BASE 1.0 This exhibition marks the third year of exploring common themes during the combined second and third years of our bachelor education. The themes challenged and unfolded in previous years have been Opening(s) and Covering(s). This year the six units have all given their interpretations of the theme Anchoring(s). With Anchoring(s) you can say that we have now come full cile in a cycle that, to the unimaginative, only represents the archetypical elements of the classical temple front; base, colonnade and roof. To the curious and inspired faculty involved in unfolding these themes, it has, however, been a welcome and self-initiated challenge which has pushed the teaching forward year by year. Like the rules made up by children on their way home from school, challenging the daily commute along the all too familiar sidewalk by skipping, not stepping on joints, or doing just that, the involved faculty members have agreed on a common set of rules to challenge their teaching. I would like to thank them all for their effort and hard work along the way. BASE 1.1 For the students who are being educated under this set of rules, it has created a common ground, a base just like the bachelor education of our institution in itself creates a common base from which future studies and specialization can take place. The base, when you look at the meaning of the word, is the starting point for something – it is the original idea or situation, but also a place to which things often return. From ancient times, when building on sloping or uneven ground, the base has been the mediator between the structural elements and the natural condition – the base was the level point of departure necessary for the realization of the mathematically based art of building. The base was also the man-made point of return for all the forces of the built structure – what was projected from the base towards the blue skies of ancient Hellas, was destined to return; what goes up, must come down as Issac Newton said centuries later. Such is also the case with the knowledge created by each student. It is inevitably a projected result of the teaching offered, but as with the physical building, what is projected in one form, returns in another and so this knowledge returns to the (data)base as a common ground for the work of all – students and teachers alike. BASE 1.2 The word base has its origin in the Greek word básis, meaning step or foundation and this is just what a bachelor education is. It is a step in the direction towards becoming a master of something, it is the necessary foundation if you want to build up specialized knowledge. This exhibition is therefore more than a vain act of promotion. It is an offer to any teacher, practitioner or to anyone interested in - and confronted with the task of taking these students to the next level, to see where the starting point for their work is. From here we can begin an informed discussion about the dimensions, the height or material of the base and be assured that we, however beautiful or profound this exhibition might be, do not rest on our laurels but keep pushing ourselves by establishing new positive challenges for our teaching. That the cycle comes to a conclusion with the theme Anchoring(s) - the theme closest related to the concept of the base - is the result of a process rather than a plan. A plan would have led to a more tectonic order, starting from the base and moving upwards, but the whole idea behind revisiting well known architectural elements has been to turn things upside down, to open the eyes of both students and teachers to an unprejudiced look at the basic elements. It has been a long and exciting mission and now is the time to return to base before we venture out once again. Rasmus Grønbæk Hansen, Head of Undergraduate Studies
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