Adspredelse/Udspredelse
(Thesis project_ title in Danish) My interest in society and the way we live led to the project, but I wanted to attack it in a way that I could vouch for. In the semesters before, I had implemented a kind of artsy approach to the subject - there was never any question of doing an aesthetic architecture project; it would simply bore me in the long run. I, therefore, decided to come up with an alternative to our typical way of living (in Copenhagen).
The background for the project was taken from the text Death of the Neighborhood by Georges Perec. Here he dwells on an alternative form of living in Paris, where - as the text's title suggests - neighborhoods blur and merge and immediately create a greater individual attachment to the city. From a contemporary perspective, it is interesting, as Copenhagen is well on its way to becoming a place for the few... thus several experts estimate that the Danish capital, despite its good global reputation, is a city for the upper social classes, while the lower layer is pushed further and further away.
Intention
With that said, the project intended to interpret Perec's text and propose a final form of living - in a utopian Copenhagen with room for all social strata. Along the way, phenomenological studies were carried out on-site in several of the city's neighborhoods. Here, small phenomena were discovered and absorbed (in uncertainty) that would be decisive for the design of a set of architectonics made of plaster, wood, and textile. These would finally be further transformed into drawings and form the tangible element of the thesis project.
The fact that a text was the starting point accidentally resulted in the project becoming quite text-based. I read texts by e.g. Bachelard, Augé, and Tuan, whose theories helped to discuss the sub-topic of domesticity. Because;
what does a home actually consist of?
Furthermore, I also investigated and argued for conditions related to social and private space. In other words, an assessment of the individual needs of the project's fictitious residents was implemented.
Finding form and philosophy
After the registrations and the reading of the texts by the abovementioned authors, the shaping of the experienced phenomena took place. 12 designs where a couple had embedded movement; incorporations that supported the phenomenon theme. The picture is showing the model of Grafting.
Two elements become modes in the attempt to form a new whole (form). In the model, this is exemplified by the sphere and the rectangular shape. It is not unimportant that it is respectively a small and a large sphere that is fixed at each end. In this way, the sphere is present both inside and outside the rectangle.
Furthermore, the model is based on subconsciousness. The observer sees the large sphere being drawn up into its encircling form (by the small sphere, which moves contrastingly - down vs. up). You are therefore aware that the rectangle houses the large sphere, even though you cannot see it.
Each design was additionally given a text attached in the final project catalog (this can be acquired by contacting - see the "about" section).
Killing the neighbourhoods
The intention to create a more coherent city - and thus causing the death of the neighborhoods - was accommodated by the division of housing. Instead of gathering everything under one roof, the functions were split apart and spread over four neighborhoods in Copenhagen:
The place for resting (Nørrebro)
The place for dining (Indre By)
The place for learning (Vesterbro)
The place for hobbies (Amager)
The idea is thus that you will get a routine in visiting/using the different areas of the city and in that way achieve a greater sense of belonging and familiarity. You would therefore have to travel around the city according to the needs you had for the day - exclusive of possible work. At each location, you could seek out the social space or prioritize the private space. In a way, the project is rooted in the community - both in terms of the individual place, but also in a larger perspective.
The project has the potential to be SO much bigger - I have only included fragments here - and I was also subsequently encouraged to apply to continue the project in a slightly different form via a Ph.D.-study.
Kaaterskill Hotel, NY, approx. 1905
A room to sit in while talking
Photo credit unknown
The representations are constructed from the texts/notes/photos from the excursions. The drawings are made out of different filters such as emotion, density, and intensity and are the physicalization of the observant's remarks and memory from that certain place of interest (whether it was in Eixample or on Montserrat).
Texts were also written. These sought out connectivity between subjects relevant to the registration. This could for instance be a text based on the element of time, thereafter leading to the element of movement, and so on. These texts will be added to the website shortly.