Session 4

Well, my final, and most intense, class session has started! The first project was completed in a group of four. We were given a building that will be visited on our study tours and were to build a model as well as prepare a presentation explaining and showcasing the building. My group was given Säynätsalo Town Hall in Säynätsalo Finland, designed by Alvar Aalto. This was a great learning experience since I had never built a building model before. We finished up the project this afternoon and present first thing tomorrow morning!

While I wasn't spending my time working on the model this weekend, I went to Tivoli and to Malmo, Sweden. Tivoli is an amusement park in the center of Copenhagen, much different than that of amusement parks in the states. Trees, fountains and grass everywhere while the rides intertwined throughout the park. Such a cool place to spend a Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning I went to Malmo Sweden, actually to meet my Aunt so she could take some stuff back to the states for me, but I stayed for a few hours and explored the downtown area. Walked along the water and saw the Turning Torso - magnificent. 

Solid weekend at home in Denmark. Next Saturday we leave for our week long study tours - Finland and Sweden watch out.

What looks like the beginning of sunrise at 2 am Saturday...

Moon at 2 am Saturday... Same time as right pic.

First class sketch - Serial Perspectives - Pretty proud of myself.

Säynätsalo Building Model

Candy Floss for dinner at Tivoli!

Tivoli!!

Turning Torso in Malmo

London Calling

Naked Bike Ride.


Got your attention. With another long weekend, I decided to journey to London, England. Arrived to the hostel early Saturday morning. After a couple hours of sleep, we ventured out to the Trooping the Colour - the Queen's 90th birthday celebration. I got to see her from a distance which was a cool experience. After fighting the crowd passed Buckingham Palace we found some lunch near Big Ben, then decided to tour Westminster Abbey - extraordinary, an absolutely breath-taking structure. While waiting for a bus, we got to witness the National Naked Bike Ride, to show the importance of biking instead of driving. Needless to say that was an experience I'll never forget - hundreds of naked people on bikes...

Sunday, braving the rain, the Tower of London was the first stop. Such an interesting structure - didn't know the king kept wild animals there - waited in line to see the Crown Jewels. They were, of course, gorgeous and sparkling - and protected in a large safe room, 3' thick metal doors... Sunday afternoon the London Eye was on the agenda. Gorgeous views, but construction cranes covered the skyline. Ended Sunday with a trip to The Old Red Lion pub which included uncovering a Trump board game.

London, you treated me well, but I was kind of disappointed. I guess my expectations may have been too high. It was a beautiful city, don't get me wrong, but I have never seen so much construction, cranes and trash in my entire life. Definitely still worth the trip though.

   

2.5 weeks later...

And like that, the first session is over. My experience with Danish Greenspaces has been one to remember. It was a great way to learn my way about the city as well as learn about the history of Denmark and especially Copenhagen.

Starting the session at Lejre was a great introduction to the history of Denmark. I had never learned about how Denmark was formed so being told about the Ice Age and how the glaciers formed the landscape was a great start to my time here in Denmark. As we continued the session with visits to historic parks like Østre Anlæg, Ørstedsparken and Kastellet. These parks, formed from the old bastions of the fortification walls, provide a great example of how the historic landscape is used by present day Danes. 

Not only did we see historic greenspaces, but newer, more modern ones liker Mimersparken and Superkilen. These parks provide a more diverse, unique experience with less greenspace, more equipment and space for sports. 

After visiting all of the different parks, gardens and forests, I have come to the conclusion that there is no 'definite' Danish greenspace. For me, it seems, that Danish greenspace is more about an area to relax in. Whether there are trails, ponds or play equipment, as long as it is aesthetically pleasing and/or for recreational, it is considered a greenspace. It is a space where people can unwind after a long day, enjoy a picnic or bring their kids. 

All of the benefits - social, ecological and economic - are assets that the U.S. could greatly benefit from. This class has definitely shown me the importance of greenspaces and hopefully we can bring some of these aspects to future projects. 

Egeskov Castle

Egeskov Castle, located about 2 hours away from Copenhagen on the island of Fyn, was built in 1554 and has been passed throughout generations of nobility. The castle is surrounding by beautiful gardens, mazes, play equipment and other recreational activities to entice tourists and help provide a more stable income for the grounds. Even though Denmark is an egalitarian society, this castle, with its historic and elitist elements, does have a role and purpose for Denmark.

This country estate seems to go against the egalitarian society that Denmark has, however, it provides a recreational and educational experience for visitors of all ages. With the socialist ideology that Denmark has, belief that all people should be equal regardless of social status, religion etc. With that system in place, it seems sort of strange for Denmark to have such an elite estate as that of Egeskov Castle. However, this estate provides a beautiful space for all, and anyone, to enjoy. With uniquely designed gardens, extremely tall hedges, mazes, vegetable/fruit gardens, museums, play equipment, a nursery and gift shop, tree top escapades... Egeskov has everything for people of all ages. This estate is welcoming no matter what, which enforces the egalitarian belief of the country.

Seeing as this estate is a historic site and offers benefits for society, it certainly plays a role and has a purpose in Denmarks' society. However, if this estate sat barren with no benefit or role to society, it would not make sense for it to be in Denmark. Since Egeskov Castle does provide a cultural and historical experience, it turns to have a purpose in Denmarks' egalitarian society.

Forests in Denmark

After a confusing bus delay yesterday, today we went to a forest about 30 minutes outside the center of Copenhagen. When the glaciers melted from the Ice Age, they left large pools of water - lakes - throughout Denmark, the forest we visited included two of those lakes and large areas of trees.

As the Five Finger plan for developing greenspace in Copenhagen took shape, more and more forests have been established by man for many reasons. Denmark realized the importance of greenspace and how important it is to take care of the environment. Due to this, the movement to preserve and develop greenspace became a priority for the Danes. Many forests were replanted to with conifers and deciduous trees - spruce, oak, pine, beech. These greenspaces became a hub for educational purposes, recreation and for new habitats to develop. With forestry being a large task, especially with a lot of greenspace to cover, establishing forests also can provide jobs and financial benefits - privately owned versus publicly owned. All of these benefits are what has provided valuable greenspace for Denmark. Even though these plots of land could have been converted into housing or other developments, it is apparent how valuable greenspace is to the Danes with the fact they have replanted so many trees/plants to help preserve and establish natural environment.

The pictures below show a bench overlooking the lake for recreation, the lake which was made by glaciers thousands of years ago and a path through the trees which got older in age the farther into the forest you walked. With all of these forests developed, it has provided new habitats for wildlife, place for recreation in a crowded city as well as health benefits - cleaner air, decrease pollution/run off. Benefits like these will be noticeable for future users, which is really the ultimate goal.

Edinburgh, Scotland

This last weekend, I spent in Edinburgh, Scotland. We stayed in a AirBnb about 20 minutes outside the city center which was nice and quiet - and our host was so so sweet. Saturday was spent at Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral, the Scott Monument and getting Scottish pie and Pimm's. Sunday was another site filled day with Holyrood Palace and the neighboring park where we walked up the mountain and Calton Hill with the National Monument. Holyrood Palace is where the Queen stays during her visits to Scotland - so cool. It's also interesting because the facade of the palace facing the courtyard has the Classical orders featured in the architecture - Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The park next to the palace was being used to its full potential with people sitting next to the pools of water and climbing up the nearby mountin. A busy weekend, but a beautiful one. Til next time Scotland...

Danish Golden Age Painting

The Danish Golden Age played an important role in art and especially in painting. Even though things for Denmark were not going great - bankruptcy, fires in Copenhagen - but when looking at the paintings from that period you would have never guessed there were so many problems, especially when it is called the "Golden Age".

Artists during the Golden  Age started to pay more attention to the natural landscape when it came to paintings. The subjects starting to change focus from people to the landscape behind the people. One famous painter during the Golden Age was P.S. Kroyer. He painted several larger pieces that have very few people in the foreground. The natural surroundings in his paintings showed the summer time in Denmark with the bright moon in Sommeraften ved Skagens Strand and the sandy beach in Sommerdag ved Skagens Sønderstrand. 

Pieces like that by Kroyer show that most artists painted Denmark exactly how they saw it during summer/fall which made Denmark known for bright, beautiful summer days. This notion is true, but these paintings may not capture the entirety of Denmark's weather and country as a whole. So many Golden Age paintings show the beautiful beaches or green fields, which continues to let viewers picture themselves in the Danish greenspaces. Golden Age landscapes may have been realistic, but viewers were never disappointed.

Private vs. Public Greenspaces

Another hot day under the Denmark sun, but today was focused on private greenspaces including a trip to De Runde Haver - the round gardens. While visiting Runde Haver, it was apparent that private greenspaces are similiar to public greenspaces. Both public and private greenspaces aim for the goal to give people a place to relax and escape the crazy city life. 

The private gardens of Runde Haver are oval/circle shaped and designed by Carl Theodor Sørensen. These gardens are strictly for residents who live within the neighborhood. Runde Haver gardens include an oval shaped plot divided by hedges, a small building for storage/relaxing and a green area for whatever the user wants. These gardens were incredibly peaceful and provided Danes a place to plant fruits and vegetables. Some used the space for beautiful flower diversity, while others showed how Danes valued health with fruits and vegetables. Private gardens are also a great place to teach others - children - about nature and show the importance of greenspaces. I left Runde Haver realizing that private gardens show how much Danes value time, the outdoors, health and family/friends. 

Public gardens, like others we've seen throughout the city, are a great place for Danes to unwind. However, they can be used in a lot of different ways that private parks can't necessarily be used for. There's trails for walking/biking, space for picnics, playground and lakes in public parks, while private parks are not large enough to support all those aspects. While public spaces can be just as peaceful, there will obviously be more people at these spaces. Both private and public greenspaces are important in continuing to shape Copenhagen's identity and users have a lot of options to choose from. 

The Danish Coastline

After a stormy day in Freetown Christiania yesterday, we could not have asked for better weather for a trip up the coast to Gilleleje. While riding the train to Gilleleje there were so may beautiful sights to see - Hamlets Castle, woods, fields, and of course, the water.

Gilleleje is a northernmost harbor town of almost 6,500 full time residents. The town includes the 5th largest fishing port in Denmark and acres of summer homes and plantations. When the fishing industry boomed and towns started to develop along the coastline, summer homes and plantations began to form. The plantations provide a wind barrier between the water and homes to prevent erosion and dune creep. Along with summer homes, forests run along the coast and provide new habitats for all sorts of animals, creating a new identity for part of Denmark's land.

The coastline of Denmark has provided so many aspects of the country's history and shaped the country to what it is today. Of course, the trade and retail aspects have always been important, but the water has been a place for recreation and history too. There's an amazing story how during World War II, a fisherman was planned an escape for Danish Jews to travel across the sound to neutral Sweden. Now, part of the keel is currently sitting in Gilleleje's harbor. This story just goes to show how Danes look out for their neighbor - doesn't matter what race, religion, sex - they remain positive and watch out for their neighbors no matter what.


Creating biodiversity with forests, providing income with trade and fishing, the summer homes for Danes and the history are all important pieces to how Denmark received the positive identity it has today.

The port and beach - freezing water

Summer homes with beautiful gardens

























The keel of the boat that helped refugees during WWII