"All assignments have their special opportunities and challanges"
Josefina Nordmark, CEO of Nordmark & Nordmark Arkitekter AB, is a prominent architect with many buildings on the track record. She is also an adjunct professor and teacher at Luleå University of Technology's civil engineering program in architecture, where she is responsible for two advanced level courses in the field of house building.
"It's great to be able to combine my work as an architect with the teaching of the next generation of colleagues", says Josefina, who was recently portrayed in SVT's series "Home of the architect" where both her own home in Luleå and her international and local assignments were presented. See the link to the feature below on this page.
Josefina Nordmark derives much of her inspiration from the character of the place, all assignments have their special conditions and common to all projects is a conscious approach to the place. The British-Swedish architect Ralph Erskine, who was one of the foremost figures in Swedish architecture during much of the 20th century, is one of Josefina's role models. Ralph Erskine designed "Shopping" in Luleå in 1955, which was one of the world's first indoor shopping malls. He worked extensively with adaptation to local conditions.
"To me, human needs are always at the center, architecture is an important part of our everyday lives and the physical environment affects us in many ways. Creating environments for people who touch and make us feel good is a strong driving force. As an architect, a great empathy is a very important characteristic", says Josefina.
Josefina Nordmark also guides students in their thesis work, an inspiring job.
"This is a broad education, which gives a wide range of topics. It's incredibly exciting and I also get to learn new things all the time. Analyzing and reflecting on what one does during the study period is important. In my role as a teacher, I want to get the students to work on this, they will benefit from it in the future", Josefina predicts.
To have the current civil engineering degree in architecture supplemented by a traditional architectural education, where more time can be spent on the humanistic and artistic parts, is something that Josefina sees as positive.
"Our Arctic climate up here in the north gives us both challenges and opportunities where a traditional architectural education could become specialized in precisely the conditions prevailing on our latitudes", concludes Josefina Nordmark.
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