40 425 Transformation in Practice (Spring 2026)

This seminar introduces the frameworks that govern professional architectural practice, with a focus on working with existing buildings. As climate change and the circular economy reshape the built environment, the value of what already exists continues to grow. Sustainable practice increasingly centers on renewal and reuses rather than new construction, however, the building industry and its regulations remain geared toward new developments.

The seminar therefore examines the legal and regulatory frameworks that shape the reuse of existing buildings, and the creative “rule-bending” often required to work within them. Understanding these frameworks is integral to general practice and fundamental to realizing projects that engage with the reuse of existing structures. Students will be introduced to the work of practitioners from Norway and abroad who specialize in the restoration of listed buildings, the transformation of existing structures, and the reuse of building materials. Through this, students will explore potential career paths within this rapidly developing field of practice.

The seminar is relevant not only for students interested in working with existing buildings but also for those seeking a broader understanding of general architectural practice.

Transformation in Practice courses are part of the research project Provenance Projected: Architecture Past and Future in the Era of Circularity, directed by Mari Lending.

Knowledge

• Identify major regulatory, heritage, and planning frameworks that govern the transformation of existing buildings.
• Recognize drawing types, scales, and documentation methods appropriate to different stages of a project involving existing structures.
• Describe key strategies for reuse and their implications when working with existing buildings.

Skills

• Conduct basic documentation and survey work to record existing buildings, including making an initial assessment of their architectural and historical significance.
• Locate and interpret planning and building regulations and apply them in a simplified manner to a case-study project.
• Prepare introductory written materials such as planning dispensations and project descriptions that demonstrate an emerging understanding of professional communication.
• Take an active and responsible part in group work, contributing to the development of proposals and communicating them clearly to both professional and academic audiences.

General Competence

• Critically reflect on the role of transformation in practice, considering the interplay between heritage, legal frameworks, sustainability, and professional decision-making.
• Demonstrate awareness of the processes, actors, and frameworks involved in working with existing buildings in general architectural practice.
• Reflect on how the emerging field of building transformation relates to a student’s developing professional interests and potential future practice.

The seminar is organized into thematic modules aligned with the learning outcomes and delivered through lectures, discussions, and workshops with professionals from the field. Students undertake on-site surveys and develop a report exploring the potential future transformation of a designated case study site in Oslo. Coursework also involves addressing fictional yet realistic scenarios drawn from professional practice.

Throughout the semester, students engage with architects, conservation specialists, planning and heritage authorities, and other professionals within the building industry. Lectures, excursions, and reviews provide critical context and support the development of each student’s case study analysis.

The Transformation in Practice (TIP) electives and studios are led by Amandine Kastler and Erlend Skjeseth from Kastler Skjeseth Architects. Examples of previous TIP studio work can be found at @tip_archive.

Unless otherwise stated in the syllabus, the seminar requires full-day attendance on Tuesdays and full-week attendance during the elective week. In addition, students must work independently on research and assignments between sessions. Physical attendance for teaching, supervision, reviews, and other educational activities is expected and necessary to achieve the learning outcomes.

Form of assessment: Project

Grouping: Group

Grading scale: Pass/fail

Description:
Working in groups, students are assigned a case study site in Oslo to survey and develop a schematic proposal based on parameters outlined in the syllabus. Each group analyzes the site, identifies its heritage and regulatory context, and proposes an architectural intervention that demonstrates a considered approach to reuse and transformation.

Throughout the semester, students complete a series of short assignments that build toward a final report and presentation to a panel of invited critics. The report simulates basic key components of a professional planning application, reflecting a comprehensive understanding of the legal, regulatory, and contextual frameworks studied in the seminar.

The report includes:

• Cover letter and project description (1–2 pages)
• Statement of significance (1–2 pages)
• One written dispensation, illustrated if relevant
• Situation plan
• Existing exterior elevation drawings, 1:100
• Existing textured elevation, 1:100
• Demolition drawings of exterior elevations, 1:100
• Proposed drawings of exterior elevations, 1:100

Assessment of group projects follows AHO’s regulations on group work (§14-1).
Group work is normally assessed collectively, but individual assessment may be made if one or more students have not fulfilled their obligations to the group.