, identified 14 elements in the creative process:1) ideas, 2) brainstorm, 3) research, 4) benchmark, 5) toss ideas, 6) temporary input, 7) formulate, 8) concretize, 9) pilots, 10) rest, 11) analyze, 12) make mistakes, 13) chaos, and 14) inspiration from an unexpected source. The second article reflects on the result of such a creative process and assesses quality across genres in television through interviews conducted with television professionals in the U.S.A. and Finland, as well as board leaders of the Emmy and Peabody Awards. The third article is a case study of the genesis of the Norwegian television format Slow-TV, examining circumstances influencing creativity in team collaboration, with a special focus on the genesis of the format. This practice-led research clarifies the inherent mechanisms in creating new and original audiovisual programs and offers an emerging theory on the innovation of television formats. The practice-led approach leaves the viewer experience to a minimum, while instead focusing on gaining new knowledge for the field of television and contributing to the implementation of creativity theories in the audiovisual media field. The research also contributes with case studies to the field of creativity research. To gain a deeper understanding of the process and the outcome of creating television formats, creativity studies were employed, including those related to the creative process, the creative product, and press, which is the environment influencing the creative thinking and behavior. The research is a triangulation of different qualitative methodologies; hermeneutics, phenomenography, case studies, constructive grounded theory, and practice-led research. This doctoral thesis is intended to aid practitioners in the audiovisual field and is practice-led in the sense that I am the researcher and also a practitioner interpreting the data through this professional lens.
Helsingin yliopiston päärakennuksen laajennuskilpailu 1931, edeltävät vaiheet ja toteutus – Kysymys yliopiston asemasta ja tyylistä
(Aalto University, 2024) Merenmies, Eija; Niskanen, Aino, Prof. Emerita, Aalto-yliopisto, arkkitehtuurin laitos; Standertskjöld, Elina, Fil. lis., Helsingin yliopisto; Arkkitehtuurin laitos; Department of Architecture; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Savolainen, Panu, Prof., Aalto-yliopisto, arkkitehtuurin laitos
The thesis deals with the 1931 architectural competition for the extension of the University of Helsinki’s Main Building, the period preceding the architectural competition, the implementation of J. S. Sirén’s winning proposal in 1935–1937, as well as the repairs to the building in 1938–1940 and 1944– 1948. The main question posed in the thesis is how the Main Building, designed by C. L. Engel and completed in 1832, influenced the 1931 architectural competition and the implementation of the extension in 1935–1937. Other important questions concern the stakeholders that influenced the evaluation of the competition proposals, and the role the Finnish Association of Architects, the university’s administration and the public debate played in it. What political or cultural values did the competition’s winning proposal and its implementation encompass? What factors influenced the post-competition changes in Sirén’s implemented design? The above questions are linked to various phenomena related to the architectural style of Sirén’s extension, in particular the stylistic features of the building and their relationship to Engel’s architecture. When distinguishing stylistic features alongside the classicism and functionalism of the 1920s, the focus falls on pastiche features and quotations. The pastiche features of the extension were regarded as taboo by the supporters of functionalism, who felt that the formalistic historicist solution weakened the value of the authenticity of the original building. In their opinion, the external character of the extension should have been clearly distinguished from the original part. Because of these features, the Sirén extension was ignored in later assessments made during the following decades. The 1931 architectural competition was exceptional in Finland, because the university’s main building that was to be extended is part of the nationally valuable site comprised of the Senate Square. That fact, and the organisation of the competition during a period of transition in Finnish architecture were the reasons for the fierce debate that arose after the competition between the supporters of the classicistic closed-block proposals and the functionalist open-block proposals. Among the competition proposals were also some mixed forms combining styles and block structures. The functionalist proposals included strip windows, shell structures and tall glazed atrium spaces made possible by new types of concrete structures. A special feature of the competition was that even though the functionalist proposals differed in appearance from the old buildings surrounding them, their authors defended the preservation of the Empire-style cityscape. The decision to implement J. S. Sirén’s classicist competition proposal was made in 1934. Sirén’s extension as built forms a closed block with the old main building. In the extension, a zone of motifs quoted from the Engel building continues in the facades, thus connecting the new part to the whole. The architecture and refined furnishings of the interior of the extension are characterized by an abundance of features of 1920s classicism. Like Engel, Sirén employed columns and pillars in the most prestigious spaces. Sirén’s extension also includes several spatial typologies adopted from Engel’s building. Since the competition proposals and Sirén’s design for the extension are compared in the thesis to Engel’s design for the main building, Engel’s University building provides the context. The thesis also examines the renovations of the Engel section designed by Sirén, first in 1938–1940 and then in 1944–48 when bomb damage in the Engel section during the Continuation War (1941-44) was repaired and the large festival hall was extended. This renovation work marked the completion of one of the last public buildings in Finland that was visibly classical in style. The central research material in the thesis has been drawings, photographs, and other archive material as well as periodicals. The competition proposals and implementation are analysed with the help of, among other things, drawings and diagrams prepared specifically for the thesis. The thesis is a case study analysing the architectural, stylistic and functional properties of the building. The designs for the extension to the university’s main building are also analysed in relation to other architecture of the period.
Advancing Sustainability Transformations - Co-design for Sustainable Development Policies
(Aalto University, 2024) Lähteenoja, Satu; Gaziulusoy, İdil, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Design, Finland; Muotoilun laitos; Department of Design; NODUS Sustainable Design Research Group; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Hyysalo, Sampsa, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Design, Finland
We are living in an era of multiple environmental and social crises. Sustainability transformations are needed since no country has reached sustainability as yet and none are on the way to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Multiple challenges with SDG implementation have been identified, such as the integration and coordination of cross-sectoral topics, policy coherence, institutional capacities and local contextualisation. There is a call for new mechanisms with which to guide nations towards sustainability. Co-design for transitions, or transition co-design, is an emerging area, bringing together the scholarships of collaborative design and transition management. More empirical studies are needed on what transition co-design actually means and what it can offer for sustainability transformations, especially in the governance and policy contexts. This dissertation contributes to this research gap by empirically studying sustainable development policies and the possibilities for co-design to advance them. The research consists of four case studies approaching the topic from different angles, ranging from national to local SDG implementation, as well as from broad, systemic sustainable development topics to the narrower target of increasing renewable energy production in housing companies. The research is based on qualitative methods, including document analysis, interviews and co-design workshops. It consists of five interrelated articles. The findings of the research highlight the role of small wins in sustainability transformations. While sustainable development policy that is only based on small wins can be too incremental and slow to meet the sustainability challenges of our time, the small wins seem to pave the way for more transformative policy changes. However, to achieve sustainability transformations, small wins need to contribute to a shared ambition at a higher level. The research introduces a policy edition of the transition arena, wherein some of the earlier assumptions have been readjusted to cope with policy realities, thus enabling the tools' closer integration into official policy processes. The policy edition was developed and tested during the creation of the national sustainable development strategy, led by the Prime Minister's Office, Finland. According to the results, this method can provide a safe space for facilitated discussion on difficult topics with conflicts of interests. After co-designing positive future visions and mid-range transition pathways, the participants of transition arenas experienced increased understanding of complex systemic changes and better understood the agency of different actors in sustainability transformations. The final strategy raises difficult, transformative topics as being important for further work. While there is a need for more empirical studies on the topic, the research recommends utilising transition co-design methods in the agenda-setting phase of complex sustainability-related policy processes.
Genius or Charlatanry? - A psychobiographical reinterpretation of the life and works of Buckminster Fuller
(Aalto University, 2024) Toiviainen, Pasi P.; Arkkitehtuurin laitos; Department of Architecture; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Savolainen, Panu, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Finland
Within the history of modern architecture, R. Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) is hailed as a visionary futurist and polymath. While he is best known as the inventor of the geodesic dome, he is also appreciated as an important pioneer of ecological design and a front-running ecological thinker in general. Fuller's many titles include academician, architect, cartographer, designer, ecologist, economist, engineer, historian, inventor, mathematician, mechanic, philosopher, physicist, poet, systems theorist, and world planner. Indeed, he is often referred to as the Leonardo da Vinci of the twentieth century. He was a prolific author and lecturer and was granted numerous honorary titles, patents, and awards. However, within the literature, Fuller also appears as a rather controversial figure. During his career he was occasionally accused of charlatanry and crackpottery, and to this day such accusations have not been entirely dispelled. In fact, such comments surfaced once more following the publication of Fuller's latest biography, in 2022 – most intriguingly, considering its author's assertion that Fuller was, indeed, a genius. Although two previous studies, in 1973 and 1999, have attempted to debunk accusations of Fuller's possible charlatanry, their analyses remain insufficient. The present study proposes the hypothesis that Fuller was, in fact, a charlatan. Furthermore, it presents an auxiliary explanatory hypothesis that he suffered from grandiose narcissism. The latter hypothesis effectively positions the study in the field of psychobiography. To test the principal hypothesis, the study analyses not only the extent to which Fuller's works and theorizations were original and valid, and his other claims legitimate, but also the degree to which his actions exhibit characteristically charlatanic traits. To test the auxiliary hypothesis, the study assesses the alignment of his personality traits, vulnerabilities and personal history with the theoretical understanding of grandiose narcissism. The main, underlying objective is to provide a credible interpretation of Fuller's life and works as well as to understand his actions and personality. The role of the later Fuller scholarship in the creation of his lore is also investigated. The theoretical context of the study derives from the history of charlatanism, the philosophy of pseudoscience, the psychology of deceit, and an integrative approach to narcissism. The study's point of departure is Fuller's published texts, accompanied by the secondary literature on Fuller. From the leads identified in these works, the study then progresses according to its problem setting. The study findings support both hypotheses. In his working life, Fuller seems indeed to have been a charlatan whose career was mainly based on fabrication, misappropriation, pseudoscience, pretense, and imposture. The study suggests that his actions and behaviour are best understood via his fractured and grandiose personality, which, in turn, may have developed due to the complex trauma that he experienced in his childhood and youth.
Let it Flow - Making Generative Service Design Work
(Aalto University, 2024) Knight, John R.; Hyysalo, Sampsa, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Design, Finland; Muotoilun laitos; Department of Design; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Hyysalo, Sampsa, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Design, Finland
This dissertation reports on doctoral research on agile service design work. The focus of the inquiry was to explore in-house design, understand current working practices and identify potential improvements if and where necessary. The research was published as five articles, each of which drew on a series of mixed methods, empirical studies that explored different aspects of agile design work. The first article found that adopting agile had both negative and positive effects on a team of practitioners who were shifting from waterfall to scrum working in a design agency. The second publication reported on a healthcare case study that trialled ways to unify agile and service design and the third article tackled the business context of service innovation and introduced a new conversational service methodology. The fourth publication shifted attention back to practitioners' experiences of agility and reported issues affecting designers' occupational balance in extreme agile. Problems emanated from poorly defined tasks, ambiguous requirements, weak project vision and cross-functional misalignments. These factors, both individually and in combination, often stymied progress, reduced design impact and integrity and eroded practitioner wellbeing. The concluding article identified specific ways and means to improve integrating design in service production in different forms of agile. The results suggested that looser modes of agile could be ameliorated through principled, positive, practitioner resistance alone. More rigid agile forms, however, were improved by applying four foundation design practices, whereas intense and scaled forms required more structured approaches to team task definition and workflow control. In the final inquiry, practitioner feedback indicated the proposed remediating and resistant approach to unifying design and agile helped make service design work flow and improved practitioner job satisfaction.
The Teaching of drawing in higher arts education — Articulating the practitioners’ orientations
(Aalto University, 2024) Nurminen, Marja; Löytönen, Teija, Doctor of Arts, Independent scholar, Finland; Taiteen ja median laitos; Department of Art and Media; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; El Baroni, Bassam, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland
It is my experience of working with drawing in higher arts education since 1998 that has driven this research. During these years, I have been occupied with the significances of drawing as a part of growing up as an artist. This is why the focus of my doctoral research project is on exploring the teaching of drawing in two art universities, one in Finland and the other in Sweden. The main research question is: What kind of orientations do the practitioners have towards drawing and the teaching of drawing? Even if drawing is understood as an important and integral component of an artist’s education, the significance and value of drawing have not been articulated properly. The research touches upon two areas: higher arts education and drawing. The theoretical framework I am using is Keijo Räsänen’s notion of academic work as practical activity (2009). In the research question, I refer to orientations, which are, according to Räsänen, how to do it (tactical), what to accomplish (political), why do it in this way (moral) and who to become (personal). The methodological approach draws from “at-home ethnography”, which was developed by Mats Alvesson (2003, 2009). As he states, it is a method especially suited for studying universities and higher educational institutions in which you yourself work. I am focusing on a particular strand of at-home ethnography which I call at-home interviews. The data consist of twelve interviews with six artists/designers and university teachers from Sweden and six others from Finland. The data collection method I have chosen is expert interviews with artefacts, i.e. the interviewees had the chance to bring one to three drawings or documentations of drawings to the interviews, and we also discussed the drawings. One of my goals in this research is to demystify the teaching of drawing and the tacit knowledge which it contains by articulating it. In so doing, the research produces a description of the values and beliefs about drawing in higher arts education, supporting those who are responsible for designing content and curricula for higher arts and design education.
Synthesizing Art and Science - A Collaborative Approach to Understanding Intergroup Relations and Contributing to Social Change
(Aalto University, 2024) Amir, Einat; Sams, Mikko, Prof. Emer., Aalto University, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Finland; Taiteen ja median laitos; Department of Art and Media; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Sederholm, Helena, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland
This thesis examines the vital role artists can play in shaping individuals and societies, emphasizing art as an impactful force that can foster a more inclusive, empathetic world. It explores the concept of synthesizing art and science, suggesting that equal collaborations between these fields can yield innovative solutions to contemporary 'Wicked' problems. This thesis is situated within the interdisciplinary domains of socially engaged research, ArtScience, and artistic research, with a special focus on the relationships between participatory performance art and social psychology. This research agenda is composed of both the written and artistic components. It presents an analysis of innovative ArtScience interdisciplinary research methods and hinges on the role and efficacy of art, from collective transformation to personal engagement. Component 1 responds to why there exists a need for equal collaborations between scientists and artists, and how such collaborations could contribute to society. Underlining that artists are needed more than ever during challenging times, this study advocates for their crucial integration into all societal and environmental change initiatives. Component 2 shows empirical evidence from multiple studies of how the synthesis of art and science, specifically performance art with social psychology, contributes to improving prosocial behaviors by elevating empathy towards individuals from marginalized groups in different societies. Component 3 presents a tangible example of the synthesis of a social psychology field experiment with participatory performance art. As an artwork rather than an academic article, this component offers an opportunity for experiential understanding through direct emotional and aesthetic engagement, as opposed to merely analytical comprehension. Finally, component 4 illuminates the significance of art for the individual self, positioning narrative-based art as a safe space for emotional exploration, devoid of real-life social consequences. Drawing upon the dynamic interplay between scientific research and artistic practice, this thesis positions research as the confluence between theory and practice, unearthing new knowledge. The synthesis of art and science in collaborative ventures offers enormous possibilities for innovative research. Beyond this, it has a multifaceted impact—it can educate, influence, and evoke change in individuals and societies in multiple ways.
Quantifying Qualia – Aesthetic Machine Attention in Resisting the Objectifying Tendency of Thought
(Aalto University, 2024) Okulov, Jaana; Lehtinen, Sanna, Dr., Research Fellow, Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland; Takala, Tapio, Prof. Emeritus, Aalto University, Department of Computer Science, Finland; Taiteen ja median laitos; Department of Art and Media; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Suominen, Anniina, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland
My interdisciplinary doctoral thesis Quantifying Qualia – Aesthetic Machine Attention in Resisting the Objectifying Tendency of Thought, conducted at the Department of Art and Media at Aalto University, explores human and algorithmic perception. While language-based approaches are widely developed and utilized in machine learning today, the thesis explores the ethical potential of alternative modes of perception to be manifested in machines and proposes the concept of aesthetic attention to invite perceptual variations from phenomena through how they resonate across the senses. Psychologist Daniel Stern suggests that this dynamic nature of experience, arising from embodiment, represents the earliest stage of development. Consequently, it serves as the primary means for interpersonal communication and also expressing inner experiences later in life. Additionally, affective and aesthetic expressions can be viewed as being rooted in these vitality forms described by Stern. The thesis argues that aesthetically oriented attention has the potential to reorganize perception by delaying the categorical determination of an experience. At the core of my research is the idea that the narrowed cognitive repertoire resulting from perceptual biases can be altered with perceptual strategies aiming to broaden the receptivity for sensory knowledge. My thesis consists of three peer-reviewed articles published in interdisciplinary edited volumes and journals, along with one peer-reviewed unpublished article. These articles redefine philosophical concepts such as aesthetic attention and qualia, making them computable. As a result, a method was developed in interdisciplinary collaboration to generate asemic stimuli algorithmically. This approach also led to the establishment of a research platform that seamlessly integrated both artistic and quantitative research. The artistic conclusion of my thesis is a research process utilizing the platform. During this process, asemic stimuli were annotated with artistic expressions as opposed to the traditional method of using verbal categories for annotating. Multimodal expressions established aesthetic data for a machine attention model to perceive beyond categories. With the research process, I demonstrated how the development of machine learning models that incorporate nonverbal expressions can influence cultures increasingly reliant on algorithmic information processing; future intelligence and ethics are founded on the choices we now make in what is recognized as valuable data.
Architectural computation of spatial dynamics
(Aalto University, 2024) Han, Yoon J.; Arkkitehtuurin laitos; Department of Architecture; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Kotnik, Toni, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Finland
In the current era, digital technology is ubiquitous throughout diverse aspects of architecture. This omnipresent condition undermines spatial discourse despite engaging with ample discussion concerning formal approaches. The research acknowledges that space and form in architectural experience are inextricably intertwined and should therefore be considered as such. In order to frame the discursive context, the thesis traces the development of an architectural understanding of experiential space through interrelations of aesthetic (bodily), spatial, and formal (geometric and topological) dynamics. The architectural understanding builds upon the conception of experiential space as field structures; the conception involves the three aforementioned dynamics and is conceptually interlinked with computational discourse in architecture. The research proposes systematic inquiries into aesthetic aspects of experiential space through a mixed-research strategy: designing a computational framework for spatial information construction and perceptual comparative analyses of the information. The computational framework in the thesis maps and visualises structural changes of experiential space as dynamic field structures, rendering abstract spatial information more tangible. Three study cases are presented showcasing the operations and behaviours of the computational framework. For each study case, the mapping results are also analysed in comparison to the existing body of architectural literature, including diverse written accounts of architectural experience based on phenomenological approaches. The comparative analyses of the study cases suggest that some qualitative descriptions of architectural spatial aesthetics can be constructed through digital computation, where resulting digital spatial information can be visually communicated. The thesis also discusses potentials and implications of the computational approach introduced in the thesis, particularly in relation to digital spatial information, digital media as cognitive extension, and digital tectonics.
Grounded Principles for Open Design Pedagogy - Design Perspectives on Early Years Pedagogy with Digital Technologies
(Aalto University, 2024) Brinck, Jaana; Leinonen, Teemu, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland; Kallio-Tavin, Mira, Prof., University of Georgia, USA; Adjunct Professor Aalto University, Finland; Taiteen ja median laitos; Department of Art and Media; Learning Environments Research Group; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Leinonen, Teemu, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland
In the past few decades, researchers have shown growing interest in design in the context of teaching and learning in the 21st century. Accordingly, design has been introduced as a method to implement and develop teaching and learning practices that are more active, evidence-based, and interdisciplinary, as well as to confront real-life situations and problems. Moreover, in the current world, skills and competencies to utilise and benefit from various digital technologies are increasingly important for an individual to fully participate in society. Socialisation into digital media culture starts from an exceedingly early age, and digital environments are an integral part of children's everyday sociocultural environment. Thus, digital tools should be integrated in early years pedagogy. Consequently, this research explores the ways in which pedagogical practices should be designed to apply digital technologies in early childhood design education. The pedagogical dimensions of design practice are investigated in real-life educational context by conducting two design experiments, which highlight participatory design in pedagogical development and focus on developing practices that support the pedagogical use of digital tools and enhance children's participation in their everyday lives. To study the phenomenon, this research project conducted a participatory design process in a kindergarten in the Helsinki area for over one year, entailing 22 workshops involving research participants: teachers, daycare assistants, a pre-service kindergarten teacher, children, and pedagogical specialists. The research process was guided by a grounded theory method in which the aim is a data-driven and open-ended research process, and to actively learn from the interaction and collaboration with the research participants. The research process included three sub-studies that have been reported in three academic publications; in addition, a technology prototype was designed, implemented, and tested—an augmented reality sandbox for early childhood learning. As an overall contribution, this thesis developed grounded principles for open design pedagogy, a set of principles which is called the 4Ts of open design pedagogy. The thesis provides important perspectives on the ways that digital tools should be taken into early years pedagogy in a pedagogically meaningful manner. The main finding of this thesis is that open design pedagogy should foster learning contexts that are designed around the principles of togetherness, tools, trust, and time.
Ilmastoitu ? moderni : Sisäilman hallinta sotien jälkeisessä toimistoarkkitehtuurissa
(Aalto University, 2024) Linnanmäki, Seija; Niskanen, Aino, Prof. Emerita, Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Finland; Michelsen, Karl-Erik, Prof., LUT University, Finland; Arkkitehtuurin laitos; Department of Architecture; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Savolainen, Panu, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Finland
Buildings account for nearly 40 % of our final energy consumption today. The biggest single user of energy is air-conditioning (AC) with a remarkable 10–15 % proportion of the total amount. Exact quality of indoor climate is a characteristic feature of 20th Century modern architecture. The social, political, economic, hygienic, aesthetic and cultural objects of AC had significant values for 20th Century modern architecture. Air conditioning has been enhanced for beneficial reasons such as healthy, work efficiency, thermal comfort, convenience, and energy efficiency of buildings. However, AC increases the use of electricity and has a negative impact on global warming and climate change. This study discusses the processes of design and building work in terms of the three main elements of the Theory of Social Practices, materia, competence and meanings. To analyse the role of air-conditioning in modern architecture, materia, I chose two case study buildings, built in Helsinki, Finland 1949–1953: the Head Quarters for the Industrial Centre (architects Viljo Rewell and Keijo Petäjä) and Voimatalo commissioned by Imatran Voima Oy (architect Aarne Ervi). At this time, mechanical ventilation was considered obligatory for office buildings, whereas natural ventilation, a traditional Finnish method of ventilation, was not permitted. The early stages of air-conditioning and Modern Movement architecture before the World War II form a background for the analyses of the competence and co-operation between architects and new profession of HVAC-engineers. The study was comprised of contemporary and research literature, archives of relevant companies and the Museum of Finnish Architecture as well as building archeological observations from the architectural and technical point of view. Office rooms in the Industrial Centre were air-conditioned by famous American Carrier Conduit Weathermaster System. The first large deployment of this type in Europe, was recommended by HVAC-engineer Torsten Kranck who visited building sites of New York skyscrapers in 1950. The air-conditioning industry for thermal comfort and convenience started in 1953 after a licensing agreement between the Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, New York and the State Metal Works and Aircraft Factory, Tampere, Finland was signed. The meanings of new technology were highlighted due to the Carrier Units imported to Finland at a time of depression, currency regulations and war reparations to Soviet Union. The third part of this study encourages people to find ways for buildings and occupants to work together in support of sustainable living and the mitigation of climate change. The demand for easy life and all-year convenience has resulted in energy-consuming world where better energy efficiency is pursued by new, even more electricity using technology with poor material efficiency as Elizabeth Shove has highlighted. People are more tolerant of thermal conditions than the ASHRAE Standard static model suggests. We need to try instead behavioural, physiological and psychological adaptation of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort model created by Fergus Nicol, Michael Humphreys and Susan Roaf.
Ordering the Everyday - Serial photography, repetition and everyday acts
(Aalto University, 2024) Timonen, Hanna; Kella, Marjaana, Prof., Academy of Fine Arts, The University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland; Lehtinen, Sanna, Dr., Aalto University, School Common ARTS, Finland; Taiteen ja median laitos; Department of Art and Media; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Laakso, Harri, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland
Seriality and the everyday are elusive notions that are nevertheless central to photography. This thesis examines photographic seriality as an artistic practice and a quotidian activity. The everyday is not treated as subject matter to be photographically represented; rather photography is understood as a practice deeply embedded in the experience of everyday life. I argue that in order to understand the ways photographic acts take place in the flow of life, an understanding of photographic seriality is vital. Serial photography is approached both as a conscious artistic method and as a means of open engagement with the world, available to anyone with a camera. The work presents four case studies. Zoe Leonard's Analogue and Dina Kelberman's I'm Google are situated within post-conceptual contemporary art. In the last two chapters I introduce the artist Christina Holmlund's N60°09´2 E24°56´1, a series of photographs that are taken on a daily walk with her dog as well as photographs taken by a local photographer from her window. In these examples, photography aligns with other activities like daily tasks, walking, gathering and preservation. The thesis combines close readings of specific artworks, artistic research and two interviews with photographers. The artistic component includes a solo exhibition at the Photographic Gallery Hippolyte in 2018, as well as two further photographic series that test how a situated practice of serial photography unfolds in daily life. The work draws from a range of reading on conceptual art, history of photography, photography theory and everyday aesthetics, specifically the work of Yuriko Saito. The thesis discusses how immediate perceptions as well as larger phenomena become conceptualised through serial photography. In conceptual art, this happened through conscious experimentation with language, performance, and performative acts: briefs and scores for artworks. In everyday photography, a similar conceptualisation takes place when experiences turn into photographs. However, everyday photography does not lead to articulated concepts or artworks in any simple, institutional sense, but further actions, emotions and gestures of sociability. In this way, everyday photography achieves a merger of art and life not accessed by conceptual art. Instead of a rigid system or order, serial photography can then be viewed as embodied engagement with one's immediate surroundings. Looking at photography in relation to those undertakings that form the basis of everyday experience, the thesis ultimately suggests that serial photography can be approached as supporting activity that is related to preservation, maintenance, and care.
In the Middle of Things : On Researching the Infraordinary
(Aalto University, 2024) Coyotzi Borja, Andrea; Paenhuysen, An, PhD, independent curator and writer, Berlin; Taiteen ja median laitos; Department of Art and Media; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Laakso, Harri, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland
The infraordinary is a phenomenon first addressed by Georges Perec in his 1975 text Approaches to what? The in-fraordinary is presented in Perec’s text as an awareness and a questioning of things and events happening in our everyday life. These everyday happenings are not qualified as grandiose; but rather, the phenomenon focuses on the significance of the banal, the common, the things we label as ordinary due to their relationship with functionality or their recurrence in our daily lives. Through his work, Perec invites us to question the ordinary, what we encounter in our everyday lives, objects, situations, routines, and things which we have lost contact with when we dismiss them or qualify them as obvious. In this dissertation, I propose the question What is the infraordinary? not as an interrogative subject, but rather to raise the possibility and purposeful search, and re-search, of the phenomenon. This questioning delves into the processes through which the phenomenon becomes visible and inquiries about the dynamics present in this process. This dissertation approaches the questioning in two parts. The first part, In the middle of things, is practice-based research that seeks through 114 fragments to circumvallate the infraordinary and, in the process, determine which features and characteristics of the phenomenon are visible and how. This first part engages with experimental writing with the purpose of having content and form intrinsically woven. It follows the structure of the book Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar, which invites the reader to choose one of the three (or possibly more) orders to read the book. In the same way, the document In the middle of things invites the reader to decide how to engage with it: either linearly from 1 to 114, or by following a suggested order which is found at the beginning of that part, or by free association by moving at random from section to section. The research in this first part follows a way-finding methodology through a selection of concepts such as visibility, gesture, space, everyday life, and experience, among others. Additionally, In the middle of things engages with the two artistic components included in this doctoral research (the exhibition There was no thought, but a thrive for the visibility of something yet to be named in HAM gallery, and the piece What happens when nothing happens exhibited in Huuto gallery), as well as with related methodologies and practices employed by other artists and writers. The second part, On researching the infraordinary, elaborates on a framework of research on the infraordinary and on the work of Georges Perec in Literary studies and Artistic research. On researching the infraordinary also contains a formulation about the artistic research methodology employed in the section In the middle of things. Researching the infraordinary phenomenon brings forward the opportunity to observe and dwell on different facets of everyday life and to re-consider our relationship with our daily lives. In Approaches to what? Perec invites us to question our teaspoons, why? Why is questioning what is found in our pantries useful? What are our pantries saying to us? What do we encounter, and what do the things we find say about our everyday lives, our contexts, the place we live, the supermarkets, the social dynamics, and the politics of it? To inquire about the infraordinary is not an action delimited by the pursuit of an answer but an opportunity to engage with what surrounds us. A chance to take a moment, to look around and discover all that is already there speaking to us.
Mukana kuvassa : valokuvaus vapautuksen käytäntönä
(Aalto University, 2023) Söderlund, Liisa; Salo, Merja, Prof., Aalto-yliopisto, Suomi; Kantonen, Lea, Prof., Taideyliopisto, Suomi; Suoranta, Juha, Prof., Tampereen yliopisto, Suomi; Taiteen ja median laitos; Department of Art and Media; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Laakso, Harri, Prof., Aalto-yliopisto, Department of Art and Media, Suomi
Since the 1840s, photography has been used to reveal social inequality. The tradition of social documentary photography has been formed from the photographers attempts to influence the problems prevailing in the surrounding reality, and the participants have also been invited to document their own everyday life and oppressive circumstances. IN THE PICTURE – photography as a practice of liberation deals with participatory photography. In this research, nine people who have experienced homelessness look at homelessness using photography as their tool. The photographs make the topics that are important to the participants visible. When pictures are shown in exhibitions, the purpose is to increase people's awareness of homelessness and to act as a visual counter-speech to the stigmatization caused by homelessness by changing stereotypical perceptions of homeless people. Theoretically, the research is based on the pedagogy of the oppressed by Brazilian educationist Paulo Freire (1921–1997). Freire's thinking is considered one of the theoretical cornerstones of critical pedagogy. In the empirical research, the photographic and discussion material is conceptualized as a practice of liberation with the help of Freire's ideas. This means that photography supports people's participation, cooperation and becoming visible and heard: it is a dialogic and critical awareness-seeking activity. Methodologically, IN THE PICTURE represents rebellious research, i.e. it belongs to those critical studies that take a social stand, where the participants work together with the researcher to achieve a more just world.
Finnish Architects in China : Discourses and Practices
(Aalto University, 2023) Zhao, Yizhou; Nieto Fernandez, Fernando, Tampere University, Finland; Arkkitehtuurin laitos; Department of Architecture; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Sanaksenaho, Pirjo, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Finland
The expansion of globalization in the architecture industry has primarily changed the methods architects use and the organizational structures of architectural firms. Nowadays, international architectural offices that have advanced design capabilities are working globally. Finnish contemporary architecture has constructed its own identity while engaging extensively in international architectural designs. This doctoral dissertation focuses on the practices and discourses of Finnish architects in China and how Finnish architects have participated in the rapid wave of urbanization since China’s economic reform. Sino-Finnish projects bridge Finnish architectural designs, which is a paradigm of the Scandinavian design tradition. China, with a culture significantly different from Finland, is a fast-developing economy where numerous transnational architectures have occurred and more are expected to take place in the future. The primary research question is: How may Finnish architecture—an architectural tradition often associated with Finland’s identity and imagination—reconcile with the Chinese context at the level of practice and discourse? This research consists of several parts. First, the study investigates the backgrounds China brings to international architects and what China expects from them. Given the geopolitical, social development, and cultural differences between China and the West, Finnish architects in China are often situated in a context where discourses oppose and compete, which inevitably influences architects’ practices and discourses. Meanwhile, China continues to have close exchanges with the outside world in cultural and economic fields. Finnish architects have developed new works based on their design philosophies and methods, considering the Chinese urban scale and demands. Also, the study seeks to understand how Finnish architects construct interpretive discourses in a differentiated cultural background and critically analyze the strengths and limitations of these discourses. By analyzing the networks that conduct transnational architectural designs, this study seeks to understand how Finnish architects realize their buildings through collaborative partnerships involving multiple parties, including Finnish architects and local Chinese design institutes. Finally, this research uses a comprehensive case study to illustrate Finnish architects’ ways of reconciling their ideas based on a specific context and how differentiated circumstances have influenced their designs. This dissertation employs a combined approach of discourse analysis and case studies, drawing from diverse sources including interviews, literature surveys, and original documents. It encompasses interviews with architects from Finland and China, analyzing various documents such as drawings, communication records, and meeting minutes. The study spans architectural competition proposals to completed projects and enhances understanding of recent developments in Finnish architecture and globalized architectural design by examining design thinking, social contexts, design execution, and cross-cultural interactions.
Unimagined Spatial Performativity in three Scenographic Assemblages
(Aalto University, 2023) Raya Mejía, Mónica; Loukola, Maiju, Dr., University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland; Elokuvataiteen laitos; Department of Film; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Pantouvaki, Sofia, Dr., Aalto University, Dept. Film, Television and Scenography, Finland
My research presents a philosophical retrospective report and analysis of accidental aesthetic encounters with unimagined scenographic performativity. The aim is to point at the aesthetic potential of the ephemeral in the construction-rehearsal processes of scenography and to what I present as evanescent spatialities. Conceptualizing the unimagined spatial performativity aims to aesthetically appreciate the most ordinary, incidental scenographic assemblages that display their brief performativity away from the gaze of a conventional public. Evanescent spatialities are not necessarily or primarily designed by human agents, nor are they conditioned to "exist" by the presence of a human performer or human audiences; rather, they occur autonomously and spontaneously and may be discovered or provoked by the act of playing. I took a feminist post-human approach to understanding that scenographies work as human and nonhuman assemblages and that bodies in space are always performing their own agenda. My research exposes an intimate and authorized visual archive that makes my photographic and video work an expansion of my practice. I envision that scenographers will continue to expand the discipline by exploring the world beyond anthropocentrism and the capitalism of the humanmade. My study performs my conviction that a scenographer can also act as a philosopher and as a political activist.
Beautiful Rotten Tehran - Multi-Sensory Artistic Research on Contemporary Urban Design in Tehran (Pardis Phase 11)
(Aalto University, 2023) Mousavi, Ali; Taiteen laitos; Department of Art; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Kallio-Tavin, Mira, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Art and Media, Finland
Beautiful Rotten Tehran is a multi-sensorial enquiry into a specific location close to the city of Tehran, Iran, called Pardis Phase 11. This is accomplished by employing visual and acoustemological methodologies as research tools for observing and analysing architecture and urban design. In this regard, this research is an attempt to observe, study and analyse the process of urbanisation in Iran, specifically the housing construction in the Pardis Phase 11 suburbs of Tehran. The interest in the sensory dimensions of Pardis Phase 11 serves as the starting point for this multi-sensory research. The project employs sensorial methodologies such as acoustemology and cartography to investigate the area and urban transformations caused by concepts such as 'modernisation', 'development', 'progress' and 'globalisation'. The work evolves through a large collection of media content in the form of field recordings, photographs and collages made at the Pardis Phase 11 site. The main objectives of the research are a) to contribute towards critical spatial practices that are operating in the spaces between artistic research and urban design, and b) gain new knowledge and understanding of the social aspects and sensory experience of urban and built form (placemaking) in Tehran, Pardis Phase 11. In this research I offer Critical Regionalism as a possible solution to the issues related to Pardis Phase 11 and the research questions. A historical study is also presented to have a better understanding of past values. I also create comparative images of Before, Now and the Future, which resonates with the principles of Critical Regionalism. A chapter on nature embarks on the enormous task of dismantling the concept of nature in the context of urban space. In doing so, I have chosen a religious perspective as the point of departure, as religion is an ancient social concept that has been influential in most societies. Then, after dismantling the religious and philosophical concept of nature, I intend to construct a foundation for understanding urban space in continuation and in relation to the concept of nature. These are necessary steps to create a context for analysing, interpreting and understanding the changes happening in the city of Tehran, in particular the project of Pardis Phase 11.
Talot pysyvät, ihmiset vaihtuvat : Sosialistisen yhteiskunnan rakentaminen entisessä suomalaisessa Kurkijoen kirkonkylässä Neuvostoliitossa
(Aalto University, 2023) Böök, Netta; Knapas, Rainer, FL, fi l. tri h.c., Finland; Niskanen, Aino, Prof. emerita, Aalto University, Finland; Shikalov, Yuri, FT, Finland; Arkkitehtuurin laitos; Department of Architecture; Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu; School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Savolainen, Panu, Assist. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Finland
The study examines the construction of a socialist society from an architectural point of view in the former Finnish settlement of Lopotti in the municipality Kurkijoki as part of the Karelian-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic after the territorial cessions of Finland following the Winter War (1939–1940) and the Continuation War (1941–1944). It sheds light on the norms, goals and principles of construction and planning in the rural areas of the Soviet Union, both at the time of the cessions and later on, which also determined the shaping of the former Finnish territories after the wars. As a subject of study, Lopotti or, since the cessions, Kurkijoki, off ers rare opportunities to examine the fates of buildings representing foreign culture within the context of a new state, because almost all the buildings of the pre-war period have been exceptionally well preserved, both through the wars and the Soviet era. Sovietisation meant bringing all aspects of society under the direction and control of the Communist Party and a complete change of population. The restructuring of the countryside was guided by the division between industrial and military twns and rural areas created in the 1920s, and by the classifi cation of collective farms and the ideal of the collective village created in the 1930s. The Finnish buildings were exploited as a resource, hybridised or adapted to the needs of socialism, both in terms of their function and architecture.After Finland temporarily retook the area in 1941, it was returned to Finnish normalcy, that is, dehybridised. After the cession of territory in autumn 1944, the process of sovietisation was repeated. For Kurkijoki, however, sovietisation did not bring about the modernisation of living conditions and society in the same sense as in post-revolutionary Russia; on the contrary, compared to the Finnish period, its material development stagnated or even took a step backwards. Thanks to the rare survival of its built environment, the Kurkijoki settlement also provides an exceptional starting point for examining the cultural encounter or clash and the reception of the buildings of a foreign culture within a new state context amidst the process of Sovietisation and after the reconquest in 1941. Many factors infl uenced the way in which this building resource was dealt with in the Soviet Union, especially the position of the individual in a socialist society, the ambivalent attitude of the authorities, the blurring of the Finnish history of the area and rootlessness. Nevertheless, the case of Kurkijoki shows that even buildings of a foreign culture with contradictory connotations can be extensively hybridised when, at the same time, they are cleansed of culturally or ideologically alien features. However, it may be diffi cult or take several generations to incorporate such a resource into the national building heritage. In the Soviet Union, the Kurkijoki settlement had the status of the local and central village of the Kurkijoki sovkhoz, for which an extensive town and building plan was drawn up in 1975 in line with the then current ideal of an agrotown. However, by the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the plan had only been implemented to a limited extent and ultimately, in the postsocialist period, there was no longer any justifi cation for the implementation of the Kurkijoki urban development plan. The pre-war building stock in the actual settlement survived the Soviet era almost intact. On the Soviet scale, the case of the Kurkijoki settlement is just one example of the failure of rural modernisation and urbanisation. The large-scale plans did not match the available fi nancial resources, and the rigid and hierarchical administrative system did not really allow for the specifi cities of the local building tradition and the use of local resources.

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