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):

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Holmbladsgade Sports + Culture Center (New construction, 2006)

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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

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Neighborhood Center Jemetelandsgade (Rehabilitation + addition, 2001)

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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

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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.

Although I never really intended to do more case studies on contextual design as part of my Valle research, I’ve found so many excellent examples in Copenhagen that I thought they deserved to be shared. My first post on modern contextual buildings in Copenhagen focused on six projects by Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter, and I’d like to pick up where I left off with a new firm, Vandkunsten (literally “water art”), and three of their projects in Christianshavn and Holmen. Although Vandkunsten takes on a wide variety of project types, their main goal is to create high-quality “ordinary” buildings at a reasonable cost. The two projects included in this post are residential (therefore private buildings) and I wasn’t able to take any interior photographs, but I think that the exterior relationship that each building has with its surrounding environment is worth some discussion. I’m still not sure if I’d like to include Torpedohallen in this project, but I’m leaving it in there for now, just in case. (As the light was quite harsh on this particular day, the photos are a bit contrast-y…I plan on returning to get a better set of photos sometime in the future.)

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Det Blå Hjørne, or “The Blue Corner” (New construction, 1989)

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This is an older project of Vandkunsten and was constructed in a somewhat older and historical housing district in Copenhagen. The neighborhood, Christianshavn, has a very distinct character of four- to six-story walk-up apartment buildings sharing party walls, some along narrow streets, some along canals. The Blue Corner, though unapologetically modern, represents a rather successful attempt at integrating new architecture into an older neighborhood of well-established aesthetic character. Vandkunsten chose materials and colors that were different and served the purpose of making clear the age of the new building, or the time period from which it came. The forms and masses, however, were carefully chosen and proportioned to fit into the surrounding pattern of housing. The building is roughly the same height as those around it, and although the roof angles are turned 90° from those of their neighbors, the pitch is still the same, and the shapes appear harmonious with the surroundings. Also, the mass of the corner building is broken up into two discernible parts, each of which is about the same size as a single neighboring building. This reinforces the rhythm of buildings existing on the street while keeping the blue metal and concrete building from being a large, overwhelming mass among a neighborhood of slimmer, taller brick and stucco neighbors. This project is a great example of how careful attention to mass and form can make even the most modern of buildings really fit into a much older existing context.

The Blue Corner, corner view of the two masses

Approaching the building from the north

The Blue Corner and its neighbors to the west

Two views of contextual relationships

Building detail

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Torpedohallen (Adaptive reuse, 2003)

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I think this is a fantastic project. This building was once a raw concrete hall in which torpedo boats were constructed (circa 1952), which has now been converted into condo homes. Many of the surrounding buildings, like this one, were once part of a Danish naval complex that no longer exists in this location. Also, like many of the surrounding buildings, this one was converted from its original military use to serve a contemporary function, rather than being destroyed and replaced by new construction. Although the only original elements of the building are the bare concrete columns and beams of its profile and the boat-launching basin on the interior (see photos below), Vandkunsten carefully chose the newly inserted materials to fit with the maritime character of the structure and the existing context. (My fellow Valle Scholar Libby and I were discussing how much this building reminded us of Miller Hull’s work – it would be right at home in Seattle!) I particularly like the creative use of the building’s existing spaces and rhythms to create great condo units – for example, the insertion of balconies between the concrete columns, or the use of the existing interior hall as a ’street’ within the building (see photos below).

Exterior view of Torpedohallen

Partial view of the building (to the right) from a neighboring dock

View from across the water/Another view from the neighboring dock

The interior of Torpedohallen: The boat launch basin/interior circulation via bridges and an elevator ‘tower’

More interior photos: A nautical public stair/The interior ’street’

Another view of Torpedohallen (on the right) from across the water

This is my third installment of contextual design projects here in Copenhagen…this time I’m looking at two projects by the Danish firm Lundgaard + Tranberg. These particular projects were suggested by one of my advisors, and in all honesty, I’ve found that they have challenged my idea of what ‘contextual’ means. The firm’s mission statement is “[to develop] original and clear architectural concepts while cultivating a highly sophisticated tectonic and material sensibility…[to cultivate] sympathy and understanding for modern society’s social and cultural dynamic.” I’ve found that their projects do exactly this – they are carefully thought out and executed, and are extremely original (see the Tietgen Dormitory and the new Royal Theatre, two of my favorites). But what has impressed me so much about the other projects that I’ve visited is somewhat lacking in this one: a clear acknowledgment of the surrounding existing built fabric. Don’t get me wrong, the project is fantastic, and it’s not as if it ignores its surroundings completely. Kilen is part of a larger landscape plan and responds more to that landscape than it does to the built context, with the result that it appears as a stand-out and stand-alone building, a rare occurrence in Copenhagen. It’s possible that I may be sounding off a bit too harshly here, which is not the intent, because I really like the project, and it is extremely responsible from a quality-of-design point of view (it also utilizes many sustainable building systems). Which perhaps makes it successful in a contextual sense…but I wouldn’t put it first on my list if someone asked me to point out particularly ‘contextual’ projects in Copenhagen. It’s also completely possible that there is more to learn about this buildings than I was able to deduce by simple observation and cursory research. I feel that perhaps I’ve been a bit to narrow in my definition of ‘contextual’…which is why I think it is important that I talk to someone about this project.

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Kilen, or “The Wedge” (New construction, 2005)

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As I mentioned above, this project was part of a larger urban master plan located on the site of an old rail yard. The greater site features include bike paths and park space that turn an area that was previously a barrier into a corridor. They also connect surrounding neighborhoods with the nearby Frederiksberg (shopping) Center and the area Metro stop. It’s a really nice urban design project, and the bike path is fantastic. “The Wedge,” so named because of its distinctive prismatic shape, responds to the sculpted landscape. It functions as the faculty building for the Copenhagen Business School. It also makes great use of natural daylighting and ventilation – unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking and visited on a Saturday when it was closed, but you can see the exterior panels that handle daylight control in the photos. Speaking of which…

Here’s Kilen with its great terraced bicycle parking ‘lot’ in front.

Approaching Kilen from the direction of Frederiksberg Center and the Metro stop. The bike lane is to the left, and the landscaped area takes up most of the rest of the photo. The most significant piece of neighboring architecture is the round brick building in the background on the right, which I believe was part of an old porcelain manufacturing plant.

View of Kilen (far, far in the distance in the center) from the Metro stop area. The buildings to the right are also part of the Copenhagen Business School.

Two views of Kilen from the bike path.

The building’s relationship with its neighbor (which is also, I think, a campus or other institutional building). That’s the bike lot again in the foreground…it’s really nicely landscaped with gravel and plantings.

View of the east facade.

Details of the berm and one entrance.

Kilen from the northwest.

Kilen with ceramic factory stack in the background/Kilen and neighboring tower

Detail of how the building meets the ground/Corner detail of panels

Paneling detail – there are two different kinds, solid and slatted, which are movable.