At the suggestion of one of my advisors, I began my time at the Danish Royal Academy with a literature review and a quick survey of the projects of a local firm, Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter. The reason I’ve chosen to look at this firm is because Dorte Mandrup has become known in recent years for doing “modern but contextual” really well, and has recently been getting more and more attention for her projects in Copenhagen. She also has a strong connection to Amager, the island just south of Copenhagen proper, on which I live. I visited six of her firm’s completed projects on Amager, which was a great way to get a sense of the island and its neighborhoods. To see my comments and photos from all six projects, please go to my Valle blog. The two projects that I am focusing on for the purposes of this article are described below (please see http://www.dortemandrup.dk/ for more of this firm’s work):
_____________________________________________________________
Holmbladsgade Sports + Culture Center (New construction, 2006)
_____________________________________________________________
the building from the front (street) side
Approached from this direction, it really stands out! notice how the upper part of the building meets the abutting apartment house.This is an extremely photogenic building, particularly the bright green interior. It was difficult to stop taking photos. I have to say, that after having seen photos of this building in architecture books and online, I was skeptical about how “contextual” the design might actually be – after all, it’s a huge, silver, prismatic gymnasium amidst a street full of six-story red brick walk-ups. I was actually quite impressed with how well it fit into its surroundings. They key to the building’s ability to do this is its shape – it is pulled back from the street, and from the rear of the building, so that it forms a trapezoid in plan (the longer “base” being where it abuts the neighboring apartment houses, and the shorter “top” of the trapezoid being the free end of the structure that sticks out. (See photo of plan below for further reference.) The material does stand out, but as noted in the Tårnby Courthouse (/police station), this actually helps. And the shape of the building, the fact that it isn’t a dominant part of the streetwall, really helps it to retain a modest presence. Approached from the west, it’s quite evident (though not overpowering); approached from the east, you can’t see it at all until you’re right next to it. The sports and culture center also abuts a pair of older brick apartment buildings, as noted earlier. The building actually meets the bays of the neighboring buildings as if it were continuing their shape (which can be seen in some of the interior photographs – this results in four “house-shaped” shared walls between the buildings). That the architect chose to abut the neighboring building instead of making a completely separate structure is also significant; nearly all of the buildings along this street share party walls, regardless of their function. That Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter was able to accomplish such an elegant point of contact between the new gymnasium and the old building is quite impressive.
approached from the other direction, it melts back into the block/exterior meeting of old + new structures
detail of material interface/plans of building
the sport center from the back; its shape creates an open space connection to the prags boulevard bicycle and pedestrian path
more material interface detail
viewed from the back also, the building “melts” back into the block, which keeps it from being overpowering amidst the brick walk-ups
a detail of how the structure meets the abutting buildings
interior of the sports center
you can see the shape that is created where the sports center meets the apartment building next door – it’s a reflection of the neighbor building in section/detail of same
interior shot facing in the direction of the abutting buildings
_____________________________________________________________
Neighborhood Center Jemetelandsgade (Rehabilitation + addition, 2001)
_____________________________________________________________
view of the project from the front; it’s both an addition and an adaptation of an existing building
the project from the back (alley) side – although the addition is very modern-looking, its massing is appropriate to the space, and it reflects neighboring buildings in its glassy exteriorThis project is an intervention within an older brick building using a frame to stabilize the structure where new openings in the brick walls were created. The frame also carries newly added circulation elements, and provides spatial organization for the main atrium space. Besides the frame, the most interesting part of this project is the new addition on the east end of the building. The architects created a freestanding “box,” which accommodates special events, classes, and workshops. Because the size of the box is so diminutive compared to the hulking brick building it’s attached to, it’s hard to say whether or not it’s contextual per se – but it’s definitely unobtrusive. It’s also placed in the back of the building, which makes it unlikely that visitors to the library or community center would actually see it from the outside. When I visited the building, there was a special class going on inside the box, so I wasn’t able to get interior photos of that part of the building (no doubt I’ll be back; it’s a very interesting project). From the exterior, the box does seem to do a good job of fitting in; nearby building facades are reflected in its glassy exterior, and it fits snugly into the pattern of bays of its host building as well as following the setback established on the rest of the block.
the building exterior, facing the other direction/the main atrium space (with newly inserted frame)
atrium space/detail of frame
the addition meets the building/the cube “floats” on concrete columns
approached from the back, the addition is hardly noticeable/view from the rear
view from rear (check out that reflection!)/detail of box
**27/11 update! I was able to go inside the addition today…here are some photos of the interior:
it’s used for special events (meetings and conferences) – all of the walls are glass, but can be covered with curtains to modify the light in the room. there’s also a pull-down screen for multimedia presentations.
looking across the addition back toward the original brick building – they connect at the door
curtains on, curtains off! the walls can be opaque or transparent, making this a flexible space for different kinds of meetings and activities
_____________________________________________________________
In conclusion, this was a very informative and enlightening exercise. Although I began by seeking specific examples of contextual design (meaning new design in an existing established neighborhood context), I also came across some very interesting adaptive reuse (or rehabilitation, as they are called here) projects. These are also contextual in their own way, through their preservation of the existing fabric; they are even more “contextual” than the new projects…but new construction in urban areas presents a particular challenge, and I was glad to find some extremely innovative and impressive solutions presented by Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter. I was particularly excited by the two projects shown above, the Holmbladsgade Sports + Culture Center and the Neighborhood Center Jemetelandsgade (the two are connected by another great project, Prags Boulevard). These two projects involved brand new construction within a clearly defined context, and were both extremely successful. The new buildings themselves are simple, elegant, and functional – and unabashedly modern in both form and use of materials. The designers found creative ways to help them fit into their surroundings without “copying” what was around the site, but simply by taking important cues from the surrounding environment and by not setting themselves completely apart. I am planning next to interview Dorte Mandrup herself, who I think will be an excellent resource – I can see through her firm’s work that she has great concern for contextual design.
Filed under: case studies, contextual design | Leave a Comment
No Responses Yet to “dorte mandrup arkitekter: two projects”