Study Tour: Sweden and Finland

It has been a few weeks since my last post. This does not mean I haven't done anything interesting. I'm in Europe for Christ's sake.

Actually I've had a lot going on, with my studio course getting into full swing, doing lots of sketching, going on multiple study tours with DIS, and the weather finally turning nice. Copenhagen comes ALIVE when the sun comes out, it's truly beautiful. But I have the day off, and it's pouring rain, and my computer is home to a zillion photos that haven't been touched or reviewed. So here I am.

Gamla Stan (Stockholm's Old City)

I was lucky enough to be involved in an eight-day tour through Sweden and Finland with students and professors from DIS. It was a bit of a sensory overload, with a tight schedule and a lot to see. We were given an hour or two at each site, barely enough time to explore, photograph, sketch and document. We saw seminal works of modernism, brand new projects, and a few older historic ones. In Finland we visited a traditional sauna in the woods, where the owner and nature guide Pekka made us a dinner of Reindeer meat, mashed potatoes, green salad and mushroom soup. We stayed nights in Jyväskylä and Helsinki before heading to Sweden for a few days in Stockholm. Our trip was graced with perfect weather, even on the hot side at times, which felt great after the overcast skies of Copenhagen.

I've uploaded an album of my photos to Google (click). Most of them are focused on the architecture, because that was the point of our trip. They all have descriptions, just click the (i) in the upper righthand corner of the photo to open the sidebar. I took a lot of pictures but focused most of my energy on a sketchbook, a requirement of the tour. Hopefully I can scan a few pages and add them to the album soon.

I tend to post on Instagram much more frequently than this blog. Follow me @rdwilder to see what I'm up to on a more day-to-day basis.

Enjoy!

Robin

Louisiana

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art was one of the best architectural experiences I've ever had. It's the sort of place that renews my faith in the profession and craft of architecture. As a student it's easy to get caught up in the world of negative criticism, always looking for flaws and pointing out why spaces or buildings don't work well. It's refreshing to wander through a project that feels right. A shoutout to all the people who told me I couldn't skip this one while in Denmark.

The building is nestled into a hillside in Humlebæk and overlooks the Øresund. The museum guides visitors on a sprawling journey through the landscape, alternating sweeping views with galleries and sculpture gardens. Current exhibitions were photography from Jeff Wall, charcoal drawings from David Hockney, and enormous canvas paintings by Peter Doig. I loved Doig's work, was mildly impressed by Hockney and totally didn't understand the photography of Jeff Wall.

The permanent sculpture collection was the most interesting in my opinion, with pieces from Henry Moore, Richard Serra, Alexander Calder and Alberto Giacometti. Not to mention the building itself, which stole my attention for most of the visit. Here are some photos from our day, enjoy!

wood screen

Peter Doig sketches and prints

Peter Doig painting hung on an interesting wall

stairway to an amazing view

building disappearing into landscape

Calder sculpture on the lawn, which is also the roof

how do they get those giant paintings inside, you ask? I love big doors.

a beautiful moment at the end of a sneaky set of stairs

curvy

curvy

Giacometti sculptures in a beautiful room

stair detail

City Explorations

I've spent the last two days bike touring with my friend and classmate McKenzie (self-guided of course). We picked up our steeds from Buddha Bikes, a hard-to-find shop north of the city that fixes old bikes and rents them for low prices. The three-month deal is 450 kroner, about $70 USD, and comes with a lock and lights. Mine is an old white frame (no brand name in sight) with fairly skinny road tires, mud guards, old-school cruiser handlebars and a three-speed hub gear. The city is incredibly flat, so a fancier machine would be totally unnecessary.

The bike system here is magical. As a biker you almost always have your own lane, at least as wide as the sidewalk, with a curb between you and the car lanes, and your own set of traffic lights. Everyone respects each other and uses hand signals. Ride on the right, pass on the left, go at your own pace. At rush hour there seem to be as many bikes on the road as cars. Beautiful.

Yesterday we explored the island / neighborhood of Christianshavn. We went up the spiral tower at Church of our Saviour, had shawarma for lunch at the hippie hangout of Christiania, wandered around the Opera House, and ended up at the most amazing street food market at Paper Island http://copenhagenstreetfood.dk/en/. 

panorama from Church of our Saviour
I live across the water on the left – central Copenhagen is on the right

a fellow tourist offered to take our picture

wood structure from the 1700s

opening at SMK, national gallery of denmark

Today's adventure took us to some of the contemporary architecture in our area. Ørestad, an area of Amager just south of my home, has been developed like crazy in the last decade, and is home to many famous architecture projects. It's a strange area because there's a ton of housing, a metro line and a mall, but it doesn't feel very lively – no main street or cafes or galleries, just big buildings. Here are the ones we saw:

housing project / Lundgaard & Tranberg

Danish Radio Concert Hall / Jean Nouvel
interior is amazing but hard to photograph. look it up.

Mountain Dwellings / BIG and JDS
view of north side – garage below, homes above

Mountain Dwellings / BIG and JDS
view of porches from the south

Mountain Dwellings / BIG and JDS
parking garage

VM Houses / BIG and JDS

As we walked around the VM houses, a young man approached and asked if we'd like to see the inside. He happened to be an architect, and let us into his home and balcony so that we could see it first-hand. He had lots to say about the building, the area and the community. It was amazing to see the inside of such a famous project that is generally kept private, and to hear first-hand what it's like to live there. No interior shots, simply out of respect for our tour guide's privacy.

from the balcony

looking from the V building to the M building
(the letters describe their footprints)

McKenzie and I both had concerns about the amount of glass and openness used in this project. The balconies are close enough that you could hold a quiet conversation between them, and every dwelling has an enormous glass wall facing another home or balcony. The resident told us that after about a week they were used to it, and decided they didn't mind being seen walking around "butt naked" in their living room. You're far enough away that faces are difficult to make out, and the transparency actually adds a unique sense of community.

Ørestad Gymnasium / 3XN

not sure what this is but neat colors eh?

8-house / BIG

8-house / BIG
view from the ramp

Check out http://robindanishgreenspace.blogspot.com/ if you want to see what I'm up to in class.

Robin

Hello World

This post marks a new phase of my internet presence: the wild world of blogging. Over the last few years I’ve thought a lot about doing a blog as a way to share my experiences. As I prepare for a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark to study architecture and design this summer, it finally seems appropriate.

This blog will be about what I experience, where I go and what I make, as an architecture student and as an individual. It’s a way for me to share the things I love, and keep the people I love informed.

I have a lot to learn about architecture, design, and life in general. Please respond to posts and share your feelings and opinions about what I write here.

Cheers,

Robin