Museums in Greater Copenhagen (including Bornholm) - Part 2

OK, so maybe Bornholm is not part of greater Copenhagen. But I did go there and I did see an amazing .museum, so I'm gonna play it a little bit loose with Danish geography.

Bornholms Kunstmuseum, Gudhjem (http://www.bornholms-kunstmuseum.dk)

Only 41,000 people live on the small and exceedingly charming island of Bornholm, which sits in the Baltic off the Swedish coast but is officially part of Denmark. Now that I am denizen of the booming metropolis of Copenhagen, I had to admit my expectations were pretty low going into a small musuem on this tiny island. Dashed expectations are the best.

The beautifully designed and situated Bornholm Art Museum

Designed by Danish architects Johan Fogh and Per Folner, the museum unfolds along a bright central corridor and follows the downward path of the hillside. On the top floor, older paintings by Bornholm artists are hung in small rooms with colorful walls and small pocket windows framing the views out to the coastline and the long-horned yaks in the field. The lower galleries featured a European Art Glass exhibition the day we were there. From the looks of their previous catalogues, decorative arts seems to be a pretty constant feature here. Bornholm has a strong craft tradition, so this makes a lot of sense.

Contemporary glass by a Danish artist - my apologies for not writing down his/her name.

The lowermost floor ( with windows, so basement is the wrong word) led outside to a viewing platform, and featured a softly lit works-on-paper gallery with a rippled ceiling and an additional gallery for the permanent collection of decorative arts.

Rare opportunity to use the Danish word "gangbro" for this ramp to the viewing platform.

The battery light on my camera was screaming at me, but luckily held out for one last view of the amazing glass exhibition at Bornholms Kunstmuseum.

Contemporary glass installation by a Swedish artist- ditto my apologies for not getting the artist's name.

 Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishoj (http://www.arken.dk/)
 Arken is another stunning modern building on a dramatic seaside spot, on the Koge Bay in the dunes of Ishoj, a southern suburb of Copenhagen. Arken opened in 1996 and the design, by Soren Robert Lund, is meant to, and does, suggest a long, lean ship foundered in the dunes.

Arken,  on a day with beautiful clouds and a beautiful Danish visitor (my sister-in-law).

I remember visiting Arken soon after it had opened and feeling like the collection didn't live up to the promise of the building, but that is no longer the case. The first major gallery has an amazingly strong collection of Damien Hirst pieces, one of which was commissioned for Arken.

Damien Hirst room at Arken

The following gallery had a small but extremely select group of sculpture, paintings and installation pieces by British, American and Scandinavian artists. Someone has clearly done a good job of meeting important Danish collectors; the development director on me noticed some repeat credit lines from room to room.

The big show this fall at Arken is "India: Art Now"  and is a remarkable selection of contemporary work from India, alongside a gorgeously arranged exhibition of Indian fashion. From what I have heard and read, the show is somewhat political as there is a great deal of tension now between Denmark and India over a very complicated court case involving an un-rendered defendant on Danish soil. Hard to say what the show, and the complementary program of Indian-made independent films at the Danish Film Institute, will do to soften the situation. But I came away with a greater appreciation for the contemporary art and fashion scene in India. So I can only assume that others did, too.

India: Fashion Now exhibition at Arken

The Indian show ends in January 2013, and I'm not sure what's coming up next, but I'm definitely coming back to eat in this beautiful dining room.

Sun-filled dining room at Arken overlooking Koge Bay

Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen (http://www.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk/)
And now for something completely different, old art in an old building.

Thorvaldsens Museum in central Copenhagen

Bertel Thorvaldsen ( 1770-1844) was a Danish sculptor in the Neoclassical tradition who spent most of his professional life in Rome, where he enjoyed commissions for portrait and architectural sculpture throughout Europe. After his death, the contents of his studio came back to Copenhagen, including plaster casts for all his important commissions, myriad marble statues and friezes, his personal collection of ancient Roman coins and seals, and his furnishings, which included paintings by Danish and European artists of the day. A special museum was purpose-built to house all of these items and opened in 1848. The sides of the building are decorated with scenes of his collection being unloaded from ships and unearthed from crates.

Decorations on the outside walls of the Thorvaldsens Museum

The Thorvaldsens Museum occupies a prime piece of real estate in central Copenhagen, right next to Christiansborg Palace (the Parliament), and looks out on a broad public square (Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads, not coincidentally) across form Gammel Strand. It is frankly remarkable to me that this fixed collection museum dedicated to the work of an artist that few people outside of Denmark have ever heard of, still occupies this central location. But it is a wonderful place and I'm glad that the Danes aren't like the Americans, who tear stuff down the minute it becomes unfashionable.

The Thorvaldsens Museum has also kept itself relevant by integrating modern pieces into its display, and by hosting outdoor performances and light shows on its interesting facade. In 2012, the museum has held a series of exhibitions which place modern furniture and Danish design in among the galleries.

Galleries at Thorvaldsens with contemporary furniture

I wouldn't say that Thorvaldsen's art is my all-time favorite. Too many sober portraits, putti, robed and unrobed goddesses for most of us, although he does get a little crazy with the satyrs and other hybrids. But the collection gives a great overview of classical mythology, as it was presented to early 19th-century viewers.

And, in what is fast becoming the theme of this blogpost, the museum building itself is worth the trip. Each room in the Thorvaldsens has delicately plastered and painted ceilings ( same designer as the Carlsberg Glyptotek), marble mosaic floors and richly painted walls in dark green, maroon, gold, cream and deep blue.

And.....Kanal Cafeen is right around the corner.

Richly decorated ceiling at the Thorvaldsens Museum

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A tour of new architecture in Orestad Syd

We having been dragging friends and family to see the 8 House and other notable building projects in the new city of Orestad for a few years now. But on Sunday, we went on a tour professionally-led by the Danish Architecture Center of the city's southern section, and now have some more info to match our amazement (http://www.dac.dk/da/service-sider/kalender/).

Tour group under Metro in Orestad with Ramboll building in background

The city has roots going back to the 1930s, when talk first began creating a rail-link between Copenhagen and southern Sweden, and the implications that would have for development in the Kastrup/ Amager Faelled area south of the city. By the time the Oresund Bro linking Denmark and Sweden opened in 2000 (http://uk.oresundsbron.com/page/976), metro lines and city plans for Orestad were already in place on a former military site. A Finnish-Danish design group was selected and established a plan which included mixed educational, commercial, housing and cultural sites in a series of bands moving out from the metro line and incorporating three new urban centers. Green building practices were an important standard and all buildings were to be 600 meters or less from a metro entrance.

After a much longer and better explanation of the larger plan than the one I just gave, out tour group moved on to the front of the corporate headquarters of Ramboll - a firm that was very much involved with building the Oresundbro and other large engineering projects in Scandinavia.

Mirrored sky on the facade of the Ramboll building, Orestad

As it was a Sunday morning, the building was closed and we had to peek into the soaring lobby through glass doors. The tour guide informed us that on weekdays all the buildings in the area were open to the public and generally receptive to visitors.

Next up was Copenhagen Towers, which is just across the street. So far just Phase I of the four phases this project, designed by Norman Foster and Danish partners, has been built. This phase constitutes the Crowne Plaza Hotel Copenhagen Towers, which has been distinguished as the greenest hotel in the world. Among other features, the south and western sides are lined with solar panels, they utilize ground water versus geothermal systems for air-heating and cooling, the shampoo containers are biodegradable within three months, and guests can give back to the grid when they spin on one of the bikes in the fitness center. Apparently this is one of the buildings that is particularly receptive to visitors, as they have a Walk of Sustainability throughout the building with QR codes directing you to info about their sustainability practices.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Copenhagen Towers lined with solar panels

The next stop for the group was in the middle of a field, buzzing with late summer yellow-jackets, where Denmark's largest multi-use stadium complex would be standing by 2015.

Future site of Hannemann's Quarter and Arena, with Orestad city in the backgorund

Our guide distributed maps which outlined all the development planned for this area over the next several years, including housing, schools, businesses, sports fields and a gigantic arena complex linked to the Metro lines and trains to Sweden. Thus far, only the Phase I of Copenhagen Towers, on the upper right of the map (left of the metro line) had been built.

Plan for development of Orestad Syd

We continued southward on a path through the field till we hit the "Plug n Play" - a temporary playground of sorts designed to attract foot traffic and buzz to this as-yet fully-developed area of Orestad. The Plug 'n Play has an outdoor skating oval and skateboard park, parcours park, all manner of climbing equipment, a kayak bay with water polo, as well as more traditional basketball and soccer areas. Families were unloading kids and equipment while the guide explained all this, so apparently the idea is working.

Entrance to Plug n Play Zone in Orestad Syd

Surrounding this amazing play zone were a number of small garden plots. Anyone can reserve one for a nominal fee, as long as they commit to working it and to abide to organic gardening standards.

Organic garden plots in Orestad Syd

Soon enough we had reached the southernmost point of the development, where seniors' and student housing is going up alongside multilevel parking lots. In keeping with the green standards throughout, the parking spaces planned for this area are at half the normal proportion of slots to other areas of the city. The hope is that most residents will find it more convenient to take the Metro or bike than deal with carrying bags out of a multilevel garage. But I did notice there was 30-minute parking alongside most of the established housing and a surface lot behind the 8 House.

Interior courtyard of the 8 House looking south across the marshes

Which brings us to the 8 House and one of our favorite spots in all of Copenhagen. We came across it the first time in a bike ride around Amager Faelled when it was just going it up. It looked like a ski slope or that horrid Xanadu complex in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. Later on, we found the vimeo featuring architect Bjarke Ingels ( BIG Group) describing the project and how it was conceived: http://vimeo.com/3499612.  And if we ever win the lottery, we will have to buy a unit there.

I won't bore you with my praises here. Just watch the vimeo, look at the few photos I have included and take a chance to visit when you are next in Copenhagen.

View of Viking Ship playground and marshes from atop of the 8 House

Green roofs at southern end of 8 House

Looking into the north courtyard of the 8 House.