Short course
The Scandinavian Modernist Home: Domestic Architecture and Interiors
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Location:
Online
Dates and time:
14/09/2026 - 23/11/202618:00 - 19:00
Study format:
Online - live
Fees:
£430.00
What can homes and interiors tell us about modern life, comfort and design? This ten-week course introduces Scandinavian modernism through the home and interior-scaled spaces, asking why domestic design became one of modernism’s most persuasive arenas between the 1930s and 1970s. Rather than treating interiors as secondary to architecture, the course examines how modern ideals were tested and translated into lived experience through planning, materials, light, proportion, furniture and everyday routines.
Beginning with the public presentation of modernism at the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition and figures such as Gunnar Asplund, the course focuses on key Nordic case studies, including the work of major architects and designers such as Alvar Aalto, Finn Juhl and Arne Jacobsen. Students will explore the humane character associated with Scandinavian modernism: its attention to human scale, sensory comfort, materiality, and the relationship between dwelling, climate and landscape. The course situates houses and interiors within wider debates about modern life, welfare ideals and architecture’s social role.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
This course begins on the 14 Sept 2026, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 21 Sept 2026, 18:00-19:00 (UK time).
Week 1: Domestic Architecture and the Scandinavian Modern Project
Week 2: Everyday Functionalism: New Ways of Living in the 1930s
Week 3: Light, Climate, and Interior Atmosphere
Week 4: Villa Mairea: Architecture, Landscape, and Lived Sequence
Week 5: The Soft Interior: Collaboration, Warmth, and Atmosphere
Week 6: Designing for the Body: Health, Proportion, and Everyday Use
Week 7: The Interior as Architecture: Finn Juhl’s House
Week 8: Arne Jacobsen at Home: Domestic Rhythm and the Designed Environment
Week 9: From House to Housing: Domestic Ideals, Community, and the Welfare State
Week 10: Legacy, Critique, and the Afterlife of the Scandinavian Home
Course aims
This course aims to:
- Introduce Scandinavian modernism through domestic architecture, interiors, and everyday objects.
- Examine how Nordic designers used light, materials, comfort, and human scale to shape modern domestic experience.
- Develop students’ ability to read homes and interiors as cultural, architectural, and historical evidence.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- Possess knowledge of underlying concepts and principles in Scandinavian domestic modernism, including comfort, light, materials, human scale, and the relationship between design, domestic routines and the culture of the home.
- Apply their conceptual knowledge to analyse selected Nordic homes and interiors from Denmark, Sweden and Finland in relation their wider social, cultural and architectural contexts.
- Situate Scandinavian domestic modernism within the wider movement of modernist architecture, using appropriate design- and architectural-historical vocabulary and evidence.
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
IT requirements
Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. To access the virtual learning environment you will be required to verify your identity using an authenticator app on a mobile device or laptop in addition to your username and password. Full instructions will be sent to you on the start date of the course. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.
Teaching methods
This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. On the start date of the course students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.
All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Mrs Natalia Schlossberg
Natalia Schlossberg holds an MSt in the History of Design from the University of Oxford. Based in Denmark, her academic work has examined broadcasting, domesticity, and modern design in Denmark. Her current research focuses on modern interiors, Scandinavian design, and the everyday experience of architecture and design, particularly how Scandinavian design has been translated outside Scandinavia through interior and architectural spaces. More broadly, she is interested in atmosphere, sociability, and the ways designed environments shape experiences of modern life.
Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points
Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on a Short Online Course are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.
See more information on CATS points
Digital credentials
All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £430.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Module code: O26P846HCZ
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