August i Amalienhave

Amalienhave
Location: Frederiksstaden i København centrum,
på den famøse akse Marmor kirken-Amalienborg-Amalienhaven-Operaen
Tegnet af Jean Delognes, belgisk landskabsarkitekt
Indviet i 1979

Min far var på besøg i København. Mandag aften gik vi op af Langelinie og et smut igennem Amaliehaven - et af min fars favorit punkter på turen. Mand må sige at haven er jo planlagt af en Belgisk landskabsarkitekt. Oprindelig troede jeg det var Pechère men det er faktisk Jean Delognes som står bag det grønne og kanted byrum.

I hvertfald er der noget af den belgisk tradition for have- og landskabskunst som er tydlig: et arbejd på den grønne farve skala og en diskret nuancering i funktionerne der skal integreres i en urban have, altså intime nicher, større vandringsalléer, perspektiver og iagttagelsesperioder.

Jeg har ofte nævnt over for venner problemet med haven: for lidt lys om aften som giver utryghed i et offenligt rum (hvor tryghed er det vigtigste for at drage brugerne til sig på alle tidspunkter af dagen), en orientation som ikke stemmer med den eftersøgt og eftertragted udsigt mod havnen og en kostbar velligeholdelse af de geometriske buskater.

Pussigt nok, havde min far fået fat i en artikel i Københavneravisen som rammer lige på pletten og byder på forslag til en let forandring i fremtiden, i håb om at dette ville traffe brugernes -Københavnerne som turisterne- behov og ønsker til den have. Og måske tæmme polemiken rundt om den belgiske have ved at rette dens træk til noget byens beboer kan identifiere sig med...

Her er artiklen.


Du kan også læse om det på
www.koebenhavneravisen.dkpdf/2010/KBHAVISEN_AUG2010_7.pdf

Rødt og grønt - Red and green

Skuespilhuset - Det Kongelig Teater - and Kvæstbroen

Location: København centrum, ved havnefronten
Tegnet af Lundgaard & Tranberg
International arkitektkonkurrence udskrevet af Kulturministeriet i 2001


One of my favourite occupation in Copenhagen, why? Go there, and you'll know...Interesting, interrogating and exciting plays with quality actors in spaces and rooms challenging the eyes and satisfying the senses.


This time the play, Rødt og grønt, questions the public on the social work in developping countries: how do the "helping immigrants" live, how do they act, how do they consider themselves and the people around them, what is their purpose? Compassion or ego-building? What kind of fake world in between home and abroad have they created in order to survive and get the impression of doing something meaningful in this world? It is more a critical parody on a trend existing some decennies ago but still what do we actually know about those people we send to attend to others? What gives us the impression we need to help and interfere, what gives us the right, and especially who? How far can we go before it is affecting someone else's vital rights?

From laughter to some kind of unpleasant feeling of blasphemy, this piece was greatly produced, everything laying in subtilities and details.


The friendly evening temperature allowed to enjoy the leasure installations on Kvæstbroen, in front of the theater.


See also post from the 27th April 2010

Opera ex machina

Operaen - Open doors at the new opera house
Location: Holmen, along the main canal, opposite Amalienborg and Amalienhave
Project by Henning Larsen
Private initiation of A.P. Møller - Mærsk - as gift for the city
Inaugurated in 2005

A place full of contrasts... Especially today with the grey Danish weather!
Outside, the old industrial harbour stillbearing the marks of its metallic past. Inside, the celebration of luxury and refinement. The materials - the marble on the floors, the polished maple pannels on the walls of the great hall, the glass reflecting the water and allowing the view of the panorama on the waterfront, the glass used by Olafur Eliasson for the three great chandeliers - the space and the light create a place where time stops. This suits very well the opera world if you listen to the definition that the operachef Kasper Holten gave at his welcome speech today: "a place where time is flexible, where you can stop and reflect on the great moments and feelings of our human lives that are too complexe or terrible to describe with words...a place where the music and the voices celebrate those moments".

The guided tour took us down to the rehearsal hall, behind the scene, up to the rehearsal artist loges and down again to the foyer. Great technics were described that assure the right acoustic, the feeling of daylight even at -5th floor, the efficient change of coulisses (different masterpieces being produced and performed for a same period) etc. It is a great piece of architecture, no doubt about that.

But I cannot forget the very close resemblance to the music hall of Luzern in Switzerland, done by Jean Nouvel. When you compare, the swiss original one is more convincing, especially in the work done on the great music hall. Much more true to the concept in a way. I also regret that the Danish opera house has such a beautiful front part - facade and foyer space - leaving the administrative and backstages in a very cartesian plan of rooms linked by corridors. When you get to the upper part and deck, the plan opens more outwards again and the rooms breath again. But the small offices and their facade are quite basic. Maybe this unforgiving feeling also comes after the visit of the facing brother : the theatre house. Yes, you find corridors and stairways but somehow they are a part of your journey in the building, they are made interesting by small but decisive details.

But here is a thing I particularly appreciated... the continuity between the floor inside and the stone deck outside.
You ought to know that the opera house has been the seat of quite some polemics also, among which the most strong ones were between the architect and the client!

To talk about the musical experience I can report two very nice concerts of thirty minugtes each: a brass kvintet from the Royal Chapel played some traditionnal pieces of the repertoire - Vagn Holmboe, Victor Ewald, Malcolm Arnold - and a smaller delegation from the Royal Opera choir sang Brahms' Liebeslieder Walzer. I am not very used to brass repertoire though the instruments fascinates me: the colour and the son cuivré are delightful, I think. I really enjoyed the whole concert and all the pieces they played today. It was the second time I heard playing some Ewald: I start to get to know more this Russian engineer and composer and I appreciate his work more and more. The last piece was of Malcolm Arnold I believe: very light and joyful, and quite jazzy...

And then the Liebeslieder, well, what else to say that is as beautiful as ever. One of the most known piece of Brahms probably: its harmonious atmosphere must be the reason! The bass singer gave us a funny little anecdote. It is written on the scores that it is a piece for piano with vocal accompaniment "if desired", which means that the choir part that we all know, recognize and hum along, is actually accessory!

Den Gamle Dame Besøger byen...eller den unge arkitekt besøger skuespilhuset for 3. gang

- ja, man bliver lidt afhængig af gode rum og kultur på højeste klasse :-)

Skuespilhuset - Det Kongelig Teater
Location: København centrum, ved havnefronten
Tegnet af Lundgaard & TranbergInternational arkitektkonkurrence udskrevet af Kulturministeriet i 2001
Indviet i 2008 med Hamlet

Dem som bor i staden kender det og er stolte af det, den ligger på enhver turistes rute, kanal rundfarten sejler forbi og skuger ind til kunstner logerne i håb om en sneak preview til aftens medvirkende, unge arkitekter tilbeder bygningen og dens arkitektonisk skaber.

Close to perfection!
For min vedkommende, er det så tæt man kommer på ren arkitektonisk kunst. Detaljering er nøje udført og trofast til konceptet, materialernes forudsætninger, den omgivende typologi og kulturarv, udsigten og relationen til vandet og Holmen. Program- og funktion-mæssigt er udformningen også ren logisk og klar. Det ser også ud til at brugerne er både fornøjet med og stolte af deres arbejdsplads. Det var ihvertfald mit indtryk under den meget enthusiaste rundvisning jeg deltog i februar måned.

Huset er en glæde for den som kan lide kontraster og mærke de mange fine nuancer og tanker arkitekten har lagt i bygningen. Lysene i foyer'en er som sterner i natten: smukt men disse små optik tråde undergår blindelsen når man træder ud af den mørke sal og undergår reflektionerne i de store vinduepartier, de skaber et intimt atmosfære i et rum som dog rækker helt ud til vandet og smelter i et med havnens egen store rum. Trægulvet forsætter gennem foyer'en og ud på dekket. De brede trapper og balkoner er mange af opholdspunkter hvorfra man kan betragte havnens levende sceneri. Farverne er med til at skabe den intime og storslået føldelse. Og så scenen... med de fantastiske muresten: som en grotte, som tangenter, som skyskrappers eller hvad fantasien nu finder på. Effekten er imponerende.
Jeg kan kun begejstre mig over skuespilhusets rumelighed og udførelse! Derfor kommer jeg der så ofte som jeg kan...

Stykket - lidt dansk kultur
Den Gamle Dame Besøger Byen af Friedrich Dürrenmatt er et fremragende stykke, synes jeg. Jeg havde ønsket om at se det pga. Ghita Nørby som spiller hovedrollen Klara. Havdet boet i udenlandet al den tid, har jeg ikke stort kendskab til den danske kultur og det jeg har kommer fra Matador og Olsen banden. Ja, le i bare! Så det var jo oplagt at jeg skulle se hvad Ingeborg var blivet til... Og hun er lige så fantastisk som altid -altså skuespillerinden fordi rollen Ghita Nørby har her er ganske grusom! Stykket minder mig om de græske tragedier hvor man viste Menneskets sorte sider og livets - eller gudernes - kolde skæbene i håb om at undergå det i det virkelig liv. Den Gamle Dame bliver jo også betegnet som en tragikomedie. Ja, komisk er den også og det gøre det tragiske endnu værre. Men det vækker mange tanker over Menneskeheden og definitionen til Retfærdigheden, koncept som ofte bliver trukket frem for viftet med.Læs noget mere om stykket her http://www.kglteater.dk/Forestillinger/Skuespil/Skuespil_09_10/Den_gamle_dame_besoeger_byen.aspx
eller endnu bedre, tag hend og se det!

Til dem som er interesseret i rundvisningen forgår den om weekenderne og bydes både på dansk og engelsk. Den koster 100 DKK.
Godt tips: tag dagens sidste rundtur: der mærker man lidt mere til optakten før forstillingen og så kan man snubbe en billet til aftens representation!

a royal day!

Friday 16th April is the birthday of Margrethe 2, queen of Denmark.
It cannot be compared to the queen's day in the Netherlands but still this year it was a special event since "Dronningen" turned 70. So as a loyal citizen, I went to greet our queen, with thousands of other people! Quite an atmosphere was on the central square of Amalienborg Slot.

Crowned heads and architecture I would like to use the opportunity to talk about the importance some of the Danish monarchs have had on architecture and culture in CPH. Many historical buildings are linked to royal history and today they contribute to CPH's skyline. They are churches and castles.
Rosenborg, the stock exchange, the round tower, among others, are due to Christian 4. It is said he emptied the city's savings but he contributed greatly to the historical heritage we can enjoy today. Those were built in the 17th century, in a late Dutch Renaissance style -typical for Danish buildings of that time and already used at Kronborg Slot, built by his dad Frederik 2, in the 16th century. Christianshavn -the harbour- was also constructed under his initiative. Nyboder -the military's housing block, with their typical yellow colour- as well.
Vor Frelser kirke was inaugurated by Christian 5.
Christiansborg was erected by Christian 6, as a sign of power and magnificience. Today it is the seat of the government.

The royal family has moved to Amalienborg, built under the reign of Frederik 5. Amalienborg is a part of a new city part, the Frederiksstad, and the 4 rococo castles disposed around the octogonal plaza where originally conceived to host the 4 most important government officers. This answers the question: why a centered and introverted plan for a royal palace, which usually are facing the people. But Frederiksstad is more: it is also the introduction of perspectives in the city, among which one the famous Mamor kirke-Amalienborg-canal, which is closed off, since 2005, by the new opera house -designed by the Danish architect Henning Larsen.
Recently one of the castles, Frederik 8's palace, has been entirely renovated in order to receive the crown prince Frederik and his family. The rococo palace with its Late Empire interieurs has been given its previous glory. Ceilings has been discovered and restaured, colours has been put back -the Empire colours appearing very trendy with pale turquoise and dark aubergine-, the columns has regained their golden touch and contemporary art has been beautifully integrated!

Enough architectural talk...For those who are interested in some architectural history, I will soon come with some sight-seeing routes that allow you to see all this.

Post Scriptum: about the Danish flag and the Danish people When you come from abroad, it seems like the Danish people have a very special relation to their flag: it is not only a sign of pride and nationalism. It stands on the table for every birthday, it is held high up in every little square of garden colonies, used as decoration on birthday cards, embellishing the christmas tree...As Dane, I may not get how weird or extraordinary it might seem but, yes, it is true we like our Dannebrog.