So Danish!
Danish Architecture Center’s first permanent exhibition on Danish architecture will open. The exhibition unfolds the history of Danish architecture from the Viking Age to present day and gives you the opportunity to travel into the architecture and understand how absolutely vital it is to our democratic society.
With the exhibition, you will experience how architecture has always played a central role in our formation, our understanding of culture and our common future. In addition to all the highlights of Danish architectural history, there will also be an opportunity to dive into the individual style periods, meet the architects, and discover completely new projects with great impact on the architecture we are surrounded by today and in the future.
The exhibition contains architecture at all levels of scale, from buildings and urban spaces to infrastructure and landscape architecture, and it will accommodate a multitude of different ways of experiencing the architecture. Iconic buildings are resurrected i.a. to life in small, enveloping, cinematic experiences that give you a fantastic and present experience of Danish architecture – it’s almost like standing in the physical building.
Early to Present Day Architecture
Diving into thirteen different points in Danish architectural history, the exhibition conveys a wealth of stories about early architecture, wartime architecture such as Viking fortresses, welfare architecture, cities for people, radical design, bicycle culture, climate-centric architecture, and much more.
So Danish! showcases Danish architectural history from the Viking Age to today with a focus on how architecture has shaped the great societal narrative and our everyday lives. Visitors will gain insight into how today’s architects are standing on the shoulders of the generations of architects that came before them. The exhibition also takes in-depth looks into selected periods, architects and projects.
Radical design
Architects seek to shape our world. But some ideas and designs are more radical than others. This strong tradition comes in part from the Danish understanding of architecture as an art form with a responsibility to improve the quality of life of the masses. This view dates back to the 1754 founding of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, which included a school of architecture.
The exhibition presents examples of world-class Danish design by internationally renowned architects. Guests can also experience an installation that shows Arne Jacobsen’s total design for the SAS Royal Hotel, learn more about Susanne Ussing’s and Carsten Hoff’s building principles from Thylejren (Thy Camp), and get the full story of how Jørn Utzon’s famous roof for the Sydney Opera House came to be.
Sensing architecture
Through immersive film experiences, the exhibition invites visitors into six selected buildings based on drone film footage that impacts the body as much as the mind – giving guests a visceral experience of what it is like to stand in the middle of Grundtvig Church, hover above the Icefjord Centre in Greenland, or look out from the top of the Forest Tower. Throughout the exhibition, audio guides allow you to listen to stories about Danish architecture and the buildings that create the framework for our lives.
Towards a new sustainable society
So Danish! explores how architects today are building a society on the planet’s terms. But sustainability is a complex challenge. The exhibition features examples of how younger and more established Danish architectural firms are working to create a new sustainable and regenerative society. By discovering more about new materials and aesthetic, functional and artistic trends, guests gain insight into the new genera-tions’ efforts to create the buildings, urban spaces and homes of tomorrow.