Project Info
This project was a 3-week study for an indoor shelter serving as an informal meeting place and conversation incubator during the 2009 COP15 Conference in Copenhagen. As a city-wide event meant to bring global attention to climate change, and the necessity of action at a national scale, creating informal places within the city for visitors and locals to meet and have dialogue is critical. This project was meant as one of many such places.
Project Detail
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Dec 2009
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Spacial Design
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Academic Project, DIS Study Abroad program
Contect: Gammeltorv & Nytorv
Gammeltov, or 'Old Market' is the oldest square in Copenhagen, and adjoins Nytorv to create one of the core social spaces within the city. It is bisected by the busiest walking street in town, Strøget. If you want to encourage people to meet, this is the place to do it.
Inspiration
An amazing influx of visitors to the city inspired study of flocking and schooling behavior, which gives form and mass to group action. Grain, directionality, and movement inspired my thinking for the formal language of the project.
Sketching, Ideation
Sketching the basic layout of spaces and functions, designed to give people multiple locations to stand or sit in intimate or more open environments. A coffee bar at the center helps keep eyes bright during the long winter evenings. Also evident in these sketches are explorations of the louvered assembly of the skin.
Skin, form development
The intention was to create a form reminiscent of flocking birds, or schooling fish. These forms are meant to symbolize a temporary meeting place of conversation and cooperation. Rhinoceros and Grasshopper were utilized to design the louvered skin.
Structural System & Assembly
A layered assembly was devised to create a modular, temporary and re-deployable structure.
Culmination
The entire form encapsulates different kinds of interaction, from encountering an architectural and sculptural object as a pedestrian in a civic space, to entry and standing gallery experiences, to more intimate conversation, and overlook on the public square from above. This rich environment for engagement draws visitors in, and ultimately allows them to move through the space as their social interactions suggest which setting best supports it.