Interfaces in the Built Environment. Bridging Technology and Culture in the Baltic Sea Region (Proceedings PHD Symposium)

Abstract

The aim of PhD symposium “Interfaces in the Built Environment. Bridging Technology and Culture in the Baltic Sea Region” was to explore, identify and map innovative Research approaches for shaping the built environment which are based on interdisciplinary collaboration.

The motivation for the symposium´s realization came from the shared belief of the members of the scientific committee that there is a growing need to establish a network of Young scientists and future professionals within the Baltic Sea region, who in their research work are addressing problems related to the shaping of the built environment from an interdisciplinary perspective. There is also a need for more cooperation and understanding between the disciplines of the built environment themselves, such as architecture, structural and civil engineering, urban planning and design, as well as artistic and philosophical studies related to space.

In the context of the symposium, the shaping of the built environment is understood as a collaborative creative process which aims at improving and further thinking the social, technical and esthetical quality of the built urban environment in order to answer the current societal needs by using diverse and interdisciplinary oriented methodological approaches. Interdisciplinarity, on the other hand, is seen as a source of inspiration and a key to innovation. Innovation is born where active exchange between disciplines takes places and the more diverse the inputs in the exchange process, the more comprehensive the Definition of the problem and the spectrum of possible solutions.