Professor Christian Hermansen Cordua

Aims and expectations

The Scarcity and Creativity Studio (SCS) is a design and build studio within the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) whose focus is on ‘translations from drawing to building’. The studio’s aim is to expose students to the full architectural process, from interacting with the clients to building their designs. SCS seeks challenging contexts in which local conditions and creativity are employed to make the most of scarce resources. SCS welcomes proposals for projects from individuals and groups who need buildings to facilitate their community activities.

Short CV

Christian Hermansen Cordua, Professor, Dip.Arch., Master in Architecture and Urban Design, Registered Architect (NAL & CAC)

Studied and practiced architecture in Chile, the USA and Britain. From 1984 to 2002 he worked in the Mackintosh School of Architecture, where he was Director of Post Graduate Studies, and with Elder and Cannon Architects. The latter work won numerous awards such as The Royal Scottish Academy Gold Medal for Architecture, RIBA Awards, GIA Awards, Civic Trust Awards, The Regeneration Scotland Prize, Europa Nostra Award, Eternit Prize for British Architecture, etc. In 2002 he moved to Oslo, Norway where he was appointed Head of the Institute of Architecture. He has lectured in America, Europe and Asia, has been Visiting Professor at The Central European University, Prague; Washington University, USA; University of Dundee, GB; and Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile; visiting researcher at the LSE, Cities Programme. He has published several books, the last of which is Manifestoes and Transformations, Ashgate, 2010, and contributed to journals, books and exhibitions in Europe and America. Recent research projects include: E-archidoct, (ended in 2010), HERA, Scarcity and Creativity in the Built Environment (2010-1013) and Erasmus Mundus Latin America Project (2012-2015). In recent years he has devoted most of his time to developing a design and build studio called the Scarcity and Creativity Studio (http://scs.aho.no).
Winner, The Architecture of Necessity Competition, Sweden 2016.