Den nye bølge

INTERVIEW PLOT

101

OMA er den centrale inspirationskilde for generationens arkitekter. Shohei Shigematsu er partner i OMA, baseret i New York. Han deler sit syn på den nye bølge i dansk arkitektur, som han har døbt New Danish School. OMA is the main source of inspiration for the generation’s architects. Shohei Shigematsu is a partner at OMA, based in New York. He shares his views on the new wave in Danish architecture, which he has christened the New Danish School.

Kristoffer Lindhardt weiss

new danish school Shohei Shigematsu OMA INTERVIEW

Shohei Shigematsu OMA/LMN: Seattle Public Library, Seattle, USA 2004

OMA/LMN: Seattle Public Library, Seattle, USA 2004

Partner in charge: Joshua Prince-Ramus (project architect,

Partner in charge: Joshua Prince-Ramus (project architect,

a. o. Bjarke Ingels).

a. o. Bjarke Ingels).

designkloner.”

Der er med andre ord en ny international stil, eller måske er bevægelse et bedre ord. Den består af en række tegnestuer, som udvikler projekter over hele verden og bevæger sig frit omkring i mange forskellige kulturelle kontekster.

Ligesom 20’ernes og 30’ernes Internationale Stil i modernismens formative år. Den har den samme selvtillid og ukuelige målbevidsthed. Det er dog ikke en ensartet stilistisk bevægelse, selvom det begrebslige apparat udgør et fælles fundament. Men der udtrykkes også en udtalt kritik af den bevidstløse copy paste-arkitektur, som præger nogle af de projekter, der er fulgt i kølvandet på OMA. KLW: OMA er på mange måder den vigtigste inspirationskilde for den unge generation af danske tegnestuer, der har kurs mod stjernerne. Den nye international arkitekturstrømning er defineret af en særlig metode og relation til urbanismen, der er udviklet i OMA’s kreative smeltedigel. Er det en beskrivelse, du kan genkende, og hvordan ser du på fænomenet med de ideologiske dobbeltgængere?

SS: “Danske tegnestuer som BIG fungerer også som rugekasser for den nye danske bølge, men her er der den samme risiko for, at det særlige danske udtryk efterhånden bliver udvandet. Jeg tror, det her er sandhedens time for den danske arkitektur, hvor den må isolere sig lidt ligesom den japanske bølge, der gik forud. For ikke at drukne som en anonym stemme på det internationale marked må tegnestuerne skabe en anomali, der udnytter Danmarks på én gang legende og praktiske tilgang til arkitekturen.”

Ved en forelæsning i Barbican Arts Centre i London i februar 2012 gav Shohei følgende enkle definition på fremskridt i forbindelse med generationsskifter: “Fremdriften i en generation afspejles altid i dens opposition til den gruppe, der gik forud”. Det er ikke alle, der ser den unge danske generations legesyge som noget positivt, men på en eller anden måde er den symptomatisk for generationens indstilling og for visionen om en revitalisering af den danske designtradition, som bygger på en optimistisk tro på fremskridtet og evnen til at gøre en forskel.

OMA som global rugekasse Hvis vi antager, at der er en sådan New Danish School, hvilke af OMA’s principper er det så, de danske tegnestuer har taget til sig? En optagethed og fascination af argumentet, en blind tro på kommunikationens fortræffeligheder, en kolossal rastløshed og længsel efter at gøre noget og en optimistisk og pragmatisk tro på sin egen evne

architects from around the world. But this movement has proven to be a double-edge sword that was strengthened by an established, shared ideology only to be diluted by conceptual design clones.”

There is somehow a second coming of an international style or maybe movement is a better word. It consists of a group of offices developing projects all over the world, moving freely in a variety of different cultural contexts.

Very similar to the International Style of the 20’s and 30’s in the formative years of the modern movement. It is the same confidence and vitality of purpose but not a uniform stylistic movement all though the conceptual stronghold is a common denominator. But there is also am explicit critique of the repetitive nature and copy paste of some of projects being created post-OMA. KLW: OMA is in many ways the main influence of the young generation of Danish offices making their way to the headlines. It seems as if there is a new international movement in architecture defined by the specific method and relation to urbanism developed in the creative melting pot of OMA. Do you recognize that description, and how do you view the phenomenon of conceptual ‘look-a-likes’?

SS: “Danish offices like BIG act as similar incubators of talent for the emerging Danish School, but they also run the same risk of diluting a mode of expression uniquely formed in Denmark. I think this is a critical moment for Danish architecture where it must isolate itself, perhaps in a manner similar to the Japanese School that preceded it. Rather than being absorbed as an indistinguishable voice in the international market, these firms must produce an anomaly that advances Denmark’s playful, yet practical approach to architecture.”

In a lecture at the Barbican in London February 2012, Shohei provided the straightforward definition of progress in relation to generations: “Progress in the generation is always characterized by the opposition they make to the previous group.” The playfulness of the young Danish generation is not always seen as progress, but somehow it sums up the attitude of the generation, and delivers a vision for a revitalized Scandinavian design tradition based on the optimistic believe in progress and the ability to alter the world in a better direction.

OMA – global talent factory If we decide to go along with the notion of New Danish School, what are the design principles that the group of

Shohei Shigematsu OMA/LMN | Seattle Public Library, Seattle, USA 2004.

Partner in charge: Joshua Prince-Ramus (project architect, a. o. Bjarke Ingels).

STUDIO 107

BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group, blev grundlagt i 2006 af Bjarke Ingels, medstifter af PLOT (2001). Tegnestuen ledes af en gruppe på otte partnere. Bjarke Ingels (f. 1974) er uddannet fra Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole i København i 1999, men har også studeret ved Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona, School of Architecture of Barcelona. 1998-2001 arbejdede han for OMA i Rotterdam, bl.a. med Seattle Public Library. I 2001 startede han tegnestuen PLOT med sin tidligere OMA-kollega Julien De Smedt. BIG har tiltrukket sig global opmærksomhed for deres nytænkende og ofte provokerende arbejde, ligesom de har vundet adskillige priser og konkurrencer i såvel Danmark som udlandet. I forbindelse med deres udstilling på DAC i København udgav BIG i 2009 bogen Yes Is More – An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution, der er blevet en international bestseller.Bjarke Ingels har været gæsteprofessor ved Rice University School of Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Yale School of Architecture og er senest udnævnt til adjungeret professor ved Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole. BIG har kontorer i København og New York.

BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group, was founded in 2006 by Bjarke Ingels, who was also a co-founder of PLOT in 2001. The firm is run by a team of eight partners. Bjarke Ingels (b. 1974) graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen in 1999 and also studied at Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona, School of Architecture of Barcelona. In 1998-2001 he worked for OMA in Rotterdam, where he was involved in the Seattle Public Library project, among other tasks. In 2001 he co-founded the architectural firm PLOT with his former OMA-colleague Julien De Smedt. BIG attracted global attention for their innovative and often provoking work, and the firm has received numerous awards and won competitions both in Denmark and abroad. In 2009, in connection with their exhibition at the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen, BIG published the book Yes Is More – An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution, which became an international best-seller.

Bjarke Ingels has been a visiting professor at Rice University School of Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Yale School of Architecture. His latest appointment is as assistant professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture. BIG has offices in Copenhagen and New York.

Name: BIG Founded: 2006 Partners: Bjarke Ingels, Kai-Uwe Bergmann, David Zahle, Thomas Christoffersen, Sheela Maini, Andreas Klok Pedersen, Jakob Lange, Finn Nørkjær Based in: Copenhagen (DK), New York (US)

BIG

Expo-Pavillon, Shanghai Den meget opmærksomhedsskabende, men også om-diskuterede pavillon til Expo 2010 tager udgangspunkt i et flow svarende til Astana-bibliotekets. Et fantastisk succesfuld PR-stunt var den midlertidige flytning af Den Lille Havfrue, og badevand fra Københavns Havn til pavillonen i Shanghai.

Expo pavilion, Shanghai, 2010 The high-profile and also controversial pavilion for Expo 2010 revolves around a flow resembling the flow in the Astana library project. An amazingly successful PR-stunt was the temporary relocation of the Little Mermaid, along with clean water, fit for bathing, from Copenhagen Harbor to the pavilion in Shanghai.

BIG 111 PLOT

AmagerforbrændingEN, København, 1. præmie Ofte betragtes arkitektur i forbindelse med forbrændingsanlæg, kraftværker etc. som et spørgsmål om indpakning. I modsætning hertil tilføjer BIG en ny funktion: en skibakke! Intentionen er at integrere værket med sine rekreative omgivelser, give det identitet og gøre det til en attraktion.

Waste Treatment Plant, Copenhagen, 1st prize 2011 The perceived purpose of architecture in connection with incineration plants, power plants etc. is often to cover up the content. Challenging this tradition, BIG adds a new function: a ski slope! The intention is to integrate the plant with its recreational surroundings, give it an identity and turn it into an attraction.