the room of the city
clare van montfrans | summer 2014
contents 02
introduction
07
old and new copenhagen rotterdam berlin hafencity
27
urban arteries street as room biking in the city pattern and scale
41
durability on aging gracefully urban decay
49
responsibility architecture and society filling a void public safety responsibility
66
index of images
01
introduction
five weeks in europe and scandinavia
Often in the study of built environments, we talk about the hypothetical experience of a place instead of actually engaging it. The premise of this trip was to counter that by experiencing first-hand several of the urban architectural conditions frequently discussed in studio and seminar classes. Through careful examination of the universal qualities shared by successful public spaces, I set out to better understand how architecture can promote communal interaction rather than isolation. I departed for Copenhagen with a fairly concrete plan to structure my days. In the morning, I would choose a public park or plaza from my pre-established list, walk there, and observe activities unfolding therein. I quickly discovered that the more insightful observation took place on my way to these places. Inspired by the work of Jan Gehl while outlining my travel proposal, I was more drawn to the general “life between buildings” and secondarily, to the specific, clearly defined spaces. On these initial long walks through Copenhagen, my brain was churning over issues of scale, proportion, detail and safety much more furiously than when I “arrived” at my destination. Only a few days into the trip, this was one of many expectations that had to be reworked. The other major one had to do with the product of my travels. I envisioned returning, armed with a comprehensive list of successful urban design “tools” that I could deploy over the next few years of school. After two days in Copenhagen and two long nights of journalling, I realized I would return with more questions than answers. And while this conclusion was initially unsettling, I determined that it would be much more valuable and aligned with the goals of the trip to explore solutions through design as I move forward in my architectural education. The objective of this book is to outline the most important observations that repeatedly confronted me during my trip and to document my early process of thinking through the responses. The book is divided into four sections. In each, I illustrate different concepts that surfaced during my time abroad through short essays, sketches, and photos.
rotterdam, nl / 02
03
itinerary
june 10 - july 15, 2014
06.10 - 06.18
Copenhagen, Denmark
06.18 - 06.22
Skaftรถ, Sweden*
06.22 - 06.30
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
06.30 - 07.03
Maastricht, the Netherlands*
07.03 - 07.07
Berlin, Germany
07.07 - 07.09
Hafencity, Hamburg, Germany
07.09 - 07.15
Amsterdam, the Netherlands*
* In addition to the planned itinerary, I organized intermittent personal visits observing architecture in a less formal way from the perspective of local connections.
map of travel / 03
05
01
old and new
07
copenhagen
historic urban fabric and cohesive streets
In Copenhagen’s historic city center, narrow streets meander organically across canals and cyclists rule the transportation world. As the city expands from the center, the development is increasingly recent while still referencing the historic context. Architecturally, this creates city streets that exude feelings of stability and longevity. Most buildings adhere to a typology of ground level public functions and 3-4 additional stories of residential or office space above. The consistency of this building type is ultimately felt on the street, where constant enclosure both comforts our vulnerable human sensitivities and strongly emphasizes view release when it does occur across water or open space. Based on my observations, one major success of the city is its multi-function buildings and consistent density: onestory buildings are extremely rare and blocks are tightly packed, ensuring use of public parks as living rooms for those living in dense adjacent residences. This structure breaks down in recent developments along the harbor, allowing giant single-function buildings to dominate the water’s edge. Because of the lack of public access on the ground level, the buildings are difficult to engage and uncomfortable to be near, despite the well-designed boardwalk and views across the harbor. In Copenhagen, public spaces take the form of plazas and waterfront parks, but by far the liveliest public spaces are the city streets. With the emphasis placed on pedestrian and biking infrastructure, car traffic recedes, allowing full enjoyment of the vibrant streetscape.
copenhagen, de / 04
09
Jan Gehl writes extensively about our human inclination to occupy the edges of open spaces. At Gammeltorv, the edges of the square are occupied by storefronts and market stalls. Visitors feel comfortable congregating at the Caritas fountain, a protected central spot from which to observe the bustling city activity streaming through the square.
In Copenhagen, the enjoyment of seeing and being seen as an activator of public spaces was strongly prevalent throughout the city. The Harbor Baths reclaim a small segment of the harbor for free swimming and recreation while across the adjacent boardwalk, an expansive green space attracts all kinds of people who come to sunbathe, enjoy a picnic, and watch people swimming.
left: copenhagen, de / 05, right: copenhagen, de / 06
11
rotterdam
urban fabric in a city stripped of historic context
Rotterdam’s urban core was largely destroyed during World War II and has been under reconstruction ever since. Recently, this trend has emphasized “cutting edge� designs, creating a constantly evolving urban environment. Walking through the city is a visual roller coaster of towering 1970s hotels and low-lying quirky shopping malls, all exploring a vast range of aesthetics. While this was occasionally exhausting, it gives the city an underlying sense of progress. Context in Rotterdam was forced to develop new meaning; with little to no historic fabric, new architectural endeavors appear to have had free aesthetic reign. Through the recent hiring of architecture firms such as BIG, OMA, and MVRDV, the city seems to be encouraging such development. Rotterdam is an easier city to critique: all buildings have essentially been constructed in the past 75 years, meaning that the materials and construction processes are recognizable and the architect is typically well known. Because these aspects of the city were often familiar, it enabled me to assume the perspective of the original designer that was obscured by the buffer of time in more historic cities like Copenhagen. Public spaces are not always clearly defined in this city. Often, sidewalks simply widen and extend around a block of buildings, opening up into a pedestrian street or plaza with shops and cafes. While this gives the appearance of strange one-story buildings bobbing around in a sea of pedestrian territory, the spaces themselves are quite successful in creating a vibrant and bustling environment. The public space is very literally the space between buildings.
rotterdam, nl / 07
13
From across the port, the Unilever office building straddles a row of structures that appear to be historic - a rare sight in the city of Rotterdam. The building itself is reminiscent of a cargo container, floating over the buildings below. The project seems true to the eclectic aesthetic of Rotterdam visually exciting while drawing its formal language from the adjacent port instead of the architectural context below.
rotterdam, nl / 08
15
Rotterdam’s pedestrian streets are plentiful and make up a significant portion of the city center. The primary activity on these streets is shopping, showcasing a great example of consumerism as the main force behind successful pedestrian streets. This raises the question: are there other more inclusive activities that might activate a streetscape as effectively if not more so?
In Rotterdam, public areas are often incorporated into the malleable space around buildings. The tourist information center extends out into the pedestrian street, offering stepped seating to those needing a brief rest. The raised seating allows a slight removal from the street-level bustle, creating an ideal place to watch people passing by.
left: rotterdam, nl / 09, right: rotterdam, nl / 10
17
berlin
powerful history and public influence
Berlin is a city of parks, boasting a sizeable amount of well-programmed green space in the city center. However, another very striking aspect of Berlin’s urban fabric is the history evident in its architecture and infrastructure. Almost every city street holds somber reminders of World War II, with street art being the most vivid visualization. Fragments of bombed buildings remain, with blank grey walls scattered throughout the city. Berliners, occasionally commissioned by the government, took to painting these walls, enlivening previously dead spaces with political messages and colorful graffiti. The citizens of Berlin seem to have powerful sway over public space decisions in the city, with street art as a one example. Perhaps the best illustration of this is the now-popular Tempelhof airfield, which was closed to air traffic in 2008. The city recently proposed dense residential development on the vast open space, but in opposition, Berliners voted to maintain it as a public park. The power of public opinion stems, in part, from the turbulent history of the city; any urban development will undoubtedly raise questions of historical significance for particular groups of citizens. This enables leveraging power for the Berliners that is often absent in other cities. Throughout the city, a gritty aesthetic combines with the mainstream to produce a unique urban fabric that simultaneously represents the history and future of Berlin.
berlin, ge / 11
19
In Berlin, the recent history of the city is a constant presence, with remnants and artifacts seen on every street. Memorials are scattered throughout, creating a constant thread of history that unravels the boundary between past and present.
Street art found throughout Berlin serves as a constant reminder of the power of its citizens to influence their urban environment. While city authorities unofficially accept the practice, it underscores the prominent role of Berliners in shaping their city.
left: berlin, ge / 12, right: berlin, ge / 13
21
hafencity
creating authenticity in a brand new city
Hafencity (translated as “Harbor City”) is under construction just south of Hamburg’s city center. It covers over 590 acres and is Europe’s largest innercity development. Since 2001, 49 projects have been constructed with 56 still in the planning phase. Because all buildings and infrastructure have been constructed over the past 14 years, Hafencity raises several questions about what it takes to facilitate vibrant urban culture, how to build a city from scratch, and what role public space should play in such an extensive new development. Generally, the governing bodies behind the master plan emphasized the importance of shared exterior space in all levels of planning. Public spaces are laid out in relation to major canals, serving as prominent waterfront features with places to gather, eat, and play. The buildings surrounding the shared parks and plazas appear to adhere to a strict volumetric regulation, elevated one story above the boardwalk and extending to roughly 5 stories in height. Buildings accommodating special programs such as the philharmonic concert hall and various museums are allowed to break from this restriction. While the planning of this development appears to have had good intentions regarding public spaces, what it lacks is authentic culture and organically developing urban fabric. The overarching question remains: is it possible to create an authentic city in 25 years? It will be enlightening to follow Hafencity during its maturation as a fascinating study of new large-scale development.
hafencity, ge / 14
23
Along one of the main canals in Hafencity, residential and commercial buildings overhang the boardwalk. Uniformity of material and scale stitch these water-centric spaces together and create a consistency of experience that is difficult to achieve in organically developed cities.
In Hafencity, every major canal concludes in a public space offering abundant seating, planted areas, and views to the harbor. The value placed on these areas and the effort expended in their realization demonstrates an understanding of their importance in the development of a vibrant urban culture.
left: hafencity, ge / 15, right: hafencity, ge / 16
25
02
urban arteries
27
street as room
scale, porosity, and enclosure of city streets
Throughout my trip, I perceived the street as the living room of the city, with the most successful examples blurring the line between public and private zones of occupation. This divide breaks down when buildings have porous ground levels that allow physical and visual connections, making people more likely to traverse freely between the two and engage both aspects of urban life. Above this porous zone, residential floors typically enhance the feeling of safety by having more “eyes on the street” at any given moment. The rhythm of openings often associated with residential levels also helps break down the structure to a human scale. Like any other room, the city street has walls, a floor and ceiling. These surfaces work together to control the overall scale, atmosphere, and appeal of the space. The street-room should be a carefully choreographed scene, comprised primarily of comfortable enclosure. The proportion of street width to height is crucial in establishing this sensation. It is difficult to achieve “roomness” on a wide city street bordered by one-story buildings; there is not enough enclosure to neutralize our feelings of vulnerability in public spaces. It is also difficult to achieve this on narrow streets bordered by tall buildings; the diminished natural light is often uncomfortable and makes the space feel dark and canyon-like. The city street is where we most often find ourselves, either by necessity or choice, sharing experiences with other inhabitants. The design of the street is equally important as the design of any park or building. To plan the street as a simple artery for traffic flows is to miss a great opportunity for elevating the human experience.
malmรถ, se / 17
29
In Copenhagen’s city center, the streets were demarcated consistently by historic buildings. While there was some variation, this formal repetition emphasized the feeling of the street as a room and contributed to the overarching cohesiveness of the city.
In Rotterdam, the streets were often bordered by strange accumulations of structures, creating constantly shifting enclosures from one end of a street to the other. This visual element of surprise formed the constant thread of experience throughout the city, always requiring the visitor to recalibrate their perspective.
left: copenhagen, de / 18, right: rotterdam, nl / 19
31
In the historic areas I visited, the grid of the city streets would often terminate in an important structure. This established a recognizable hierarchy within the surrounding blocks and gave the pedestrian a visual focal point. In relentlessly gridded cities, the streets often become visually elongated with no apparent destination, creating an urban experience that can be both repetitive and tiring.
copenhagen, de / 20
33
biking in the city
cycling infrastructure and public space
“Life between buildings offers an opportunity to be with others in a relaxed and undemanding way...One is not necessarily with a specific person, but one is, nevertheless, with others.� - Jan Gehl, Life Between Buildings One major draw of urban spaces is the opportunity to play a part in these low-commitment social interactions. In Copenhagen, this is multiplied by the amount of bike commuting in the city center. Instead of walking by a streaming flood of car traffic providing little to no visual access to the people inside the vehicles, I found myself constantly making eye contact with pedestrians and cyclists alike and generally being entertained by the flows of traffic beside me. Not only is it more pleasurable for physical reasons (slower traffic, less noise), but the level of connection felt with the cyclists satisfies our deep-seated desire for shared experiences - something rarely achieved on streets designed solely for car traffic. Any person visiting Copenhagen will feel compelled to comment on the overwhelming presence of cyclists in the city center. Having biked around during rush hour (bike rush hour, that is), I could elaborate at length about how pleasant and freeing it felt. However, it was my pedestrian experience of walking directly adjacent to the teeming bike traffic that had a greater impact on my overall enjoyment of the city.
copenhagen, de / 21
35
pattern and scale
materiality in city streets
There is something relatable about the scale of a standard brick that is lost at the scale of a large concrete panel: one conjures up images of hands and craftsmen, the other of efficient machines. We can easily imagine what it takes to lay a brick or stone paver, yet it is much more difficult to contemplate pouring a massive concrete slab. In the latter scenario, there is a layer of distance erected between us and the surface we walk on that deadens our experience. In American cities, efficiency and budget have historically trumped pedestrian experience when it comes to street design. This trend has given us sidewalks comprised of large slabs of concrete, rhythmically interrupted by expansion joints that register in our brains the passing of both distance and time. On European streets, the consistent breaking down of this material scale turns the surface from a series of figures to a field, blurring the experiential length of our journey. As humans, I think we welcome more guidance and direction than we are willing to admit. On sidewalks with small-scale materials, subtle changes in pattern communicate different uses and functions and, as pedestrians, we adjust our actions accordingly. Directional patterns tell us where to look for crossing traffic and how to pass someone moving too slowly in front of us on our walk to work. Other shifts in pattern tell us where to park our bikes, our cars, and the limits of our spatial dominion while eating lunch at an outdoor cafe. These subtle hints about function add an important and pleasurable layer to our subconscious experience of city streets.
various cities / 22
37
copenhagen, de / 23
39
03
durability
41
on aging gracefully
material durability in growing cities
Ruin and decay are natural parts of a city’s life cycle. This lends to the organic quality of urban environments; buildings are constructed, maintained, demolished, and reconstructed. When considering the question of sustainability in these cycles, architects often debate the benefits of building with heavy, massive materials for longevity as opposed to light, temporary materials for flexibility. Every city I visited elicited questions of material durability and the degree to which the urban fabric seemed “durable� greatly affected the holistic experience of the city. Copenhagen is a city built of stone; the historic buildings have an enduring quality that amplifies the human inclination toward nostalgia. Because these structures have withstood the test of time, visitors are not prompted to reconcile their personal aesthetic preferences with those of the buildings around them. They accept their presence in the city and feel comforted by the grounded quality of their visible age. Rotterdam is a city built of metal and glass; the buildings constructed over the past 75 years speak of progress and an open, innovative design aesthetic. Despite their recent construction, many buildings show signs of deterioration and, instead of feeling timeless, date themselves via use of specific materials and colors. As the number of people moving to urban environments increases daily, how should we build to accommodate them? What does it mean to build sustainably? Can we create architecture and infrastructure that ages gracefully?
rotterdam, nl / 24
43
In Maastricht’s city center, many stone churches from the 11th-13th centuries are being repurposed to serve modern functions within the city, from hotels to bookstores. The desire to re-occupy these historic structures speaks to the psychological appeal of grounded, durable building materials.
Today, buildings constructed of metal and glass embody ideas of temporality and ephemerality. The desire for cost and material efficiency in contemporary construction leads to faster visible deterioration of the built environment. Is it possible to create buildings within these modern constraints that are durable and contribute to a city’s long-term sustainability?
left: maastricht, nl / 25, right: copenhagen, de / 26
45
urban decay
synthetic cycles in hafencity
What does it mean to build a city from the ground up? Typically, the architecture and infrastructure experiences cycles of decay and renewal: as certain elements fall into disrepair, they are either maintained or replaced, creating a patchwork of old, new, and future projects. These cycles initiate a natural state of change in the city, a constantly evolving urban fabric that is able to respond to the needs of current citizens. When a city is designed and constructed from the ground up in a short span of time, it raises questions of both maintenance and authenticity. In Hafencity, approximately 95 projects will be completed in a span of 25 years, eliminating the gradual renewal process that typically occurs in urban environments. What will this mean in 50 years when all the structures are showing wear and the infrastructure requires holistic replacement? Setting aside the potential city budgeting issues associated with this kind of maintenance bubble, the larger question in the case of Hafencity and other cities designed this way across the globe becomes: is it possible to create a lively, vibrant urban culture within these new cities? There is arguably something about the natural ebb and flow of organically grown cities that supports the development of vital urban life. Is it possible to encourage this in brand new cities? From what I experienced on this trip, culture is not something created but something grown. Because cities across the globe are building this way, how can we as architects and planners promote the vitality of city life that makes them attractive places to live in the first place?
hafencity, ge / 27
47
04
responsibility
49
architecture and society
underlying social structures in cities
It is difficult to draw comparisons between the United States – sprawling and diverse, and the places I visited – relatively small and homogenous. However, it is impossible to talk about architecture in a vacuum. The built environment is always a reflection, imposition, or prediction of values in a particular culture or community. The cities I visited cannot therefore be divorced from their greater sociopolitical contexts. In the United States, our value system incorporates a strong sense of rugged individualism. While this has served us well in many ways, it was refreshing to experience cultures built on a sense of collectivity. This manifested in several ways throughout the cities, most noticeably in the form of taking personal responsibility for one’s actions when participating in the collective public realm. I watched as young children navigated bike lanes independently and people walked along a precipitous water’s edge with no guardrail. The constant fear of litigation in the United States was less apparent in the places I visited. While this means fewer hindrances for architects, it also elevates the role of the individual citizen in ensuring their own safety and enjoyment of urban spaces. Which has greater impact on shaping of public space, the architecture or the underlying social structure? It is undoubtedly a constant interplay and ideally a reinforcing dialogue centered on the values of the community. While these cultural observations often raised difficult questions, they guided my experiences of the cities I visited and helped me navigate unfamiliar territory.
copenhagen, de / 28
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filling a void
elemental play spaces at superkilen
In Copenhagen, I frequently visited Superkilen, an urban park designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Located in Nørrebro just northwest of the city center, the park serves a diverse community primarily comprised of immigrants. The simplicity of the park design is its most noticeable quality: it consists of big open spaces, broken down by paving patterns, painted surfaces, and the occasional piece of play equipment. There is nothing particularly glamorous about it – no fussy plantings, no overly designed benches, and yet it is literally teeming with people every day of the week. This demonstrates the ability of a public space to respond to the needs of a community, ultimately leading to its success and popularity. This park also speaks to the role of “fun” in architecture. In conversations about creating community, architects rarely address the underlying idea that injecting fun into an environment is one of the easiest ways to attract people to a space. From 4-person swings to a giant striped hill, the sequence of movement through the linear park prioritizes the idea of having fun, emphatically punctuated by playful colors and shifting pavement patterns. Where there is fun, there will be spectators. Zones of activity are carefully located near seated viewing areas, allowing the space to be activated both by people playing and by those coming to watch. The park leverages our human desire to play regardless of age. Often there were more adults on the playgrounds than children, demonstrating the importance of incorporating such flexibility into public spaces.
copenhagen, de / 29
53
In the red section of Superkilen, play equipment attracts all age groups. On these 4-person swings over the course of an hour, I observed groups of kids, several families, two couples having lunch, a group of teenagers swinging as high as possible, and an old man reading a book. How can this diversity of use be implemented in other aspects of public space?
In the black section, the rhythmic stripes of the pavement imply a dynamic sense of movement and encourage different ways of moving through and occupying this zone of the park. Leveraging the simple use of paint and slight variations in surface elevation, the designers created a fun and flexible environment where visitors could establish their own program and method of engaging the space.
left: copenhagen, de / 30, right: copenhagen, de / 31
55
public safety
feeling secure in shared urban spaces
Most people in the countries I visited pay over 45% of their income in taxes. When questioned about their feelings on this, they unanimously implied that they were happy to pay this much. They all used the same general words to describe why - they were paying into a giant safety net for themselves and for others. They could be confident that all citizens would be cared for even under adverse circumstances. For example, in all my time in public parks on this trip, I rarely encountered homeless or severely destitute people. While difficult to describe, their presence often instills in me a feeling of helplessness, discomfort, and vulnerability. I gradually realized that this sensation was absent, and this enabled a freedom to let my guard down, close my eyes and sense my surroundings, lie down on a park bench, sit on a bridge at night to people-watch, and become totally immersed in those experiences because I felt safe. While I am certain that this represents a fairly limited understanding of the safety concerns in the cities I visited, I felt that it had a profoundly positive impact on my experience of public space. Those on the fringes of society are, in large part, supported by government programs to help them find jobs and to address their medical and housing needs. This in turn elevates the feeling of citizen well-being, and contributes to the overall success of “the public,� and therefore the public spaces, of our cities.
various cities / 32
57
copenhagen, de / 33
59
responsibility
the role of architecture in the public realm
In Rotterdam, I took a boat tour of the port to get a better sense of the city’s primary economic driver. Being on a boat in the harbor offered new perspectives on the recent development in the Kop Van Zuid area, emphasizing the prevalence of “buildings as objects” in this city. The buildings are scaleless as seen from the water, and stand on the bank as impressive vertical protrusions. From the pedestrian perspective, being up close to several of the buildings raised the question of whether they could encourage positive public interactions at the street level while simultaneously appearing as scaleless “objects” when viewed from a distance. The experience of the buildings in this area lacked a human scale of engagement. This was an enormous missed opportunity: the architecture could have easily enhanced the boardwalk by incorporating multi-functional spaces that either visually or physically connected pedestrians with the interior life of the buildings. Despite the private and often singular program housed within, do these buildings have a responsibility to benefit the public at large? Every city I visited raised this question for me. As architects in urban environments, do we always have a responsibility to consider and provide for a good interface between our buildings and the public? Or are there some buildings that, due to program or location, are absolved of this requirement? Considering the vast numbers of people moving into city centers across the globe and the fact that we cannot predict what the function or context of our buildings will be in 20 years, I believe we do have a responsibility to make a positive impact on the public experience of our urban buildings.
rotterdam, nl / 34
61
Built in the recently developed Kop Van Zuid, OMA’s de Rotterdam project is a prime example of “building as object”. From this vantage point on the north side of the water, the building appears scaleless, a sculptural form in the skyline.
Crossing the water and experiencing this building from street level left much to be desired. There is very little to engage on a human scale, including several missed opportunities for activating the recreational potential of the waterfront. In this case, the view from across the water was allowed to dominate all other public experiences of the building.
left: rotterdam, nl / 35, right: rotterdam, nl / 36
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enden einde 채nde end
65
image index page / type / description 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
cover sketch map sketch photo photo sketch sketch photo photo sketch photo photo sketch photo photo photo photo photo sketch photo photos photo sketch photo photo sketch sketch photo photo photo photo photo sketch photos photo photo
view from Rundetaarn (Round Tower), Copenhagen, DE De Kunsthal, Rotterdam, NL map of travel Svendsgade looking toward Eliaskirken, Copenhagen, DE Gammeltorv square, Copenhagen, DE Harbor Baths, Copenhagen, DE Grotekerkplein, Rotterdam, NL Unilever building, Nassaukade, Rotterdam, NL Hoogstraat, Rotterdam, NL Tourist Information Center, Coolsingel, Rotterdam, NL Märchenbrunnen, Am Friedrichshain, Berlin, GE Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin, GE building on the Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin, GE Sandtorkai, Hafencity, Hamburg, GE Sandtorkai, Hafencity, Hamburg, GE Marco-Polo Terrassen, Hafencity, Hamburg, GE pedestrian street in Malmö, SE street in Copenhagen, DE street in Rotterdam, NL Strandgade looking toward Christians Kirke, Copenhagen, DE Dronning Louises Bro, Copenhagen, DE paving patterns in various cities Frederiksborggade near Torvehallerne, Copenhagen, DE Westewagenhof, looking toward Hoogstraat, Rotterdam, NL Dominican church in Maastricht, NL skyscraper in Copenhagen, DE Sandtorkai, Hafencity, Hamburg, GE street in Valby, Copenhagen, DE black section of Superkilen, Copenhagen, DE red section of Superkilen, Copenhagen, DE black section of Superkilen, Copenhagen, DE parks in various cities educational biking loop, Fælledparken, Copenhagen, DE view from Euromast in Rotterdam, NL view of de Rotterdam from north, Rotterdam, NL view of de Rotterdam from Erasmusbrug, Rotterdam, NL Rundetaarn interior, Copenhagen, DE
copenhagen, de / 37
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thank you
First, I’d like to thank Boone Powell and his family for making this incredible experience possible. It was truly such an honor to receive this award and an experience that will undoubtedly impact the future of my career in architecture. I’d also like to thank the people who helped me along the way: Cisco Gomes; Nichole Wiedemann; Jimmy Andreasen + Iben Niegaard; Rosa Marquez + Thomas Henckel; Lena Baden; Lisbeth + Peter Mandel; Sussi Baden + Leif Pihl; Erik Pihl, Jacob Pihl, and wonderful Midsummer’s attendees; Fiona Cook + Edwin Boiten; Joan + Floris Muysken; Anne Marie + Joan Muysken; Fransje Muysken + Simon Gobert; Dwight Reynolds; and Noah Winkler. Finally, a big thank you to my support network for quelling my fears and coaching me through five solo weeks abroad: my parents, Jacques van Montfrans + Elizabeth Wilkins; my brother Schuyler van Montfrans; my aunt Sarah Wilkins; my partner Spencer Ingram; and my good friend Elizabeth Farrell.
about me
I’m currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. The research trip documented in this book was made possible through the generous funding of the Boone Powell Family Prize in Urban Design, granted during the spring of 2014. To learn more, please visit : www.clarevanmontfrans.com where you can find an updated portfolio of design projects and a journal of current thoughts and explorations.