11: Copenhagen

Last week I took a short trip to Copenhagen- excited to see the attention to detail in design, modernist and minimal style, enormous variety of chairs, and palace with a Princess from Australia. My initial impression was being struck by the way that contemporary and more classical/historical building exist in harmony with each other- often complementing in a manner that highlights their individual architectural qualities, including the colour, materiality and form.

Denmark has always been on my radar as somewhere to eventually visit, perhaps in part due to the Sydney Opera House- designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. I hadn’t expected that when I’d get there, there would be such a interesting and innovative approaches architecture all in close proximity, and so densely. The Danish Architecture Center (DAC) does a remarkable job of bringing this together, including a map of the city that gives a notification whenever you approach notable buildings, with information and insights about it. The DAC became integral to my stay in Copenhagen very quickly- being an accessible and centrally located, within the landmark BLOX building that invites anyone who enters to discover more about architecture in Copenhagen and Denmark.

BLOX building, housing the Danish Architecture Centre.

The Danish Architecture Centre (DAC) is a cohesive and innovative collection of information, education and design- it hosts various exhibitions, tours and talks. During my visit, an exhibition by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) was taking place- entitled “Formgiving”. The layout of the gallery, consideration of the space and detail of the work. The exhibition was organized around 10 gifts that these exhibited projects give. This is summarized as “The gift is the world changing power of formgiving”- BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. I was blown away by the exhibition and the broad variety of projects contained within. I left feeling incredibly inspired and excited about architecture, and my role within the industry- as it evolves in the future.

Having spent the better part of 4 hours at the DAC for the exhibition, I decided to return the next day for a contemporary architecture walking tour- entitled “Copenhagen- capital of cool”, which took the participants out to Ørestad to explore some of the contemporary architecture in the area, and the development and planning of the area. The tour was led by a brilliant young woman, studying Architecture in Copenhagen- who guided the tour through the key ideas and buildings in a really engaging manner. I enjoyed the tour greatly, so the next day I ended up on architecture walking tour 2.0 - exploring the historical aspect of Copenhagen, based centrally and exploring different periods of time, what was happening in Denmark and the world, and how the architecture manifested around that.   

Seeing such a variety of architecture, the space for different ideas to come into fruition, and the amount of innovative, environmentally driven, socially minded architecture was invigorating. Drawing comparisons to my experience within Sydney- which feels like a developer driven, endlessly expensive rat-race, it was brilliant to see cities designed with biking as a central activity. To see housing designed to encourage social interaction. To see materials and designs not only responding to the climate, but finding innovative ways to be carbon neutral, to reuse materials, and to be experimental in the forms in which these architectures manifest.

Copenhagen reinvigorated my interest and love of architecture. It inspired me further to pursue further studies in a context that challenges and develops skills. The city made me feel more of what a liveable city has the potential to be-  and reminds me of one of my favourite TEDtalks, given by Amanda Burden- where she finishes by saying “I believe that a successful city is like a fabulous party. People stay because they are having a great time”. Copenhagen was a bike-filled, diverse and beautiful example of a city, which I feel as though I could spend so much more time getting to know.

Until next week!

AP

For more photos from my time in Copenhagen, click here. For information about BLOX (the building housing the DAC), click here. For the Danish Architecture centre, click here- and for Amanda Burdens “How Public Spaces Make Cities Work” TEDtalk, click here.