2_3_ScanMagazine_Issue_81_Oct-Nov_2015_Scan Magazine 1 15/10/2015 21:35 Page 48
Scan Magazine | Architecture Special | Denmark
8-House by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in Copenhagen. The 8-House consists of 475 units of various sizes and layouts, designed to meet the needs of people at all stages of life. Photo: BIG
Architecture Special: Denmark
Small country – big architecture Despite the country’s modest size, Denmark has made significant impressions worldwide. Some of the world’s most notable buildings are designed by Danish architects: Utzon’s Sydney Opera House, Johann Otto von Spreckelsen’s Grande Arche de la Défence in Paris, Reykjavik’s Harpa concert hall by Henning Larsen Architects, and Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) many iconic buildings around the planet. By Karen Sejr, Danish Association of Architectural Firms
Danish architecture has two defining characteristics. It is human-centred. Danish architects are known for a simple Nordic style, but also for their incorporation of the users of any building. For example, Danish architects consider who the building dwellers or workers might be, how a good indoor environment for a school can be created, and how to produce the right lighting conditions. So people are at the core of Danish architecture, but the same can be said about sustainability. Energy awareness among Danish architects goes back a very long way but has intensified in recent years as the consequences of climate change have
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become more apparent. Denmark has been a laboratory for sustainable urban development for many years. As the Danish sustainability agenda broadens, Danish architecture firms have stood at the
ready to make a significant contribution towards the advancement of sustainability on a global scale.
The Danish Association of Architectural Firms is an industry and trade association that represents the commercial interests of consulting architects.
For more information, please visit: www.danskeark.dk
Left: Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik by Henning Larsen Architects together with artist Olafur Eliasson. Photo: Lene Espersen. Right: Lene Espersen, CEO of Danish Association of Architectural Firms, has many years’ experience as a high-level politician. Photo: Jørgen True