Traena, Norway | Summer 2021 A term
JUNE 16 – JULY 21

program will take place on the Island of Traena, located in Norway in the Arctic Circle. After touring Oslo we will arrive in Traena to work with the local community, to design and build a community gathering area around an existing pond with views towards some emblematic monumental rock outcroppings. This is a planned site for some green development that includes artists in residents, small unit housing for visitors, a museum and sauna. The community has identified the site as sacred and wants to preserve its beauty, ecology and community connections. The program is 4 weeks beginning June 16th. The program is open to all students of all disciplines.

• January 13 11am-12pm PCT zoom
• January 20 11am-12pm PCT  zoom
• January 27 11am-12pm PCT  zoom

Zoom meeting ID: 975 4582 3131, Feb only

• February 5 am 12pm-1pm PCT zoom

Chiba University, Japan

The College of Built Environments has an ongoing exchange relationship with Faculty of Horticulture at Chiba University in Japan. Students also have the opportunity to participate in other foreign study programs through the University such as the Valle Scholarship and Exchange.

ScanDesign Programs

Supported by the ScanDesign Foundation, the College of Built Environments offers a series of programs that directly involve architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design students in the work of Gehl Architects, an internationally renowned leader in environmentally sensitive design, and use both Copenhagen and Seattle as sites for learning. These programs give students the opportunity to see and study examples of Denmark’s innovative approach to sustainability firsthand and then give them an opportunity to apply what they have learned in Seattle.

To find out more, visit: http://scandesign.be.uw.edu/

Valle Scholarship and Exchange

Unparalleled in the United States, the Valle Scholarship and Scandinavian Exchange Program has a dual mission: (1) To promote and fund the exchange of graduate students between the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington and programs in the Nordic countries. (2) To support outstanding graduate students in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Built Environments.

To find out more, visit http://www.engr.washington.edu/valle/

New Zealand | Post-Earthquake Resilience Design for Christchurch | Winter 2020

A Winter 2020 design studio will be offered in Christchurch, New Zealand, with accompanying urban design study tours to Wellington and Auckland led by Professor Nancy Rottle and Architect Paul Olson. The curriculum also incorporates place-based media studies and independent study investigations.  Please attend the information session on Wednesday, May 15, for a glimpse of this past winter’s NZ experience and to hear about plans for winter 2020!

InterAction Nepal | Design, Development, Global Health | Autumn 2019

InterAction Nepal is an immersive, interdisciplinary study abroad program offered with the support of the UW Department of Landscape Architecture, the JSIS South Asia Center Nepal Studies Initiative, the Department of Global Health and Traction | Nepal. The program will challenge you to delve into contemporary issues surrounding urban development in the Kathmandu Valley and respond to them at a local scale through community-based human centered design, project implementation and assessment. You will work with local students and residents of an underserved community to design and build a small-scale intervention in community infrastructure and evaluate project impacts on human and environmental health. You will also have the opportunity to pursue your own research interests through independent study. Program activities include lectures and discussions, organizational site visits, field trips within and outside the Kathmandu Valley, community meetings/workshops and hands-on design/fabrication/construction.

For details, visit the program’s study abroad page.

Iquitos, Peru | Development and Human and Ecological Health in the Amazon Rainforest | Early Autumn 2019

Students will spend 2 weeks in the Amazon Rainforest and 2 weeks in the City of Iquitos, Peru to learn from landscape architects, ecologists and health professionals about the impact urbanization has on health and ecosystems in this region using interdisciplinary approaches. Students will also have the opportunity to engage with the InterACTION Labs program, a partnership between UW and Peruvian researchers and designers and an informal floating slum community in Iquitos.

For details, visit the program’s study abroad page.

Osaka & Tokyo, Japan | Asian Urbanism Exploration Seminar |Early Autumn 2019

For details, visit the program’s study abroad page.

Sweden |Design/Build Dals Langed Sweden – Public Sculpture/Community Identity | Summer 2019

In this design-build program, we will collaborate to create a landmark sculptural observation tower as a feature that provides an identity and wayfinding mechanism for the community of Dals Langed. The Dals Langed environment is one of renowned natural beauty and is rural in character, with extensive lakes, canals and woodlands. It is heavily populated by refugees from Syria. The students will learn about issues of immigration, displacement and assimilation and the perspectives of the refugees and host Swedish populations. In addition, we will visit Stockholm, the largest city in Sweden with wonderful historic buildings, contemporary squares and plazas and world class museums, and Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden to tour the historic fabric, visit the re-known craft museums and sections of the city under-going urban revitalization.

For details, visit the program’s study abroad page.