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Are you interested in the layout of the Netherlands of the future? Do you want to have an impact on our environment and be part of creating its better future? In this half-year pre-master programme of the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture, you will be introduced over a short space of time to the fields of Urbanism and Landscape Architecture. The pre-master programme is suitable for students from art schools or other relevant study programmes. You will learn the most important professional knowledge and develop an essential foundation in terms of design skills.
Why this pre-master?
- You will be introduced to historical and contemporary ideas about city and countryside.
- You will increase your insight into the profession of Urbanist and Landscape architect.
- You will learn through practical challenges; you will design and experiment a lot yourself.
- You will get inspired by visiting professionals and various excursions.
- And: when you have successfully completed the pre-master programme, you are prepared for a possible Master’s degree at the Academy of Architecture.
Unique in the Netherlands
What is unique to this pre-master is that we combine the fields of Urbanism and Landscape Architecture. The Academy believes in the importance of urbanists, landscape architects and architects thinking and working in an interdisciplinary manner.
Practical teaching method
At the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam, we believe in learning from experience and applying theory into practice.
Our way of teaching is adapted to these elements. The combination of studying and concrete practise is an essential part of this pre-master.
The dates of the start of the upcoming premasters are not yet known. It will be announced here, as you will also find the application form with the deadline for registration here soon (probably around the end of February). Due to visa regulations, NON-EER / EU students can only participate in the pre-master in the second semester of each academic year (from January/February to June).
During the pre-master, you will work on the following expertises and skills:
1. Knowledge of soil, plants, ecology and Dutch landscape.
2. Knowledge of the fields of urbanism, physical planning and public housing.
3. Design skills - technology and design.
What prior education do you need for the pre-master Urbanism & Landscape Architecture? You can register in one of the following cases:
• You have completed a study programme at an art school (Dutch level HBO).
• You are a professional who wants to do a Master’s degree in Urbanism or Landscape Architecture, but you are lacking important professional knowledge or design skills.
The language of instruction of the pre-master is English. You have level B2 in the English language.
For your admission to the pre-master Urbanism & Landscape Architecture, send us your CV, your motivation letter, your portfolio and your obtained diplomas and lists of grades. Based on this, we assess whether you are suitable for the pre-master.
Selection procedure
A selection procedure is part of the admission to the pre-master Urbanism & Landscape Architecture. Selection is made by the admissions committee and is based on motivation, portfolio, and the stated requirements.
More students apply every year than we can admit to the course. Therefore the selection is careful, with extra attention to a balanced mix of students.
Applicants who pass the first selection round will be invited to a 15-minute online interview with one or two members of the admissions committee.
The pre-master is not intended for students who:
- can be directly admitted to the master's program in Urbanism or Landscape Architecture
- want to use the pre-master as a 'refresher course' or as better preparation for the master
Motivation letter
In your motivation letter you clearly indicate why you want to follow the pre-master Urbanism & Landscape Architecture. What is the goal you want to achieve by obtaining the pre-master?
Portfolio
Your portfolio is a compactly designed document in which you show what design and drawing experience you have gained so far.
- Make sure it is publicly accessible to us, without the use of login codes or registration procedures.
- Please limit your portfolio to a maximum of about twenty pages.
- For a good portfolio, see also the Portfolio Tips & Tricks
Please note: the documents must be submitted in English, because the admission committee consists of non-Dutch speaking members.
We offer the pre-master Urbanism & Landscape Architecture / Architecture & Tachnology one time per year:
- In the second semester: from January up to and including June.
The application for the pre-master for the second semester 2024-2025 is closed. For 2025-2026 you can apply from early September 2025. You will find the application form here on the website.
Minimum number of participants
The pre-master takes place with a minimum of eight participants. Six weeks before the start of the pre-master you know whether it will definitely start.
Costs
- The course fee for the pre-masters of the academic year 2024-2025 is € 1.265.
These costs exclude additional sums for study materials, excursions, literature and food and drinks during workshops.
When will you receive a certificate for the pre-master?
Your skills will be assessed during the pre-master at a number of moments. The assessment will be done on the basis of an assessment form on which the feedback from the lecturers is specified.
Have you successfully completed the pre-master Urbanism & Landscape Architecture? You then have an increased chance of being selected for a Master’s degree at the Academy of Architecture.
Would you like to do a Master’s degree after completing the pre-master?
• Pass this on to the secretariat before the registration deadline.
• After completing the final project of the pre-master, you will be given the opportunity to submit a definitive portfolio.
• The assessment committee will subsequently assess all registrations.
If you are admitted, you will receive personal advice from the course coordinator and teachers about your preparation for the first academic year.
Why a Master’s degree?
Our Master’s programmes train you to become a skilful and authentic spatial designer. You learn to clearly formulate or reformulate design assignments and form powerful conceptual ideas. You know how to translate these into concrete spatial design proposals. In addition, you will learn how to present your plan in an attractive way and how you should enter into debate about your design considerations.
Are you doubting whether you meet the admission requirements? Have you got questions about the registration? Do you have any other questions?
Feel free to send an email with your question to us via avb-premasters-minors@ahk.nl
What will your timetable look like?
The pre-master Urbanism & Landscape Architecture starts with a four-day workshop, with class hours from 9.30 to 16.30. The pre-master has fixed lesson times each week:
- Tuesday from 19:30 - 22:30
- Thursday from 19:30 - 22:30
- Friday from 09:30 - 16:30
In addition, we occasionally organise activities at other moments in the week.
Which subjects and programme components will you follow?
Learning objective: Learning by doing. Go through the design steps of a project by means of making scale models and discussions.
Assignment: Anyone who has ever been to London has been able to experience what the significance of a fragmented city is. Different neighbourhoods of varying origins have barely any connection with each other. In this assignment, we will examine the theme of connection. Various fragments from the city will be connected with each other by means of an object.
Learning objective: The main focus of the Lectures 1 is building up theoretical knowledge about the fields of urbanism and landscape architecture. On the basis of examples, the urban and landscape architectural development of the Netherlands will be explained in chronological order. Following the lecture, an excursion will be made to an example of a time period during Exercises 1. No report is expected from the lectures. The knowledge gained can be used in the studios and the exercises.
Assignment: Landscape Architecture lectures
The main question for the lectures about gardens and landscapes is: why do they look the way they do? In addition to examining the formal aspects of the designs, attention is devoted to the historical, cultural and technological context.
The lectures will cover roughly three periods:
• Classical antiquity – 1750
• 1750 – 1900
• 1900 – present
Assignment: Urbanism lectures
The main question for the urbanism lectures is: How did cities develop over time? According to author and architect Kenneth Frampton, Amsterdam is THE textbook example for international developments in the field of urbanism. In the urbanism lectures, the history of the development
of the city and the different time layers of urbanism in Amsterdam will be considered within the context of political, economic, social and technical developments. Subjects are Medieval Amsterdam, the Canal Ring of the Dutch Golden Age, Berlage’s Plan Zuid, the General Extension Plan of Amsterdam by Van Eesteren, new urban extensions, such as IJburg.
Learning objective: In Exercises 1, ideas from landscape architecture and urbanism are explored by means of exercises and excursions.
The excursions are interrelated with the material handled in the Tuesday lecture and with the studio. The different scales of landscape architecture and urbanism are dealt with in the exercises. From garden to landscape and from building to city. Exercises and excursions are the inspiration for the studio.
Learning objective: The main focus in the studios is the skill of designing. In Studio 1, conceptualisation, fascination and stance are practised in particular and the translation hereof into words and images. Studio 1 is a landscape architectural assignment.
Assignment: This studio focuses on the relationship between urban dweller and nature. The assignment consists of the design of a new connection between city and landscape. By means of analysis and design, hidden layers in the landscape are uncovered. The landscape is examined as part of a larger spatial system. The consequences of a changing use are visualized with a spatial design.
Learning objective: In the second series of lectures, the contemporary practice of landscape architecture and urbanism will be the main focus. In addition to a number of lectures about the themes that are currently playing a role in the field of landscape architecture, the current practice of urbanism assignments will be explained further.
For example, attention will be paid to the development of the Dutch landscape, the way in which climate change is providing new challenges for the landscape architect, and the way in which biodiversity can be incorporated into assignments. In the case of urbanism, major transformation assignments will be explored further, as well as designing in context and designing with urban typologies.
Learning objective: In Exercises 2, basic knowledge about the building blocks of design in landscape architecture and urbanism will be explored by means of exercises and excursions.
Attention will be devoted to the layers in the landscape, layers in the urban construction, a short introduction of plant sciences, urban typologies, construction of public space underground and above-ground.
Learning objective: In Studio 2 the emphasis is on working out a concept, using the urban toolbox.
Assignment: Based on a given program you will make a design for the transformation of a piece of existing city.
In addition to the lessons, the student will work in his/her own time on the final test. This homework assignment is of a designbased nature, but knowledge elements are incorporated herein based on the gaps, which are established for the student in the first half of the minor. The assignment made by the student is presented to the coordinator (and possibly a visiting critic)
and assessed just like the studios on the basis of the Academy of Architecture’s assessment forms. During the presentation, a statement of a problem, formulated assignment, analysis, design, plus the most important details (10 min.) must be shown. The manner of presentation is free.
In the case of the Urbanism students with a preference for urbanism, that will mean a city – urban district – neighbourhood – public space.
In the case of the Landscape Architecture students with a preference for landscape architecture, that will mean a region/landscape unit (park, square or garden) – tree/biotope detail. The type of analysis and argument must tie in with the specific assignment of the student.
During the presentation of the final test, the student will be asked to summarise the other components of the course in a portfolio.