Archinect - Features

Atlas of the Copenhagens: Book review

2019-06-19T10:18:00-04:00

The past two decades have seen a marked increase in city ranking indexes and urban metrics, yet across the board American cities continue to score poorly—last year no US cities made the top 25 in lifestyle magazine Monocle's Quality of Life Survey. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, presented time and again as one of the world’s most ‘liveable’ cities and celebrated as a global model of sustainable urban development. In the run-up to this year’s rankings, we look closer at Atlas of the Copenhagens, a thoughtful and engaging book edited by Deane Simpson, Kathrin Gimmel, Anders Lonka, Marc Jay, and Joost Grootens, to explore the multiplicity and complexities of Copenhagen today and how the city can begin to inspire new ways of analysing and interpreting the urban environments around us.

Studio Visits: Schmidt Hammer Lassen

2017-10-30T09:01:00-04:00

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects was founded over 30 years ago in Aarhus, Denmark by Morten Schmidt, Bjarne Hammer and John F. Lassen. Known for their work within the cultural sector, especially libraries, the firm believes they "make buildings that meet the challenges of our modern society and that make people come together in new ways". Recently it was announced that they will be working with renowned artist James Turrell on a new extension project for ARoS Aarhus Art Museum in Copenhagen a project they previously collaborated on with multi-disciplinary artist Olafur Eliasson.

We spoke to one of the Senior Partners Kristian Lars Ahlmark to find out more about working as part of the Copenhagen team.

Children's drawings inspire COBE's kindergarten in Copenhagen

2016-02-18T08:53:00-05:00

Needless to say, children require very little to have a lot of fun. An imaginary world can be transformed from the most modest of settings. Really, all that’s needed is a bit of space (albeit safe and relatively clean), and a great imagination –something that little ones have an endless supply of.

So when it comes time for kids to embark on the short-lived, yet impactful journey that is kindergarten, the most nurturing of environments are those that foster diversity, social connectivity, and creativity. The Danish architecture firm COBE has used that ethos to cultivate an amazing setting for children attending preschool in the Copenhagen neighborhood of Frederiksberg. The educational institution encompasses a unique campus, a blank canvas of sorts for young minds to re-imagine a world of their own.

Designing for horses with history: the new stables of Dyrehaven park by Bertelsen & Scheving

2016-01-20T05:00:00-05:00

Just to the north of Copenhagen, the Dyrehaven – “deer park” – shelters exactly what its name suggests: sizeable populations of red and fallow deer who roam freely across its 4.2 square miles of ancient oaks. Alongside its namesake animal population, the park is also home to the horses that transport human visitors along its picturesque pathways. Those equine inhabitants are housed within stables that recently underwent an extensive, site-sensitive and rather handsome renovation by the firm Bertelsen & Scheving.

SmartGeometry 2011, Copenhagen Denmark

2011-04-07T14:50:52-04:00

SmartGeometry was established in 2001 as an international group of academics and professional architects, engineers, computer scientists and designers interested in the potentials of parametric design and computational tools. Each year, a four-day workshop precedes a conference day with invited speakers, and each year explores a different theme.