Regin Schwaen

Associate Professor of Architecture

E-Mail: Regin.Schwaen@ndsu.edu

Phone: 701-231-5793

Education:

M. Arch. Arkitektskolen i Aarhus, Denmark, 1992

H. F. (Higher Preparatory Examination) Aarhus Seminarium, Denmark, 1985

T. A. (Technical Assistant in Building and Construction) Horsens Tekniske Skole, Denmark, 1982

Research and Interest:

Seven years of professional practice with more than twenty years experience in architectural education, lectures, work-shops, and applied research with a focus on minimal structures in concrete, ferro-cement, and fabric form

Selected Publications and Recent Research:

Exploration of various textures in ferro-cement panels – Presentation at the 4th International Conference on Structures and Architecture (ICSA), Aalborg, Denmark. 2022. Publication: CRC Press, Vol. 2; pp. 35-36.

House in a House – ASES conference presentation. Publication: International Solar Energy Society and American Solar Energy Society, Boulder. 2020. Colorado; Vol. 49; pp. 110-119.

Judging a book by its cover – Architecture and Culture/AHRA Review of Books. Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Oxford shire, Great Britain. 2020. Vol. 8; pp. 1-4.

Bricks and books: Reinventing the teaching of architectural history and theory – 34th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student. With Margarita McGrath, Virginia Tech. Niloufar Alenjery, Atelier New York Architecture. Shane Hawley, North Dakota State University. Pia Sarpaneva, School of Architecture University of Texas at Arlington. NCBDS. 2018. Vol 34; pp. 17-33.

Effective Assignments and Haptic Teaching Methods in Architectural Structure – In collaboration with Robert Arlt, SDSU, Brookings, SD. 3rd International Conference on Structures and Architecture, Guimarães, Portugal. 2020. Publication: CPC Press, Vol. 1; pp. 235-236.

Leftovers – published in the Italian architecture magazine San Rocco, What’s wrong with the primitive hut? In collaboration with Anders Krüger, artist. 2015. Vol. 8, pp. 212-216.

Fieldwork: The House as a Camera – With Meghan Duda, artist. Presented and published at the ACSA 2014 Fall

Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia Dalhousie University, pp.16-23.

Structure & Pedagogics – presentation at Convergence + Confluence, BTES Conference (Building Technology Educators' Society), Toronto. 2011. pp. 283-290.

Ivan Léonidov and the Parachute Pavilion – Coney Island: The Parachute Pavilion Competition, Princeton Architectural Press. 2007.

Systems, proportions, blocks and shadows – an installation published in The Secret of the Shadow – Light and Shadow in Architecture, Deutsches Architektur Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 2002. p.199.

Licenses/Registration:

MAA (Danish Architects' Association), Copenhagen, Denmark

Professional Experience:

Director and owner of K.A.L.K. in Copenhagen, Denmark. 1995 – 2000

Project architect at the office of Oswald Mathias Ungers GmbH in Berlin, Germany. 1993 – 1995

Founding director and trustee of the architectural magazine B. 1987 – 1997

Professional Memberships:

MAA (Danish Architects' Association License/Registration), Copenhagen, Denmark.

AIA, ND associate Member.

Member of Society of Art (Kunstnersamfundet) at the Royal Academy of Fine Art, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Courses Taught:

ARCH 344 Architectural Structures I

ARCH 371 Architectural Design III

ARCH 372 Architectural Design IV

ARCH 471 Architectural Design V

ARCH 724 Architectural Technology

ARCH 772 Fifth year thesis

Teaching Experience:

Studio Design Lecturer, School of Architecture, Royal Academy of Fine Art, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1995-2000.

Associate Professor, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, 2000-2007.

Associate Professor, NDSU, Fargo, North Dakota, 2007-present.

Ask Me

Who are your role models or inspiring folks?

Architects such as Sverre Fehn, Sigurd Lewerentz, and Jørn Utzon are all exceptionally great Scandinavian designers that inspire me. Their projects celebrate beautiful moments for life, light, and human wellbeing, always merging art, landscape, texture, time, nature, and architecture. I also enjoy projects by Alvar Aalto, Finland, Carlo Scarpa, Italy, Louis Kahn, United States. Peter Zumthor, Switzerland, and Anne Holtrup, Bahrain.

Outside of art and design fields, what inspires you?

I have done quite a lot of mountaineering, biking, and sailing. However, I never did this on a big scale but often visited Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. It was always a question of scrambling, and not doing anything too technical. I think the main reason is contemplation or becoming one with nature.

What do you wish you had known when you started out as a student/in this field?

I had great teachers. They always encouraged me to travel. I feel that books or photos by other people are impossible, because an architect only can learn by visiting the building or a city. I still think so when looking at my large collection of books. It is cumbersome to travel but it about life and accepting that architecture is specific to site.

What was your most memorable meal?

Meghan Duda and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary of our marriage at Henne Kirkeby Kro, a Michelin star awarded restaurant, in the western part of Denmark summer 2022. That meal was utterly delicious and wonderful. Head chef Paul Cunningham arranged the menu as an artist would do, linking each meal and impression from one to the other.

In your office, you can only have three things, one book, one tool, and one picture. What would they be and why?

The book: Taking Measures Across the American Landscape by James Corner. The tool: The mechanical fix-pencil Caran d`Arch. The picture: Abstract painting number 4 by Ad Reinhardt.