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- Beneficial visits; Uppsala Diabetes Center; An identification and application of architectural strategies for healthcare centers to reduce(2026) Johansson, LinneaThe relationship between the built environment and human health has received increasing attention within architecture. While hospitals and acute care facilities are frequently studied, outpatient centers managing patients with chronic conditions often receive less focus. Many contemporary healthcare environments are shaped by standardized models of planning intended to fit diverse medical functions. While efficient, these generalized spaces can overlook the emotional and social needs of certain groups. This thesis investigates how user-centered architectural design can reduce loneliness and negative illness perceptions. Young people with Type 1 diabetes manage a lifelong condition requiring frequent clinical visits, education, and self-management. Research indicates that this group is at a higher risk of mental health challenges, including isolation and illness-related distress. Despite these needs, many diabetes clinics remain generic, outdated, and unfunctional with lacking opportunities for comfort, social interaction, or a sense of belonging. The thesis explores how architectural strategies through spatial organization, materiality, color, and atmosphere can enhance well-being and encourage social connection in outpatient centers. By examining specialized design approaches, the research questions how healthcare environments can move beyond standardized models to respond to the actual experiences of its users. The multi-method approach combines literature review, theoretical frameworks, interviews, and spatial analysis. Existing diabetes clinics in Sweden were studied through site visits and spatial experiences, focusing on atmosphere, organization, and user experience. These observations were complemented by reference projects of contemporary healthcare that emphasize patient-centered design, EBD, and biophilic design. Findings are translated into architectural strategies and a design toolbox for user-centered outpatient centers. The research leads to a design proposal for a freestanding diabetes center at the campus of Akademiska Sjukhuset in Uppsala. This thesis aims at demonstrating how architectural design can integrate medical functionality with social and psychological support, creating spaces that promote users’ well-being
- After-Care; Catalogue of Dismantled Materials Repurposed In a New Building Context(2026) Wennberg, LovisaThe building sector has focused strongly on improving sustainable production processes, but has cared far less about the later lifecycle stages of demolition and material aftercare. As a result, the sector remains far from achieving cradle-to-cradle resource flows and continues to be a major contributor to national greenhouse emissions. This thesis has explored how architects can engage with demolition processes and establish more sustainable resource flows when on-site preservation or transformation is not politically convinced. Rather than opposing new construction, the thesis has investigated how demolition and new construction can be linked to create circular material flows. The thesis practically explored this in the context of Gothenburg through a mapping exercise of a school building scheduled for demolition. The materials found during the mapping were later transferred to a new food court building at Södra Älvstranden in Gothenburg, an area that awaits large-scale transformation and new construction in the coming years. Through a resource mapping method, the thesis has developed a catalogue of reusable components from a donor building and further applied them in the design of a new architectural project. To connect material lifecycle endings to beginnings, the thesis has proposed a design-driven approach to care for materials previously seen as waste. It aims to move architectural design beyond the early stages of a materials lifecycle and has investigated ways to work simultaneously across both the early and later stages. The thesis has found it beneficial to use resource mapping to reduce building waste. The method provided a clear framework for the design process, in which form necessarily followed availability. It successfully achieved the aim of caring for materials previously considered waste. The project also covered clear challenges in providing for the full construction requirements of the new design. There was a clear challenge in reusing materials categorised as in-between layers, as they were porous and difficult to dismantle without damage. In future investigations, mapping a conceptual donor as a resource for a new building design would benefit from a larger mapping exercise, perhaps using waste from several demolition projects that provide a larger database, and thereby increase the reuse opportunities.
- Plattenumbau; Transformation of a prefabricated panel building(2026) Schwarz, MarlenePrefabricated mass social housing buildings, known in German as Plattenbau, are the face of GDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) cities. They are the legacy of a country that no longer exists. Built in the 1970s, they are the consequence of engineers and architects' research on extreme standardisation of construction. After World War II, prefabrication was presented as the solution to house as many people as possible in good conditions across Europe. Taking a close look at the Plattenbau heritage reflects the question of collective memory. Since German reunification in 1989, far from their original appeal, they illustrate the failure of Soviet modernism. Today, more than one million units stand vacant, and entire districts are being demolished. The discrediting of these modern buildings is unreasonably blamed on their architectural features, and this unwanted heritage has, since the fall of the Iron Curtain, been hastily erased from the surface of the earth to make space for other types of housing. Housing is a human right, yet Europe is still facing a housing crisis. This thesis aims to expose the qualities of the Plattenbau as a resource to provide homes. By understanding the utopian ideology behind prefabrication and the development of living norms, it is possible to recognise the spatial and living qualities provided by this architectural legacy on one hand and the negative impact it had on societies on the other. Furthermore, the thesis also examines the spatial impact caused by demographic shrinkage. Indeed, uneven demographic changes have an impact on small and medium size towns of the former DDR. They lead, for example, to the under-usage or vacancy of standing buildings. The two mass social housing districts, built in 1975 next to the Hanseatic city of Stendal, are a striking example of the challenges former East German middle-sized cities are facing nowadays. This work presents both the availability of empty Plattenbau prone to demolition and the shrinking cities phenomenon as incredible opportunities for our generation of architects to think about housing in a post-growth European context. It explores through architectural and spatial interventions the possibility of regenerating Plattenbau as comfortable and spacious homes, following Renée Gailhoustet’s theory of living spaces. The buildings are seen as a composition of removable and movable prefabricated components. In a shrinking city context, the method used is the de-densification of the existing building by removing components and introducing a mixed-use program of living and working environments in the middle of nature. The result of the project aims to show the potential of Plattenbau for transformation.
- Jonsered Artist Residence; Exploring atmospheres of the rural Nordic built environment as basis for contemporary architectural design(2026) Eriksson, NiklasThe artist residence is an important place in the career of the contemporary artist. A residence offers both a physical space and a period of time where the artist can dedicate themselves fully to their craft and to personal reflection, as well as exchange ideas and network with other artists sharing the same space. Just east of Gothenburg, by the shore of lake Aspen, lies Villa Martinsson. It is a writers retreat operated by Gothenburg University where researchers and scholars can stay to focus on their work in a tranquil rural environment. The retreat lies on the grounds of Jonsereds Herrgård, a manor with English gardens originally built by the former owners of the nearby factories. Though today used by Gothenburg University, various owners have through the years used the manor as a cultural, economic and scientific gathering space. As the site of the manor holds significant cultural and architectural value, this thesis explores how the use of the architectural theories regarding atmosphere by Peter Zumthor and the architectural practice of Peter Märkli can be used to design additions to such culturally sensitive environments. By utilizing a research by design approach, it investigates how the atmosphere of rural nordic agricultural buildings can be used as basis for contemporary architectural design in the form of an artist residence. A scholarly expedition across the Scandinavian Peninsula was undertaken where references were gathered, forming the basis of the design. Inspired by Peter Märklis practice, questions regarding proportions and architectural expression were explored through drawings, showcasing the process and evolution of the project. By hosting space for concentrated work for artists of various disciplines, the resulting artist residence expands upon the operation of Villa Martinsson into the arts. As the residence also houses an exhibition hall, the project adds both public and private artistic spaces to the site, continuing the cultural legacy of Jonsereds Herrgård.
- Exploring curiosity; A preschool for small humans to grow(2026) Danho, MariaPreschools in Sweden are expected to provide high quality educational environments, yet reports show that many fail to meet required standards due to insufficient support in areas such as staff development and pedagogical practices. With approximately half a million children between ages 1 and 5 years enrolled in the school sector, preschools play a central role in children’s daily lives, as many spend several hours there each day. The project examines how a preschool can be designed with children at its centre where architecture actively supports play, development and social interaction. The theoretical framework has guided the design choices with measures such as careful zoning to establish a clear and spatial structure that balances active as well as quieter environments. The spatial experience has been central to enhance the child’s scale and perspective, with the intention of creating a coherent and inspiring environment. The design proposal consists of a preschool of one storey with four departments and a central common space, located in the northern part of Mosås, in southern Örebro. The site is currently reserved by the municipality for a new preschool, while the area is under development with new housing planned around the site. This has also been the main challenge of the thesis as the lack of an established context made it difficult to relate the preschool to its surroundings. The proposal has therefore been illustrated with an example of what future neighborhoods in the area could look like. The design draws inspiration from both pedagogical approaches and built examples, including Reggio Emilia and Montessori pedagogy, as well as preschools such as Råå förskola and Kindergarten Elsa Triolet. The chosen methods were applied across different stages of the process, where case studies and an extensive sketch phase formed the core of the work, while study visits provided first-hand spatial understanding and theoretical research deepened the knowledge of child-centred environments