Architectural education in the long tradition has consisted of two major steps. First the basic education on principles, methods, design strategies and various fields of knowledge to achieve the ability to produce relevant architectural drawings. Second the physical encounter with high quality architectural works from distant locations and periods, for documentation, interpretation and extrapolation into the present. This second part is traditionally termed the Grand Tour.
The orientation course explores the Grand Tour as a method for advanced education. It presents numerous examples of architects who have been travelling extensively as the conclusive part of their studies. The system was institutionalised in the French Beaux-Arts culture, but many other examples can be found, not least for Nordic architects travelling and spending time in other parts of Europe and the Mediterranean.
One of the aims of the course is to address the sensual experience of the built environment, reconnecting to architecture as a physical object in the age of digitalized communication. Another aim is to study cases of reception from distant – in location and time – experience as influencing architectural praxis worldwide.
