BERLIN: Architecture Program
Berlin, Germany
Dates
- Fall Semester - Early September - Mid December
- Spring Semester - Early January - Late April
Application Deadline
- Fall Semester - March 1
- Spring Semester - October 1
Description
Study Abroad Coordinator: Daisy Biddle (d.biddle@neu.edu)
Inspired by Berlin's fascinating architectural transformation and the prolific "often controversial" construction after the fall of the Wall, this program was created for the Architecture students. Berlin is a laboratory for design experimentation. This program acquaints students with the process of rebuilding in one of Europe's key cities and instills a critical attitude towards the physical and cultural context of architecture. Students contrast the recent ultra modern commercial and bureaucratic architecture with the corroded walls and incomplete spaces that still characterize much of the urban landscape.
Today's technologies allow architects to design for building sites they may never visit. What does it mean for an architect to propose a building or to rethink an urban situation in a foreign culture? How do architects develop an appropriate understanding of a place, its history and architecture, in the design process? In Berlin's turbulent context, students combine site analysis with their talent and intuition to design locally relevant solutions.
Courses
The Northeastern Architecture Program in Berlin is an intensive and unique mixture of studio work, lectures, site- visits, language training, and excursions. In addition to seminars and studio work, students explore the city and surroundings, visiting historical building sites and museums and sampling Berlin's rich culture. The semester curriculum is as follows for a total of 16 NU credits: Semester Curriculum (15 weeks)
- Studio: Architectural Design
- Seminar I: The Architecture and Urbanism of Berlin
- Seminar II: Berlin and Architectural Theory
- German Language and Culture
As part of the curriculum, students explore places in Germany and Europe of historical and architectural importance. A number of excursions to be announced will be included in the program. Students will be accompanied by a Northeastern University Professor and local experts. On some weekends and over the term break, students can travel independently.
If you are interested in enrolling in a course not in our database, please send this course for evaluation.
Policies and Process for Evaluations
Host University
Northeastern University will be working with an in-country program to host the Architecture program. The studio and study center are located within friendly neighborhoods filled with galleries, cafes, specialty shops, and music stores. More information TBA.
Eligibility Requirements
Full-time Northeastern University Architecture student nominated by the School of Architecture.
Application Procedure
- Completed Berlin Architecture Enrollment Form in PDF
- Completed OISP online application
- Official Transcript
- Photocopy of Passport ID Page
Cost
Fall 2013 or Spring 2014: $TBD
Includes: Northeastern University (NU) tuition for 16 NU credits ($20,390), and a study abroad fee ($ TBD), which will include housing, International SOS medical assistance, and educational excursions. Students are responsible for arranging and purchasing their own flights.
Accommodations
Two different housing options are available in Berlin. There are a limited number of family homestays (first-come, first-served; see special housing application). Most families are long-term Berliners who offer students valuable insights as well as a chance to practice German and intercultural skills. Alternatively, students can live in furnished apartments shared with NU students. All of our accommodations allow students a look at the diversity of the city, and its galleries, cafes, parks, and markets.
Destination
In the political upheavals of the last two centuries, Germany's attempts to assert itself as world player have also left their impression on the arts. Artists, for a part, have helped shape Berlin from the representation of power in government buildings, to the conception of museums and the works they collect, and the aesthetic interventions conceived by avant-garde artists from the niches they carved out of what became an international, teeming metropolis. Once a symbol by the postwar division of Germany and Europe, Berlin today has emerged as a pivotal city in the middle of a continent moving towards economic and political unity, while also preserving traditions of cultural, regional, and artistic diversity. Berlin offers students a uniquely rich and layered experience. Culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods mark a city functioning not only as the federal and national, national capital, but also as the new center of European Union decision-making and business, and as a springboard to eastern Europe. Precisely these multifarious roles and tensions continue to make Berlin the setting for critical inquiry and a flourishing arts scene.