Spatial Traces of Societal Change

What is the topic of your Doctoral Thesis?

My thesis is in architecture and urban design, and it examines how we can trace societal changes through the architecture of schools in Stockholm over time.

Why did you choose this topic?

I chose this topic because of the importance of schools as institutions and places of education and everyday life, helping to build a more just society. Swedish schools have a long history; in 1842, the Swedish state decided to ensure an equal school system for all, and has since then published guidelines on school buildings and schoolyards recommending how they should be designed. These guidelines recommend how to materially manifest the values and norms of education, play, and discipline in society. I think it is very interesting to follow these over time and examine how the contemporary built environment of public schools in Stockholm physically manifests these recommendations.

Another important point is that schools are common; everyone has a relationship to school, whether as a pupil, a staff member, or someone with children or relatives in school. The long history of public schools and their commonality contribute to many school buildings and schoolyards constructed in Stockholm over time, a rich material to research. Furthermore, several social improvements were implemented in schools in the early 20th century, such as health and dental care, hygiene, and a free meal in the school canteen. Today, discussions focus on how school environments can support children's health, for example through schoolyards with specific designs, supporting movement and exposure to greenery.

What are the most important results?

What my research shows is that some of the recommendations are materially manifested to a high degree in public schools, such as proximity to parks and sports fields, while others, such as schoolyard size, are materially realised with greater variation. At times, schoolyards are much larger than recommended, while at other times they are smaller. This is an important finding, since it shows how there are other urban functions, or societal infrastructures, besides school buildings and schoolyards that are prioritised higher in the planning process at times. 

The methodology can be applied to many other urban functions, and I have already started exploring how, especially the morphological analyses, can be used in a collaborative project (Närmiljö) with the City of Stockholm and KTH.

Who will benefit from your results? What kind of impact may it have on surrounding society?

The methodology developed in the thesis can benefit urban design and architecture research as well as architectural history by combining analyses of documents with morphological analysis to show how historical decisions and urban designs remain traceable today. The results can also benefit the planning practice in the City of Stockholm and, of course, other municipalities, both through increased knowledge about public compulsory schools specifically and through the methodology used. Today, as municipalities face a demographic drop and may need to close several schools in the near future, I hope the methodologies presented in the thesis can help municipalities decide which schools to close, so as not to increase inequalities or reduce access to public schools in some neighbourhoods.

What will you do next/where can one reach you?

For now, I will continue teaching part-time in the Sustainable Urban Planning and Design master's degree at KTH and return to the office, Rundquist Arkitekter, where I took leave to pursue my PhD. I look forward to translating and testing my research methodology in practice and test how it can be used across the variety of projects we do at the office.