28 avr. 20196 min de lecture

Day 2 Copenhagen Study trip

Dernière mise à jour : 3 mai 2019

The second day was challenging our senses in very focussed ways. Light, shadows, noises, steepness and multiple other ways are possibilities to stimulate the user and his body.

We also had the unique opportunity to experience one snoezelhouse: an institution where you can stimulate specific senses if you have sensory impairments.

Do those sensory impairments arrive because our society does not try to stimulate our body, where everything is just easy and convenient?

Kastrup Søbad, by White architects

The Kastrup Sea bath is situated up north of the Copenhagen Airport on the east coast. It was designed by White arkitekter for the Tårnby Municipality to attract people on this side of the coast. It creates a focal point on this long yellow coastline.

You can see the first horizontal line its the ramp being gradated by the shell and seaweed. [1]

The structure suggests a pool with its circular shape. A huge pier leads to this island with something unusual on its side. Indeed you can find a giant ramp next to the pier that facilitates access in the water for wheel-chair user. Unfortunately, the ramp is fixed in the water this means it becomes very difficult to clean the seaweed and the shell that goes on the ramp. Also, we can criticize two things: the wide of it as it allowed only one wheelchair at a time in the water and the fact that the ramp is not integrated with the suggested pool. People in a wheelchair remains outcast out of social life.

The ramp on the left, far away from the architecture

From a spatial point of view, the architect created rhythm with the wood cladding of the structure. Sometimes, the space between planks of wood let the light going through them but they still protect us from the wind.

In the other hand the projection of the shadows in this particular case can cause problems to people with low vision as they can not distinguish the real steps from the shadows.

Something unusual can also experiment in this structure. You can go in the middle of it and scream or sing. You will hear your echo almost immediately if you are alone and it will always surprise you. Architecture becomes on the next level a new kind of playground.

The singing spot in the middle of the circle

The Kayak Club or Maritime Youth House, by Plot architects (BIG+JDS)

Maritime youth house is a 2000m sq. located in Copenhagen, Denmark.completed in 2008. Location of The kayak club topsoil is polluted, therefore, the architect coved the whole site with wooden hill-scape to avoid digging.

The Kayak club created space for storage the boat and landscape for children (or adult) to play or hangout. [2][3]

As a result, the design becomes a social public space for both store boats and outdoor play space. Not only for the youth but also playful for all ages. It becomes a place where people could challenge their body to use the space however their capability. For example, walking up the wooden slope instead of taking stairs or even cycle up to space. Since Amarger located by the ocean, it is always windy, therefore, the hill structure partly become a barrier for the wind.

The hill has steps where it can be hangout spots or alternative ways to go up. Platform also wide and generous space to walk around. [5]

The space also possible to bike up or access to the water. [6]

Prismen culture house by Dorte Mandrup

The prismen culture and sports house, or "The Crystal" is situated in the Amager øst district. It was designed by Dorte Mandrup for Municipality of Gentofte to give a proper sports facility to one sportiest area in the country in 2006.

Prismen culture and sports house - connecting the neighbourhood [7]

The building hides his enormous spatiality when you enter it as you go first through a very small but welcoming cafeteria. We can imagine it can be tricky if a group of wheelchair user arrives at the same time. It might be a way for the building to say that sport is not an industry, it is time that you spend with family and friend.

Then you enter the space, the green space. The architect uses a striking green color on the ground and the few walls to connect the gigantic space. It created a sense of continuity and community.

The connecting nature of the green, like a hill in the city protected by a dome of light. [8]

The acoustic is something that you will expect from a sports facility: it is loud and echoey but at the same time you don't mind because it is normal. Forty kids are playing basketball on three different fields what did you expect? It will feel weird if they tried to absorb the sound.

The green being so strong, the lift for accessibility does not feel oppressing.

Very tall space being left-over for multi-purpose use

The north facade is more translucent than the south, using different polycarbonate transparency to limit the sunlight, and control the temperature and light inside the building.

Culture house, Amager by Dorte Mandrup

The neighborhood center is 500 meters away from the Prismen still in the same neighborhood. It was a rehabilitation of an old industrial build from the end of the Ninetieth century by Dorte Mandrup. This center becomes the new face of democracy and social interaction, a place of citizenship.

The low ramp to access the building - dealing with the past

Rehabilitation and accessibility are really the main subjects with this building from our point of view. The building shows us directly with his entry what kind of problem you might encounter when you try new design into an old building.

Diagram show entry space by removing part of the floor [9]

Indeed, there is a low ramp to access the building with its 20 cm height difference with the pedestrian pathway. The architect also needed to remove some part of the first and second floors to create a real sense of entry. It always seems a challenge on how to design new spatial quality in a very strict and narrow structure.

Ugly strip to be seen by people with visual impairement. When architects follow rules does not challenge them.

Beauty of exposing old structure

Those kinds of lines are not first you will see. Yet we can ask ourselves who is it for? Its first purpose is to facilitate access. Children will love to follow them, stepping on it, jumping on it, and many other things that our adult mind cannot think of it. Blind people are not considered in this equation. People having issue seeing colors are also excluded from it. People with concentration issues can also be excluded.

Do not take this comment as oh no we need to stop putting those kinds of colored lines. Just be aware of its purpose and its limitations.

Snoezelhouse in Gentofte

The house of multi-sensory environments (MSE), is located in Gentofte in Denmark, the house is a sensory experience offer for people who are physically or mentally limited in their ability to experience and process sensory input.

The MSE allows people to get special sensory experiences that can stimulate sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, balance and muscle senses.

The MSE is divided into four rooms and a hall, each of which offers different controlled stimulation to either awake or attenuate the senses.

We experienced 15 mins in each room, and after all the different inputs that each room gave us, we felt utterly exhausted.

The white room

The white room is where the user gets into a trance and can find peace of mind.

The ball pit room

The pressure from the balls gives a clear idea of where the body starts and ends.

The red room

The red room is intended to stimulate breathing or inhaling, where the senses are stimulated refreshingly.

The dark room

In the dark room, the user can turn on the sky canopy, wrap themselves into the duvet filled with balls and optionally start an audio-book. It allows the user to concentrate without visual disturbances.

The Bagsvaerd Church by Jorn Utzon

Plan and Section of the Bagsvaerd church.The plan is very strict compare to the spatial inside (shown in section). [10]

The Bagsvaerd Church was realized between 1973 and 1976, by Jorn Utzon right after he finished the famous Sydney Opera house. The church located northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Fortress-like in the exterior. In contrast with interior ceiling curves and light make it easy to forget strick form from the exterior.

Corridor has glasses roof open to the sky

When we visited this building, we entered long corridors where we could feel a sense of lightness inside mainly from the glass roof where connection to the sky.The corridor has a wide generous space also beaches to rest.

Seating inside may not provide specific spot for wheel chairs user or a possibility to go up the altar.

Even though the primary structures are concrete-cast or light color wood but it does not give a heavy feeling, yet losing a sense of time because of no direct visual (windows) to outside. Indirect light from the curved ceiling also lights up space. The acoustic inside was little echo but not disturbing.