Most mind blowing day for sure and it did not even really start until 2 in the afternoon. In the morning, we all met in the Generator and discussed some observations about how our week had gone so far and final project ideas. It is amazing to me the density of this city! There are roughly the same number of people in Copenhagen as Portland, but it feels like there are so many more. Even so, there are less people in Copenhagen than usual because so many people are on vacation right now. The tourists make up much of who is out and about and that changes the Copenhagen environment in a drastic way.
At 2 we met with BIG, an architecture firm founded by Bjarke Ingles that has designed buildings all over the world. Jennifer from New York gave us a presentation on some of their more prominent projects, including one in which they transported the Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen to Shanghai to be the centerpiece in a pavilion for the 2010 World Expo. While this was not particularly architectural significant, it helped to promote Denmark and Chinese-Danish relations. She also discussed projects in New York, Copenhagen, Vancouver, and others that created a completely new thought process for me about what architectural design can become.
After the meeting with BIG, a few of us went to the Danish Architectural Center that was home to hundreds of BIG models and designs. They went through a brief history beginning from the Big Bang and that brought us into the present day models of on of the most prominent architecture firms in the world. There were miniature models of buildings and public spaces that blew my mind in terms of the engineering and creativity that is put into them. It is amazing to me the sustainable practices that this company goes through to create innovative and futuristic designs. It is inspiring to say the least and motivated me to learn more about how urban environments can become more sustainable.
The exhibit ended with what Bjarke Ingles has in mind for the future of society. This included a surreal virtual reality design machine that blew up my idea of what can be possible in the future. It also included a TED talk that Bjarke made about creating life on Mars and the possibilities of living on another planet. His team’s well thought out designs and practices have made living on Mars look very possible, even if it is not for a couple hundred years. These type of futuristic designs can transform the way we live, work, and play in a constantly changing world.
Friday night was really chill and I got a pasta carbonara for dinner from a little hole in the wall Italian place a couple blocks from the Generator. I ate and blogged on some benches in a tiny park and soaked in my last night in Copenhagen. It is off to Elsinore in the morning on a very long bike adventure.