Should Kolding have a Multi-Performance Art Centre?
Christian Ilcus (V)Piledamsvej 19, living room
6000 Kolding
Email:director@ilcus.eu
Different forms of performing arts, such as dance, music, and theatre, can be performed and experienced in a multi-performance art center. It is a space designed to be flexible and adaptable to artists' and audiences' different needs and desires. A multi-performance art center can also be part of a more important cultural center that includes other facilities such as exhibition spaces, cafés, conference halls, etc.
Some examples of multi-performance art centers are:
Kilden: a new cultural center in Kristiansand, Norway, opened in 2021. Designed by Ala Architects, it consists of four buildings with space for various artistic performances, such as a concert hall, experimental theatre, and multi-functional halls with shared production equipment. The program also includes an innovative approach to the social side of social tasks. These interact with each other and represent a cultural operating concept in a unified organization that is one of Norway's largest houses for performing arts and music. A strategic plan has been developed to touch and excite, while ownership is split between the municipality and the county on a 60-40% formula. Budget: 1.2 billion NOK.
Foro Boca by Rojkind Architects: Rojkind Architects is known for its innovative and expressive designs that explore architecture's social, environmental, and technological aspects. Foro Boca is a concert and
cultural center in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, Mexico, which houses dance, theatre, and cinema. It is also home to the Boca del Rio Philharmonic Orchestra, a unique orchestra in Mexico and the world with a social and cultural commitment to the local community. Foro Boca has a distinctive architecture inspired by the concrete blocks that form a breakwater between the river and the sea in the form of a series of exposed volumes of concrete cubes. Foro Boca is part of a larger master plan that aims to revitalize a run-down urban area and create a new cultural center for the city. The building is strategically located at the mouth of the river, with a rich history and culinary tradition. It aims to promote dialogue between artists and audiences, strengthen the city's identity and act as a detonator for the modernization of Boca del Rio.
Harpa: A concert and congress center in Reykjavik. Designed by Henning Larsen in collaboration with Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, it opened in 2011. Harpa has a spectacular facade of glass panels in different colors that create a kaleidoscopic look. Inside the building are four halls for music, opera, theatre, and conferences, as well as exhibition spaces, cafés, and shops. The building combines intense expressionism with a prosaic atmosphere in its interior. Harpa symbolizes Iceland's cultural identity and ambitions.
In Kolding, cultural institutions have become rather run-down, and the quality could be better. This applies to the Dorotea Children's Theatre and the Dorotea Theatre. The Egnsteater is housed in a hotel, a temporary solution. The estate's artists and users are similarly in need of a boost. Classical music is almost non-existent in Kolding, despite being the most subtle of Europe's arts, comparable to the role of Indian philosophy in Asia. A multi-performance art center would be an ideal setting for more frequent visits from the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra and Jydske Opera to the municipality than is the case today. Artificial intelligence can now be used to compose music, so an AI component should be included in the program for KPAC. The AI component could collaborate with and add to the School of Culture's talent program. Of course, dance, chamber music, and vocal ensemble should be included in the program. When the
City and Development Administration calls a meeting, it occurs in Chr IV's burnt-down church, a symbolic reminder that Kolding is not yet fully designed and needs a place to meet in contemporary surroundings. Kolding is interested in positioning itself better in the region and Jutland regarding events and experiences. At the same time, there are new members of the Kolding community, such as the Confutse Institute, where I recently lectured on Ma Yansong in Chinese class after the dear Laoshi 4iuqing Yang invited me here.
Ma Yansong is a Chinese architect inspired by Eero Saarinen, Antonio Gaudi, and Zaha Hadid.
Eero Saarinen, of Dulles Airport fame, is a Finnish-American architect known for his neo-futurist style. He believed architecture should be a "total design" and that each building element should be integrated into the overall design. He was influenced by the International Style, which emphasized functionality and simplicity, used modern materials - steel, concrete, and glass - and rejected historical styles and ornamentation. He is known for his fluid interiors and for paving the way for Utzon in Sydney.
Gaudi, known for Park Guell, Casa Milla, and Sagrada Familia, wanted to connect extreme forms to popular art. The architecture complements the beauty of nature by adding an unbreakable balance. Structure and function blend in an expressive design that imbues the world with meaning. The aim was to create a new modern tradition for a new era. Thus, in Park Guell, Gaudi makes use of undulating ceilings like papers blowing in the wind, broken architraves, hanging columns, and capitals that seem to melt into their shafts, i.e., classicism with uncharacteristic features at the intersection of neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau and surrealism. Casa Milla seeks to capture movement in stone facades that conceal cozy interiors covered with delicate, soft skin-formed shapes inspired by egg yolks. This a great example of abstract form language with widespread appeal. The Sagrada Familia is a story in itself. Here, Gaudi uses columns that shoot upwards and tilt as they follow the chain line, i.e., by following the exact direction of the natural weight of the ceiling. The surfaces that best transport them intersect them without any continuity solutions,
using curved geometry, paraboloids, and hybrids, which are also used in the windows. The use of stained glass unifies this. Gaudi’s style is chromatic architecture. There is no way to fool the people. He who turns pale looks like death. He who has red cheeks is alive. Color is the play of life and life in color. Therefore what is alive presupposes color, he believed. The effect is to create an atmosphere in the church’s interior of being in a peaceful forest with light filtering through its leaves and branches. And this comes from the constructive logic of the harmony of functions, forms, and discourse that only Gaudi has been able to synthesize.
Zaha Hadid, known from Ordrupgård, Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, and Aliev Center in Baku, stands for aggressive design characterized by fragmentation of forms and fluid lines, instability, and movement within an organic whole. She taught Ma Yansong at Yale.
Ma Yansong is known for his neo-futuristic style. The use of organic forms and natural materials characterizes his work. Ma Yan-song's contribution to architecture is his unique vision of the future. He believes that architecture should reflect the natural world and that buildings should be designed to harmonize with their surroundings. His work is influenced by the organic architecture movement, which emphasizes the harmony between human habitats and the natural world. The style is characterized by using natural materials such as wood and stone.
Ma Yansong wrote Shansui City, expressing that the city should be a place where people can reconnect with the natural landscape and express their spiritual needs.
Some of the points of Shansui City: He uses the term Shansui, which means mountains and water in Chinese, to describe an artistic perception of nature deeply rooted in Chinese culture and philosophy. The city should be dense and functional but also beautiful and poetic. The city should balance density, openness, order, chaos, technology, and tradition. The city should have a diversity of shapes, colors, and materials that reflect the richness and variety of nature. The city should have a
lively atmosphere and creative potential. The city should be emotional and inspiring, not cold and dull. Cities should awaken people's senses and imagination. The city should stimulate people's curiosity and learning. The city should promote dialogue between people and cultures. The city should express a vision for the future that is optimistic and humanistic. MAD has designed projects such as Absolute Towers in Canada, the Harbin Opera House in China, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in the US.
If you want to build a KPAC, there are several steps to consider before the project becomes a reality. Here's a road map:
Step one: Define the multi-performance art center's purpose, target audience, and program. What do we want to achieve with it? Who should we attract and serve? What features and facilities should we have in it?
Step two: find a suitable location for KPAC. It should be a place that is easily accessible, visible, and attractive to the public. It should also relate to the city's history, culture, and landscape. A possible location could be Kolding Harbor, where there is potential to create a new cultural hub.
Step three: Contact Ma Yansong and his team at Mad Architects and present the project to them. Explain the vision and the city architect's expectations. Invite them to visit your location and educate them about the city context. Agree on a budget, schedule, and contract with them.
Step four: Collaborate with Ma Yansong and his team to develop a conceptual design for KPAC inspiration from his previous works and Kolding’s identity and ambition. I will find a balance between functionality and artistic expression and be open to feedback and dialogue.
Step five: Present the conceptual design to the city council and the public. Explain my vision, goals, and benefits. Show how KPAC will contribute to the city's development, quality, and diversity. Obtain permits, approvals, and support from the relevant authorities and stakeholders. Consider a corporate structure for managing the construction.
Step Six: Develop your conceptual design into a detailed design with MAD's peeps. Solve the technical, acoustic, optical, and theatre mechanical challenges. Select the materials, colors, and lighting that suit the KPAC. Coordinate with the local engineers, contractors, and livery contractors.
Step seven: Build an organization that can monitor the construction process. Ensure quality, budget, and schedule are met. Resolve any issues or changes along the way. Test all systems and functions before opening.
Eighth step: At the opening of the KPAC, a festive ceremony will be held. I will invite Ma Yansong, the Royal Family, the Chinese ambassador, the regional chairman, and the mayors of the neighboring municipalities to participate in the event. Present KPAC as a new cultural landmark that will help create public recreation and inspire communication and imagination. Appreciate the architectural exchange between China and Denmark, such as the Tietgen College on Amager modeled on a Chinese round castle and SHL's Shanghai East Library, and mention the potential for Danish design in the Chinese market. Enjoy the results of your hard work.
The purpose of the project is to position Kolding as the capital of South Jutland, to give cultural life a long-needed boost and allow local artists to express themselves, to give the city a gathering place, to contribute to the development of the harbor and the connection between harbor and city, to attract an internationally renowned architect to the city, to highlight that Kolding can upload and download from different levels: global, European, national, regional and local.
The intention is not to call for Maoist guerrilla warfare against Kolding Harbor or, for that matter, to use it to unite Europe by conquering a bridgehead at the tip of Kolding Harbor. Ha-ha.
It must be an innovative visual form. On the one hand, KPAC should aim to blur the boundaries between architecture, public space, and the urban landscape. On the other hand, it should exist in a natural order of air, wind, and light, creating a resonance between man and nature. KPAC
should be a landmark, not just visually and from a height. KPAC should help create public recreation and inspire communication and imagination. The dialogue between the built and natural world must be created in the interplay between space and form. As such, KPAC will encourage a connection between nature and man, uniting land and water, past and future, harbor and city.
I'm no stranger to the idea that MAD should relate to the moraine landscape and play on human evolution's adaptation from life in the water to life on land to the extent that we are descended from mammals and primates. A raft could be included in the interior. AJ's Egg chair will be included along with Danish furniture. Primarily Danish lighting. Decoration by local artists - Anne Fabricius, Christian Dinesen, Jette Gejl, Lars Worm, Mette Maya. Concrete must not be visible and produced using green hydrogen, for which I will apply for funding from the Just Transition Fund in collaboration with GHS. Wood must be included in KPAC - preferably local varieties.
This must be compared with the City Council's vision of linking the commercial harbor, city, and fjord in developing the harbor area, inner harbor, commercial harbor, and marina west. Niras is currently working on overall scenarios for the various combi-solutions. This takes the form of different scenarios using principles such as urban development, harbor development, climate adaptation, infrastructure, and sustainability. The approach is the stakeholder model, and the form of interaction is a closed loop. It needs to be clarified to what extent a similar basis in the form of best practices on harbor development in the EU and architectural quality of international format is included. According to the municipality, this preliminary stage will influence the final decision on how to chart the course for developing Kolding's harbor areas. The decision to build a KPAC needs to be allowed to mature.
Given its historical role in developing Kolding's economy, The administration is very cautious about clearing the harbor. Some city councilors indicate that many of the industries at the harbor need to put more money into municipal coffers. Others need to reflect on and suggest
how Kolding's economy could be further developed to meet the conservatism of the administration. As a result, Kolding Municipality is lagging behind so many other cities in the country - Aarhus, Odense, CPH, Esbjerg, Aalborg - and in Europe - Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Barcelonaall of which have begun developing their harbor areas. Common themes include burgeoning public spaces, integrating cultural institutions and attractions, and creating mixed-use developments that combine residential, commercial, and retail spaces. Harbor revitalization always aims to create functional, attractive, and sustainable communities - a common interest for urban planners, citizens, decision-makers, and architects.
In practice, there are several options for the location of KPAC in Kolding Municipality, as Jan Krarup, whose calm and non-confrontational style I appreciate, pointed out during the citizens' meeting on 8 March in the burned down church of ChrIV at Koldinghus. I have followed up by encouraging Merete Dissing to present the city council with various options to anchor the construction of a KPAC at the planning level.
Some of the possible locations for a KPAC are:
In Kolding Harbor: This could be attractive as it would give KPAC a beautiful view of the water and a close connection to the city's maritime identity. It would also be a place easily accessible and visible to the public. KPAC could help revitalize the harbor area and create a new cultural hub on the waterfront. A disadvantage of this location could be that it would require extensive planning and approval from the relevant authorities and stakeholders, as it would affect the harbor’s functions and environment. It could also be exposed to weather and climate conditions such as storms and flooding.
In Kolding City Centre: This could be another possible location, as it would give KPAC a central location in the city’s heart. It would be a place that is easily accessible by public transport and bicycle. It would also be a place that relates to the city's history, culture, and landscape. It could help strengthen the city's identity and ambitions and create a lively
atmosphere in the city center. A disadvantage of this location could be that it would require a high degree of customization to the existing urban structure and architecture. The need for more space and traffic issues in the city center could also challenge it.
In Kolding South: This could be a third possible location, as it would give KPAC a green and scenic location in the southern part of the city. It would be a place that could develop into a new cultural area with other facilities such as parks, schools, and housing. It would also be a place that has a space for innovation and creativity. It could promote dialogue between artists and audiences and diversify the city's offerings and opportunities. A disadvantage of this location could be that it would require a significant investment in infrastructure and services to make it attractive and accessible to the public. It could also be a location that needs more visibility and connection to the city center. This helps the city council get up to speed and turn the ownership strategy for the harbor into reality in conjunction with the desire to give the city and its cultural life a much-needed boost to brand Kolding as the capital of South Jutland. KPAC will symbolize global thinking and local commerce and contribute to the transformation of Kolding City and harbor and the development of the municipality's economy.
