I have just returned to Copenhagen from an eight day journey to Italy.
If there are adjectives in the English language that can adequately capture just how pleasant the trip was, I have yet to learn them.
A post full of photos and a tale or two will come soon, but for now this sketch of Piazza del Popolo can serve as a kind of teaser. I did this sketch with pencil and coffee while sitting under the obelisk.
click on me
Above is a map I made on my dining room table using a shoelace from one of my basketball shoes and a 4b pencil. This map illustrates the route that I bike to get to basketball practice. Go ahead and click on it, everyone loves bigger pictures.
Joining a club basketball team is one of the best decisions I have made while abroad.
I first found out about the team online. Copenhagen Business School was holding tryouts for their club basketball teams early in September, so I biked on over to tryout at a small gym in Frederiksberg. A few days later I received word that I had made the team and that we had our first team meeting that night.
At the meeting all of the players introduced themselves, and I was blown away by the number of different countries represented. I have teammates from Denmark, Germany, Finland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Argentina, and USA.
Some are traditional students, some are masters students, some are exchange students, and others are members of the workforce. I am the youngest player on the team at 20. From there the ages range up to around 30.
It has been a treat to play basketball with these guys from all over the world. The style of play is different from that in the US. The ball is shared around quite a bit more. While shooting around, change is often given even if someone doesn’t hit a shot. The dimensions of the court are shifted slightly in international play: the three point line is deeper than in college and high school ball, and the shape of the lane is shifted from a rectangle to a trapezoid. The trapezoidal lane, which increases in width as it gets closer to the basket, encourages play towards the perimeter and forces big men outside of their comfort zone. (update: I talked to one of my teammates about this, and it turns out they have shifted to a rectangular key, although many of the gyms we play in still have the old lines. The key is still wider than what I am used to and the effect on gameplay is the same). I enjoy the international style of play.
Practice is a nice mix of drills and free play. The atmosphere is exactly what I was hoping for. Players take the game seriously and skills are being developed, but practice is fun and there is always a laugh to be had.
We have practice twice a week: an hour and a half on Monday and two hours on Thursday. There are games on weekends, although I havent been able to make any because of my travel breaks.
Tonight practice was canceled due to this massive wind storm Copenhagen is experiencing. The trees outside my window are thrashing about and the clouds are sprinting across the dark sky.
Last week was one for the record books. I will catch you up on it soon. For now I am going to sleep, listening to the wind howl.
William
Here are some drawings I did for the second assignment in my studio. The assignment involved creating a model of a site we were going to visit on our week long study tours, presenting on site, then writing a reflection essay. My site was Sergels Torg and the Kulterhuset in Stockholm.
I will post some reflection on the site and the trip in general soon, but I need to do some snoozing now. Tomorrow I am heading to Sweden for the day! Sweet dreams all.
William
Tonight was my first opera. I went with the Arts and Culture house for our weekly Wednesday outing. We saw Otello. Verdi’s rendition of Shakespeare’s famous work. The production was put on by the Royal Danish Opera in the Copenhagen Opera House.
Photo: Windows Wallpaper
Our friend Henning Larsen (previously here) designed this one. Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller commissioned the project. He is one of the wealthiest Danes to ever walk the earth and is of the Mærsk shipping line, which boasts the largest ship in the world that I visited a few weeks back. But that is another story.
I don’t speak Italian or Danish. So when the lights dimmed tonight I was pretty much on my own, considering the singing was in Italian and the subtitles (which are displayed on a screen above the stage) were in Danish.
Stage design is not something I think about often. Tonight I spent three hours marveling at stage design.
Photo: Miklos Szabo
The set design was minimal and clean.
The set of Otello completely disregarded all previous examples I have witnessed of generating a sense of place in a theater. References to a time period were non-existent. I would say that Othello and Desdemona played second fiddle to light and materiality.
Photo: Miklos Szabo
Emotion, time, and speed were created through light. Here again I have witnessed the Scandinavian emphasis on light and shadow.
Tall wooden walls were constant throughout the performance. These partitions made of luminous wood slid back and forth to contract or expand the stage area. Entrances and exits through the partitions were smooth as silk; you couldn’t tell which panels were solid and which were a door until it magically swung open as an actor walked towards it.
Photo: Miklos Szabo
A mirrored panel that slid around on stage was the most impressive element of the set design. Warped reflections of action taking place on-stage, and off-stage kept me coming back for more. The mirror made the stage appear expansive. Various projections off-stage were reflected onto the mirror panel while it was angled. One of these scenes was a row of cypress trees, and I was instantly reminded of my drawing of reflected cypress tress from Seville. At times the panel would swing around and face the audience even, and you could just make out dark silhouetted heads.
Photo: Miklos Szabo
There is power and beauty in simplicity. I have seen this all over Denmark, in architecture, fashion, graphic design, film, and now the opera. I must remember this lesson.
My apologies for missing last week’s post; I have been busy. More specifically, I have been hard at work on my first architecture project. Assignment One began right after I arrived, and stretched up until this past Wednesday. Of course I put off all of the work until the last minute, then busted it out in true block plan style . The studio became my home last weekend. I was in the studio for a solid 36 hour period at one point, excluding shawarma and bakery runs of course. Wednesday afternoon I presented my design to three professors and nine students. In this post I will walk you through my project, showing all of the diagrams, drawings, plans, sections, and the model I made for the presentation. Any questions or comments would be much appreciated.
-Design a student residence for a certain kind of student (architecture, music, film, natural science, dance, philosophy, etc.)
-The unit is 4 meters wide, 6.6 meters long, and 5 meters high. Plus a 4m X 2m balcony
-Each student in my studio (there are nine of us) had to design one of these units, which would fit into a larger framework to form a kollegium (Danish version of a dorm building).
-The kollegium contains communal spaces for shared activities. We chose the function of these communal spaces as a group. The communal spaces include kitchens, study rooms, a sauna, and an art studio. This diagram shows the layout of the kollegium. My room is titled “Cubic”.
Kollegium Layout
-We took a class field trip to visit the proposed site for our kollegium: an area of Copenhagen known as Holmen. Within the area of Holmen, which was developed as the base for the Danish navy, we were working on an island called Arsenalø. I marked the site on my map from my bike trip around Amager.
-This diagram illustrates the views out from my room.
I chose to design for a dancer.
My core concept in my design was making a small space feel large. I wanted to create a flexible space where a dance student could dance, entertain, create, rest, and rejuvenate. In order to maximize dance space, make a small space feel large, and allow for ownership of the space, my top priority was to create an open floor plan. Bringing natural light into the space and capturing the view of the canal were also key goals.
The space is broken up into 3 masses. The sleeping cube, the bathroom, and the music box. The sleeping cube hangs from the ceiling and is open on both ends, creating an intimate space to rest with great views out to the canal. The bathroom is also a cube and is a place for a dancer to soak his or her tired bones. The music box is for bumping some tunes to dance to and is integrated as part of the stairs. The following two diagrams show these three masses.
axonometric drawing showing masses and voids
In designing a room for a dancer, I sought to create a space that allowed for creative movement. Large sliding glass doors and continuity of materials in the wood floor on the south side of the room allow for free movement between the interior and the exterior.
Exterior: The northern facade is entirely made up of glass block. In this material choice I was inspired by the Maison de Verre in Paris, which I studied in my 20th Century Architecture course at Colorado College. The translucent material allows in a beautiful quality of natural light while still preserving privacy. I thought this would be appropriate for the northern facade because it is where there is public access to the unit. The southern facade would be made of glass, to capitalize on sunlight and views of the canal. While I was worried about having too much glass on the southern side because of heat gain, my professors informed me that in Copenhagen this would only be an issue for one month of the year, and that the benefit of maximizing natural light during the long winters outweighs the cons.
Interior: I chose beech wood for the flooring. This choice was inspired by the Århus Rådhus by Arne Jacobsen, which I visited on my study tour to western Denmark. Beech wood produces a gorgeous glow and is also the national tree of Denmark. There is also a large mirror along the eastern wall of the unit. This is essential for dancing and has the added benefit of making a space seem much larger than it actually is.
I did these plans and sections in pencil on vellum. Note that the first floor in Europe is actually our second floor. All drawings were originally done in 1:50 scale, although here they are not in scale.
Here is a perspective drawing of the view from inside the sleeping cube.
sleeping cube
Here are photos of the model, built to 1:50 scale.
beginnings
1 facade up
getting there
interior 1
interior 2
view towards the canal
glass block facade by day
by night
Prior to this project, my senior project in high school was my only real experience with architectural design. Once again, I found that designing a space was a wonderful challenge for my brain. The process was difficult and rewarding. Now that I am done and not under a deadline, I see things that I would do differently next time. Feel free to comment below, I would love some feedback!
I hope to post again before I head out to Sweden and Finland for my week long study tour next week. Goodnight from Copenhagen.
Last week was core course week at DIS. I mentioned in a previous post that I am working to adjust to the semester plan after two years on the block plan. Well core course week was a little taste of home: one week of taking a single class. 8:30 on Monday morning all Architecture and Design (AD from here on out) students gathered for a lecture on the Danish landscape. For the next two days we worked in our studio on various projects, capping it off with an AD social on Tuesday evening. The remainder of the week was filled with a three-day study tour to Western Denmark. I’m a big fan of field trips. Huge fan. The block plan allows for CC students to take a boatload of field trips; I have taken a trip in every single class so far. One reason I was attracted to DIS is the amount of travelling built into the schedule. This post will focus on my trip to Western Denmark. For the second installment of Map Monday, I made a map of Denmark that highlights the places I visited this past week. This one is just inda ink on tan paper. It was fun to draw. Go ahead and click on it for a larger version.
-7:30 AM departure. 30+ AD students. 1 professor. 1 AD intern. 1 bus driver with good facial hair and thick accent.
Koldinghus in Kolding
-Koldinghus has lived through a variety of fuctions. 700 years ago the building served as a fortress. Since then Koldinghus has been a royal residence, a government seat, a charred ruin, and now a history museum. The building is an intriguing synthesis of the old and new, and much care has been taken to make sure the new construction highlights the history and preserves the integrity of the building. The detailing in the construction was fascinating to see, especially the spiral staircase, which was totally freestanding.
-Bus up to Aalborg. Aalborg is Denmark’s third largest city. The city is in the process of transitioning from an industrial center to a progressive university city. New construction is taking place in Aalborg and apparently the city has been successful in rebranding itself.
Nordkraft
-Formerly a coal-powered electricity plant, Nordkraft (north power) is now a community center. The industrial character of the building is still intact. Nordkraft is colossal. This building houses a vast array of functions: exhibition space, gym, fitness center, climbing wall, olympic trampolines, music school, art school, cinema, restaurants, bars, clubs, offices, clinic, and more I am sure we did not see. I liked the building and the community it seemed to be creating within its walls.
-After breakfast at our hotel, we took a look at the Aalborg waterfront. Urban designers have been working and using a variety of strategies to revitalize the waterfront in Aalborg, which has generally been an area of high industrial activity and little recreation.
Utzon Center
–I knew little about Jørn Utzon before visiting his center, which is right on the water, a few blocks from Nordkraft. If you are wondering who Jorn Utzon is, most folks probably know him as the designer of the Sydney Opera House. This center in Aalborg (Utzon’s home town) was the last building he designed before his death. Utzon’s father was an esteemed boat builder. It is clear that Utzon respected and took inspiration his father and his work as a naval architect. Many of Utzon’s drawings and original hand drawn plans were on display, which I loved. 
Enghøj Kirke
-This is the most beautiful church I have ever set foot in. The building was designed by Henning Larsen. Here a traditional Danish church design was adapted into a modern context, which results in a clean, simple, and powerful aesthetic. Our entire group dropped into silence when we entered the church. It was a wonderful space.
Ebeltoft Kirke
-After our visit to Enghøj, we drove down to Ebeltoft. Every street and building in the town of Ebeltoft belongs on a postcard for Denmark. It is a quaint town. I enjoyed the quiet of the town. We visited Ebeltoft Kirke, a church from the year 1300.
-It is traditional for a Danish church to have a ship inside of it. Scroll up and check out the ceiling of the Enghøj Kirke again. Pretty nifty modern adaptation right?
-Two friends and I woke up at 6:00 and strolled down to the water for a morning swim. We tracked the sun rise as the light made its way down the masts of the sailboats we shared the water with. A sunrise swim could be a nice routine one day.
-We drove south to Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. Here we checked out two places: the Aarhus Rådhus by Arne Jacobsen and the ARoS Museum by SHL. I liked the interior of the Aarhus Rådhus and some of the exhibitions in ARoS.
Aarhus Rådhus
ARoS Museum
Its fair to say that the study tour was some of my best days abroad so far. I saw great architecture, met great folks, ate great food, and saw more of great country of Denmark.
Hello internet. Today marks the beginning of Map Mondays. Every Monday I will post a new hand drawn map. I am interested in doing this for the following reasons:
1. I love maps. I like ’em all: street maps, weather maps, topographic maps, nautical charts, floor plans, site plans, hand drawn maps, computer generated maps, new maps, old maps, and everything in between. Making maps is an attempt to make sense of the space around us, which seems to be an innately human endeavor. Honestly, I know very little about cartography and its history, but I look forward to learning.
2. Cartography is an interdisciplinary exercise – much like architecture, my area of study at DIS. A good map is a seamless synthesis of art and science, of rationality and beauty, and of the right and left sides of the brain. Liberal arts kids love interdisciplinary stuff, and I am no exception.
3. I get a kick out of geography. I love studying about far away places and the extremes of the earth. I even still found love for geography after getting completely torn apart by the competition at the Washington State GeoBee in 6th grade. Rough times for lil’ Willy. The layout of Copenhagen and the geography of Denmark are a mystery to me at this point. I hope to solve that mystery through this project.
Here is Map One – It marks the loop that Aubrey, Kendall, and I biked on the island of Amager this past Sunday. I used walnut ink, coffee from Paludan Cafe, and blackberry juice from the berries we picked on the west side of Amager.
Here are some photos from the trip. It was one nice way to spend a Sunday. More Sunday Bike Adventures and Map Mondays to come.
Here are the first eleven days of my study abroad in Copenhagen, in photo form. A serious thank you to my Uncle Ike for the amazing gift of a new camera. Words fall short of expressing my full gratitude for this gift. I have never used a DSLR camera before, but I have been learning from a patient teacher and good friend, Kendall. So far I have just been snapping away and it has been a good time.
I should also mention that I was chosen to be an Official DIS Student Blogger. While I was looking into DIS, I found reading other student blogs to be a nice way to learn more about the program. I’m hoping I can pass this on to some other folks. Keep checking back to see and hear more from Copenhagen.
This past Monday I went for a dip. I have set up my schedule in such a way that I do not have class on Mondays. Picking classes and making my schedule for my time here at DIS was actually a tricky challenge. I have grown accustomed to the simplicity of the block plan at Colorado College. For those who are unfamiliar with the block plan, here is a quick summary. At CC we take one class at a time. This class lasts for three and half weeks. This is a block. There are four blocks per semester and eight blocks in an academic year. Between the blocks there is block break, which is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Block break is four and a half days of doing absolutely anything you want. After block break, you jump right into another class on First Monday. Your class becomes your life for those three and half weeks. It is an intense way of learning, which demands focus and energy. The block plan is not for all, but it works for my brain and I love it. Now I am back to the days of juggling multiple classes and keeping a planner; it should prove to be good exercise for my brain. I can already tell that having Monday off will be a blessing.
Arrival week and the start of classes has been thrilling. Days have been packed – the arrival workshop (consisting of various orientations, planned explorations, and many new names and faces), dinner parties, garden lounging, Copenhagen Pride, visits to Christiania, concerts on barges in the canal, an Ice Age show, name games, field studies, and asking anyone and everyone what each food item is in the grocery store. It has been a blast. But I have not had much time to think. Monday was the first chance for some alone time in the city.
I woke to the heat of the noon sun streaming onto my bed turned oven. My roommate Greg had left hours earlier for his morning classes. After fixing up some coffee and a ham sandwich, I hopped on my new iron horse. My rental bike is an all black, three-speed, with a nifty back wheel lock. I have zero experience biking in the city. Copenhageners love to bike and the lanes are crowded. I generally just take note of what the other bikers do, and attempt to mirror their signals and path through traffic. So far it has been loads of fun and a good way to get lost.
biking around on the new wheels. photo: Kendall Rock
Two right turns after crossing the Langebro bridge brought me to the Islands Brygge Harbour Bath. A small park of grass lawns, basketball courts, and a skatepark act as a transition between the harbour bath and the city. Clusters of sun-thirsty Danes were scattered about on the lawns, doing their best to soak in the Vitamin D before the sun says farewell for the year. I made my way down through the park and onto the deck of the swimming area. There are four pools: three smaller pools that generally are full of younger children, and one large lap pool with a jumping platform. Each one of the pools can be seen in its entirety from the single lifeguard tower, which is situated on the harbor side of the large pool.
I laid claim to a small patch of the wooden deck with my white towel and book. The sounds of the city faded out and were replaced by the splashing of a backstroke, the sloshing of water under the deck, and the squeaking of the wood as the deck ascended and descended with each incoming wake. The sun was powerful. I made my way to the top of the platform and jumped into the clean water. It felt great. Some things always seem to hold true; whether it be on Lopez Island or in Copenhagen, a good jump into cold water is one of the best things in life.
My new home was the first building I walked into in Copenhagen. I am living at Store Kannikestræde 13, right in the heart of Cophenhagen. The building was built in 1750. Hard to believe that I am sleeping in a building older than the country that I grew up in.
Store Kannikestræde 13 is home to the Arts and Culture Living Learning Community. I applied for this housing option in the spring, and I am quite glad that I did. Apparently this year there were a large number of applicants, so they have split the Arts and Culture LLC into two groups: performance art, and art appreciation and architecture. I was placed into the performance art group. I am surprised but happy. My interest in theater and dance has grown in the past year, and I figure that I will get my fair share of art and architecture through my classes.
The house is split up into four floors, with a Danish SRA on each floor. My floor is home to seven girls, and two guys including me. We all share a well-stocked common kitchen, dining room, living room, and two bathrooms. My roommate and I share a spacious double with a nice view out into the courtyard that our house shares with the Green House LLC.
Now that I have been here a few days in Copenhagen, I am starting to see just how wonderful our location is. I am only a few minutes walk from DIS headquarters and classes. I am less than a minute from a Netto grocery store. There are street performers a stones throw from our front door. We are truly in the heart of the city. Having grown up on a small island, this living situation is mind-blowing. I have never lived in a city before. Now I find myself living right in the center of a city of two million people. Growing up, in order to buy a pair of shoes I would have to take a 45 minute ferry ride to the mainland, then drive another half hour just to get to a small shopping mall. Now I have hundreds of options just seconds from my door.
Much is new and exciting. There is quite a bit to share, and I will in good time. For now the pillow is calling my name.
120 Days in Denmark 