Peer Reviewed

Title: , Then and Now -- The AIA Committee on Design, Historic Resources Committee [Forum]

Journal Issue: Places, 20(3)

Author: Lyndon, Donlyn FAIA

Publication Date: 2008

Publication Info: Places

Permalink: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/812847nf

Acknowledgements: This article was originally produced in Places Journal. To subscribe, visit www.places-journal.org. For reprint information, contact [email protected].

Keywords: places, placemaking, architecture, environment, landscape, urban design, public realm, planning, design, volume 20, issue 3, forum, AIA, Donlyn, Lyndon, Danish, modern, then, now, historic, resources

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eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. Forum Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA Danish Modern, Then and Now The American Institute of Architects Committee on Design Historic Resources Committee

These Forum pages were printed under an agreement between Places/Design History Foundation and The American Institute of Architects. They report on the conference “Danish Modern: Then and Now,” held in , , in September, jointly sponsored by the Committee on Design (2008 Chair, Carol Rusche Bentel, FAIA) and the Historic Resources Committee (2008 Chair, Sharon Park, FAIA). T. Gunny Harboe, AIA, served as Conference Chair. For additional conference documentation and photos, go to: http://aiacod.ning.com/.

In 2009, the COD theme will be “The Roots of Modernism and Beyond” (2009 Chair, Louis R. Pounders, FAIA). The spring conference will take place in Boston and the fall conference in Berlin, with visits to pivotal buildings and institutions in both cities, including the in Dessau, Germany.

For more information on the 2009 conferences go to www.aia.org/cod. The five-day conference and tour Architecture Center, in Copenhagen, “Danish Modern, Then and Now,” and the Danish Ministries of Culture Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA, is Eva Li Professor of organized jointly by the AIA Commit- and Foreign Affairs. Although the Architecture and Urban Design, Emeritus, at U.C. tee on Design and the AIA Historic demanding pace of the tours and Berkeley and Editor of Places. He is a recipient of Resources Committee, was a true, seminars often left too little time to the AIA/ACSA Topaz Award, and with his partners well-fashioned, and elegant smor- fully savor the offerings, it allowed for in Moore Lyndon Turnbull Whitaker, received the rebrod, with artfully arranged, visu- thoughtful exposure to both the heri- AIA’s Twenty-Five Year Award for Condominium ally stunning morsels put together tage of and the vitality One at The Sea Ranch. He is author, with Jim in sensible courses: a feast of experi- of current explorations. Alinder, of The Sea Ranch, published by Princeton ences and information assembled Architectural Press. in collaboration with the Danish Above: Radhus. Photo by Tom Rossiter, FAIA.

Places 20.3 81 Some Great Projects The Program The Danish heritage of careful thought was demonstrated in projects For an excellent view of the program, with the basic information and pho- ranging from the light and spirited tographs of projects visited on the trip, see the illustrated convention program eighteenth-century Trinitasis church, that can be found on the Web at www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/COD_fall08_ to the astonishingly expressive and conf_brochure.pdf. exuberant Town Hall of the turn The tours included a boat trip, which provided an overview of many recent from the nineteenth to the twentieth developments along the harbor; a full-day walking tour of significant historic century, to the richly detailed and buildings in the center city, including the magnificently conceived and crafted quietly luxurious Radiohuset concert Town Hall, completed in 1905; and a bus tour of iconic buildings represen- hall, designed by Vilhelm Lauitzen tative of Danish Modern from the 1920s through the 1960s, including the in the 1930s and opened in 1945. It Louisiana Museum. It also included a tour using the Metro to visit examples was also evident in the finely scaled of new developments at Orestand and the revitalization of older areas of the and handsomely sited Fredensborgh city, including reclaimed Navy Yard buildings that now house the Royal courtyard housing complex, designed Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture. That day ended with by Jorn Utzon in the early 1960s, and visits to the recently completed opera house and the new Playhouse, striking in the spatially inventive light-mod- buildings, which bracket the harbor channel in a figurative display of cultural ulating forms he employed for the investment. The five-day conference and tour concluded with a suitably Bagsvaerd Church in the mid-1970s. festive dinner held in the frolicsome Tivoli Gardens, in the heart of the city. At the shore, in Klampenborg, For a sense of the depth of design studies and the concern for engaging we could imagine from the street public interest in design and planning for Copenhagen, see the Web page for similar thoughtfulness in the Belair the Danish Architecture Center: www.dac.dk/. It was a partner in the orga- and Soholm housing projects by Arne nization of the conference. Especially valuable is Copenhagen X: www.cphx. Jacobsen, from the 1930s and 50s, dk/, which has an effective interactive page, with access to photographs and respectively. They are two very differ- descriptions of several of the projects highlighted in the conference, as well as ent collections of forms and materials, to many others, and links to the firms that have produced the work. yet each is compelling in its own way, In addition to visits to an array of very interesting and sometimes pro- and powerfully suggestive for its time. vocative sites, as well as background talks that set each of the days’ visits in They are joined by the serenely mod- context, there were smaller group visits and dinners, hosted by several archi- ernist Bellevue Theater, also by Jacob- tecture firms in Copenhagen, where more intimate discussions took place sen. The attentive, inhabiting care of among colleagues. There were also informative visits to the headquarters of it all has since been assaulted by a crass the and companies, which manufactured some “gas station from everywhere,” which of the earliest and most widely noted examples of Danish and light- now stands by its side. The contrast ing, and which remain actively involved in the evolution of Danish Modern is made even more poignant by the design. On the final day, there were workshop sessions involving selected AIA iconic geometric canopy of another visitors and speakers and architects from Copenhagen, who together explored gas station, designed by Jacobsen, just six themes that had been laid out by program organizers. Notes on those ses- a short distance away. Ironically, its sions are included at the end of this report. clarity of form has seldom been emu- lated, though it is akin to his plywood chair and its variants, now found In reflecting upon it subsequently, also about inhabiting community: throughout the world. I found the achievements of the city of about being in places where there The Tietgen College, of 2005 and Copenhagen and its design commu- has been a common understanding 2006, by Lundgaard and Tranberg, nity all the more impressive. During of what the environment can give us, shows a comparable investment of those days we learned how rewarding and where many carefully considered imaginative thought, here spent in it can be to inhabit thought—to be in opportunities are provided to encoun- creating a cylindrical ring that, while places where disciplined imagination ter and experience other activities and distinct and clear in the landscape, is, is evident throughout. We learned people. on further examination, filled with

82 Lyndon / Danish Modern Forum

decisions that suggest the variety of short, hostile to any forms of urban venerable Henning Larsen, which is lives lived within. Surfaces on the interaction, or what now would be isolated from the city’s everyday life inside of the ring reflect the organiza- called city life. by its donor’s insistence that it take tion of the dormitory into clustered With regard to places of common pride of place across the harbor, on living groups, each finding expres- understanding, our visit took us both axis with the Royal Palace. sion in the facade—not as repetitive to the throbbing pedestrian streets of Tours through the neighbor- units, but as varying configurations of central Copenhagen, whose rebirth hood of Holmbadsgad included common spaces associated with each was initiated in the 1960s by Jan Gehl streets reclaimed for pedestrian use, cluster, often in differing ways and (who this year received honorary a long connecting thread of green with differing outlooks. The dormi- fellowship in the AIA), and to more bicycle and pedestrian paths leading tory recalls urban blocks that are rela- recent localized nodes of activity toward the shore, a vibrant library tively undemonstrative as they face that bring people together and open and community center created within the street, but which shelter court- the way for community values to be an old factory, and a marvelously yards of great complexity and impro- shared among a changing population. spirited sports and cultural center visation within. Unfortunately, this The importance of context was by Dorte Mandrup, from 2006, that project is not set among similar clus- clearly evident in the new Play- allows energetic play for youths and ters of sheltering form, but isolated house, also designed by Lundgaard meeting spaces for various groups. in a windswept terrain of rectangular and Tranberg, which has its lobby These formed a convincing example slabs and underutilized ground— smoothly joined to a public deck that of neighborhood-generated public buildings and spaces fresh from those extends a promenade along the harbor investment and provided new oppor- Modernist diagrams that, while atten- and then leads back into the central dant to details of form and geometry, city through the popular Nyhaven were indifferent to site conditions, area. In this, it forms a sharp contrast Above: Playhouse. Photo by Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA. local climate, and personal space—in to the Opera House, designed by the Inset: Tietgen College. Photo by Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA.

Places 20.3 83 tunities for urban living within areas that have been central to the develop- desirable locations for urban living. that had once settled into decline but ment of architecture in Denmark, and This transformation has happened in which are now connected to the larger also of buildings that attempt an ambi- many large cities around the globe, metropolis by the new Metro and tious integration with existing urban but here it can be experienced directly other modes of public transportation. fabric. That kind of social engage- within the scope of a small nation. ment seems often now to have been The have also experienced Forces of Change preempted by attention to markets and are confidently integrating the Richly conceived and densely and production and the workings of consequences of significant, cultur- packed as the five days were, it is too the global system and its impacts on ally diverse immigration—a relatively bad that there was not more time to everyone’s lives. new phenomenon. City life is now explore unorthodox examples of Mod- Copenhagen, like Malmo, in often stated as a desired goal, includ- ernism or localized traditions that Sweden has seen massive economic ing attempts to reach into communi- inform current standards of design transformation brought about by ties and deal with problems of social and public consciousness. This was global competition. Shipbuilding sustainability by means of creative especially true of areas of innovation industries have been removed, and programs and building forms. in housing organization and design harborside areas are being made into However, there is also a shift in

84 Lyndon / Danish Modern Forum

emphasis in discussions of recent work to “opening up to foreign influ- ences” and encouraging internation- ally famous architects to “bring new life” to the country’s heritage of modern design. This new attitude seemed motivated partly by a restless uneasiness with cohesive traditions of reticence and modesty, and partly by architects’ and clients’ desire to be seen as part of international devel- opments, as players in the global economy and its opportunities. The hosts were at some pains to point out that changes in style and aspi- ration brought into Danish culture and planning from outside were not new. Indeed, the great reformations of town layout and building during the Renais- sance and its neoclassical aftermath, were brought by rulers like Christian inventive works of Vandkunsten, make use of the precious sun. These IV, who had their eyes steadily focused which were noted, but not included in qualities, explained Kent Martinussen, on wider European developments and the tour, have been persistently inven- director of the Danish Architecture the benefits of maritime trade. tive. All these seemed more instructive Center, were closely tied to Danish Deference to international archi- and pertinent than projects offered up culture, and to an ethos of “not more tects hardly seems necessary, however, by a few international stars. than necessary.” The intent was to given the spectrum of imaginative provide shelter of this sort to a wide energy expressed in recent work by A Social Compact spectrum of society by avoiding excess local firms. Among these is PLOT, An important part of our experi- in wasteful provisions for a few. whose projects range from a lively ence was the recognition of how Martinussen referred to the stan- public bathing pool in the harbor deeply tied to social developments dards of modern architecture in channel, to the much-photographed the movement of Danish Modern Denmark as responsible, humane, and VM-Houses in Orestad that display has been. For an American, it was concerned with shelter and civic iden- an array of pointed balconies that surprising to hear several times in the tity; but he also observed that the “off- befuddles its simplistic glass wall, to introductory talks that the roots of spring of that culture feel trapped,” a string of competition entries that Danish Modern were firmly tied to that the housing that had developed demonstrate a seemingly irrepress- the welfare state—surprising, because was now criticized as “too homog- ible interest in reformulating basic in the U.S., we have developed a enous, too boring, too minimalist,” and propositions and exploring alternative skewed understanding of welfare, for- that there is now a desire to infuse ideas forms. Similarly provocative are the getting its roots in well-being for all. from outside, to “hold hands with glo- sparkling community-based works of In Denmark the ideals of simplicity Dorte Mandrup, and, at a more estab- and modesty and of achieving rich- lished level, the persistently challeng- ness and durability through the caring ing work of Lundgaard and Tranberg, use of natural materials were initially Opposite, clockwise from top left: ellevista housing. architects of the new Playhouse and tied to concepts of social welfare, to Photo by Tom Rossiter, FAIA. Bagsværd Kirke. Photo Tietgen College and of tall apartment using resources judiciously. The early by T. Gunny Harboe, AIA. Sports and Cultural Center buildings that insist on establishing Moderns created small, well-formed and VM houses. Photos by Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA. individual identities through their spaces, suffused with qualities of light Above: Soholm Housing Estate. Photo by massing. The regionally rooted and that could brighten and ennoble and Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA..

Places 20.3 85 places close to the city. Some of these areas received little investment previ- ously or were adjacent to declining or abandoned industrial and harbor areas. But they are now being con- verted to living and office-work space, often fashioned from industrial build- ings or silos. Sometimes they have engaged whole complexes of build- ings, such as the plan to reuse many components of the former Carlserg breweries site, while adding major new elements to them.

Hand in Hand Overall, “Danish Modern, Then and Now” was rewarding and instruc- tive, bringing participants into contact with a rich array of buildings, com- balization.” The goal of sustainability highway linking Denmark to Malmo, pelling traditions, strong planning provides a platform for skills that have Sweden, in what is increasingly con- efforts, and lively discussion—all already been infused in Danish practice sidered an international metropoli- worth studying, all worth remember- through building well and attentively, tan area. These links and the Metro ing, all worth learning. Most valuable and through a tradition of working have increased access to land lying to me was exposure to a culture that within goals adopted by the society. between the center of Copenhagen values the quality and spirit of its sur- In particular, there is a commit- and the airport, and the government rounds, that is prepared to give better ment today to increasing dramatically has made a major commitment to its form to its principal city and to extend the amount of housing available within development through the Orestaden the reach of that quality and spirit into the city, thereby reducing commutes. project. This large public-private the lives of all those who live there. To bring this new housing into being, effort spans three Metro stops and Like others throughout the world, Copenhagen has made major improve- includes living and office space as who are bedazzled by the pace of ments in the public realm and encour- well as new Information Technol- change and the power of capital to aged concentrated development, ogy university facilities and a much- transform conditions, some archi- including some modest highrises touted yet unfinished concert hall, tects, planners, and public officials in within outlying areas of the city that designed by Jean Nouvel, as part Copenhagen have been smitten with are linked to transport. Bicycle use is of the Danish Broadcasting Media the glamour and rigor of production ubiquitous, and there is a network of Center. However, the more detailed and “branding,” heedless of human pedestrian shopping streets that thread urban design of these areas has been consequence. During these days, through the central city. a disappointment to most officials though, it was interesting to note More dramatically, there has and professionals. They bemoan the attention to light and touch, to been significant investment in new its nearly complete absence of “city the importance of materials and the transportation systems, including the life,” because its areas were devel- shaping of experience. I also noted Metro, water buses across the harbor oped without regard to human use or that the term “hand in hand” was channel, and the ambitious Oresund comfort and experience. The public frequently used instead of “collabora- Bridge, which carries rail lines and a realm here was considered almost tion.” It’s a compelling phrase—and abstractly and at very large scale. habit of mind. It brings directness and Danes have invested as well (and human contact to the fore. Hand in Above: A pocket of light brings human contact to often with greater success) in more hand we can strive for a genuinely sus- the fore. Photo by Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA. fine-grained efforts to create living tainable future.

86 Lyndon / Danish Modern Forum Notes from Workshops

At the end of the several-hour ses- energy effi ciency and sustainability. concerns and forge new relationships. sions, each workshop leader was asked In achieving a balance between Design is discovery. Educating clients to write down three salient points that integrity of design and integrity of and users so that they are able to share emerged from the discussions. These materials, in Modernist buildings, in that discovery and make it real on are noted below, with some additional design may take precedence. their terms is essential. comments. Many early Modernist buildings were made in ways that defi ed or Urban design and urban spaces: New materials and material systems ignored traditional good-building what aim, whose responsibility? in current construction: how will practices, and now, decades later, When designing a city, be nice to they infl uence architecture? they are proving diffi cult to maintain. people and start with the public life. Test new materials yourself. Use Their imagined precision does not Programming! Programming! existing materials and be innovative. accommodate additional layers of Pharmland! Growing medicine. A sustainable material does not insulation without distortions in thick- In the panel discussion, Jan Gehl have to be a natural material. nesses or material surfaces. In some said it this way: “Start with activi- In the context of visits to buildings cases, detailed compromises need to ties, then imagine the spaces that will whose quality of materials and care in be made that will secure the building’s support those activities, then design their use were essential, it becomes continued viability while protecting buildings that will make and house especially clear that there are many ways its light, space, and integrity of form. those spaces.” Urban design shapes to use existing materials inventively However, when irreplaceable qualities the public realm that is so important and well. New materials offer many are at stake, it may be necessary to use to the life of a place. It must be based great opportunities, but their durabil- materials that will need special care or in programming that seeks a full ity and their sustainability need to be eventual replacement. understanding of what urban spaces carefully assessed, through both tech- can become as they integrate with the nical evaluation in a larger context and Innovation driven by users: does it city. Urban places and city life serve personal testing that allows the archi- ensure livability? the interests of many: those who use tect to know how they will perform. A client can make you think more places casually as part of their daily innovatively. Be daring! Take user info lives as well as those who have specifi c Preserving Modernism: what are and transform it. Educate your user. tasks and purposes in mind. Urban the challenges of material conserva- Engaging with users and listen- planning and design also need to look tion of our recent past? ing to their interests and ambitions at new relations between urban struc- The character of Modern buildings can lead to solutions that are innova- ture and the landscape. As an example, makes them diffi cult to preserve (e.g., tive and that provide real benefi ts one presentation noted the domi- they do not age well and they are rela- for those who live, work, and play at nance of large-scale agricultural areas tively less tolerant of change). project sites. Simply responding is not throughout Denmark and their inter- Where original details do not enough; architects need to listen well, connection with E.U. support. It pro- perform well it may be necessary to take the information that’s been given, change them to meet goals such as and transform it in ways that integrate Above: Conference/tour drawings by Dan Wheeler, FAIA.

Places 20.3 87 hands to work together, using skills that have been developed within their place and culture as well as gleaned through wider experience.

Sustainability: how to build today for tomorrow? Sustainability is more than energy reduction. Urban planning should be integrated with city development to include social and cultural sustainabil- ity as well as energy reduction and cost. Values of sustainability can gener- ate exciting design in atrium plans, retention and reuse of natural materi- als; historic buildings can be as sus- tainable as new ones. The conditions that establish a posed that more land might become a valuable way of increasing public program should seek straightfor- “pharmland,” growing the ingredients understanding as well as opening new ward, simple solutions based on of medicine rather than foods, which opportunities for design. common sense. in turn may lead to new forms and Genuine sustainability has many patterns in the landscape. Globalization: what role will archi- dimensions, incorporating not only tects play in the future? issues of reuse, reduction of energy The new generation: what are the Taking a sustainable design consumption, and development of sources and inspiration in a global approach to the world. Encouraging renewable energy sources, but also context? cultural collaboration. Improving the whole fabric of settlement and Collaboration—utilizing others’ dialogue and trust between peoples. the ways in which we move about in experience to see new opportunities. Increasing international design quality cities and landscapes. Creating places Society—public vs. private—Danes through global professional affiliations. that foster sustainable social practices trust their government and are sup- Clearly, our global interconnected- is an integral part of the problem. An ported by it. ness requires learning to work with example is the atrium building, which Proaction—smaller as well as larger concern for developments throughout has been shown to conserve energy offices can create their own opportu- the world. Denmark has assumed and has developed productive social nities through proaction. leadership in several areas of sustain- practices by creating more patterns The next generations of architects ability and can use that experience of use and valuable social encounter. will be able to garner ideas from many internationally. In an interconnected Clear, simple thinking that takes sources, not only their own experience world of practice it is necessary to advantage of existing resources, avoids but also that of others. The trust that encourage collaboration across cul- waste, draws benefit from its siting has been developed between Danes tures and to find ways to improve and disposition, and is attentive to the and their government is empowering, communication among people who climate should be the basis of sustain- because it includes a commitment to do not have shared experience. Devel- able solutions. To it can be added the sustainable practices and high-quality oping ideas together and developing extra benefit of standards of measure- design as well as an interest in becom- trust will be essential tasks for archi- ment that show interactions not easily ing part of the global community. tects who will be working in differing registered or gauged and capable of Proactive (instead of reactive) design cultures (as well as for those working bringing out new forms. practices, where architects in both with a diverse culture at home). Inter- small and large firms explore design national affiliations can provide for possibilities in the public interest, are fruitful collaboration, allowing many Above: Fredensborg houses. Photo by Tom Rossiter, FAIA.

88 Lyndon / Danish Modern