Western Denmark Study Tour

I know I know, you are all saying, "But Tom, haven't you already been on a Western Denmark Study Tour?" And I say, "Yes children, but that was for furniture design, and this is for architecture." Although there was the occasional moment of overlap it was generally a new experience. And when things did happen to overlap, it only served to make me look like I've researched the site.

So here's what happened.

Thursday morning, we met at Israels Plads at 7:30 in the a.m. This was a little annoying because IP is not too easy to get to from my place. I mean it is only 4 blocks away from my studio, but, well...in writing this I realize I sound a little whiny because honestly it wasn't that hard to get to. I just hate walking with luggage.

So I get to Israels Plads adorned in my camera bag, my satchel bag and my Italian Army surplus bag. Much to my elation, I saw my old friend Jasper the bus driver, whom you remember from previous study tours. Throwing my bag on the bus I greeted him with a big hug and proceeded inside the coach. I spread out my things over two seats to ensure that I wouldn't have a partner sitting with me and then exited once again to let the bus fill up. You see, if you are sitting in a seat with your stuff on the one next to you, then people will ask you if a) that is your stuff, and b) can they sit there. I hate seatmates. They get in my way when I try to sleep etc...So if you are not on the bus and your stuff is good and spread out, people automatically assume there are already two in the row. I know it is not quite Machiavellian but it works.

Once everyone was loaded up, we went underway. Our first Stop was Jystrup Savvwaerk. This is a co-housing project built upon the foundations of an old sawmill. It was interesting to see. A number of Danes prefer to live this way.The complex housed 17 families amd god knows how many cats. The savvwaerk exemplifies this concept that is huge here regarding shared spaces. All the units were tied together with a communal indoor/outdoor space that people had veritable farms growing in. It was kind of impressive. The outdoors were brought inside by the ubiquitous skylights and louvres and the tenants took advantage.

Next was Orbaek Kirke. A church "built by accretion" as my prof put it. This is a regular occurance in Denmark where a church will be added upon every so often until 800 years later it is marked as an historical landmark and not allowed to be altered. Which brings up an interesting point to me. If these churches are so important because they were added upon over a period of 800 years, why do we feel important enough to say, "Well, there will be no more altering now. It s too historic." Isn't this impeded the process which in fact provided the genesis for what made the church so important?

Or maybe it's just me. On to Faaborg.

This museum was pretty cool. Every room was painted a different color. Now what this does is change the way in which you view art. When you think about your standard museum: MOMA, Guggenheim, Getty, etc. the walls are all white. But when, for example, the wall is a bright red, all of a sudden red is all you see. The artwork takes on a new appearance as the reds pop out of the canvas. It forces one to look at paintings in a whole new way. I almost think that artists should each get an extra 2 feet on every side of the canvas wherever their art is hung, just to select the color that most appropriately brings out their project.

Spent the night in Kolding. Which was interesting. I hit the streets with my friend Mike Mannhard (great name right?) and his new friend Cameron. They are both a touch on the hippie side, which allowed me ample opportunity for ridicule which they took in stride. Nothing like a good natured hippie. Anyway, we walked around a bit, going from pub to pub when Mike suggested we go look at the castle. At nighttime this was a great experience. The castle is located on a hill overlooking a lake which provided us with a great view of the city. After taking this in, and after spending about 5 minutes making shadowpuppets agains the walls of the castle, we walked to the nearest bar. After a brief sojourn there, I walked home, albeit not directly (damn medieval street layouts make no sense whatsoever) and went to bed.

Friday morning we got up and, low and behold, went to the castle. This place is a pretty neat project. It is a complete restoration but instead of trying to emulate the original building, the architects decided it would be better to make it very clear what was original and what is a representation. On the exterior, where the walls are brick, that is the original, however, the shingled parts are all restorative. It gets interesting inside as well where in one situation the designer represents the structure that once was through lights. Series of bulbs hang down suggesting the once present groin vaulting and column structure. It was a tad garish, but an interesting idea.

Next up was the Trapholt Museum. You remember this from my summer studies. It was the chair museum. Moving on.

Aarhus University. Yes we have been here before too. This was the place that had the auditorium with the "cowches." This time, however, we spent the bulk of the time outside, observing the landscapes.

That was it for friday.

Saturday was jam packed. We got up and headed for a crematorium. This was a striking place. A very interesting design but the fact of the thing is that I felt like I was inside a giant kiln. A little odd but none-the-less that is how it felt.

Aarhus Radhus: Been here done that. Didn't like it the first time, still don't.

ARoS Museum. This was an amazing building. The Museum itself is part of the landscape. A major footpath walks right through the center of the building so say this was your route to work, well then every morning and night you walk through the museum. This Museum houses one of the works of Ron Mueck called "Boy". Mueck is a hyper realist and one of the strongest ones at that. I suggest you look up his work.

We walked through the city and did some sketching. My sketch book is far better than it was this summer. I have been putting a ton of effort (most days) into it. There are good pages and bad but I am proud of it.

The last place we went to was the Musholm Bugt Feriecenter. This was another co-housing complex, but this one was meant to house the families of those with children afflicted with MS. It was a moving project. The architecture reflected the unity of those who occupied it. I don't know how quite to explain it. Once in a while you here architecture described in strange terms. I would call this one respectful. Not respectful in the concept that it is courteous to its occupants, but more respectful in the way that the architecture is in awe of its occupants.

Christ I am beginning to talk like an architect.

Anyway, today I am going to my first Danish soccer game. Should be interesting.

All for now.

5 days till Megan!

Also, check out the pictures to the left...I've been playing with some new editing techniques. I think a couple of them are pretty interesting.