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5:30 am Copenhagen (Public Holiday)

Waking up slightly confused as to what time of day it was and where I was, I head out the door to gain my bearings and experience the city at its quietest moment. I head east towards the old city centre and am struck by how inviting the narrow, vacant streets appear. For over an hour, I wander the streets salivating over brick details and fluid forms created by the tiled roofs.

8:00 am Superkilen by BIG

Qianyi suggests a quick trip to BIG’s Superkilen. After a short bus trip we arrive at a large, empty red square scattered with concrete bollards and decaying public furniture. The harsh Scandinavian winters have taken their toll on the once brightly coloured public intervention. A little disheartened, we continue along the long park which quickly changes mood – morphing from a large, exposed site into a playful artificial hill. Within moments, we are joined by two young boys on scooters immediately put the space to use. They race up the hill, swerving in and out of the painted laneways. Our initial scepticism of the success of the process recesses as boys once again race to the top of the hill and line up for another run.

 

11:00 am Henning Larsen Architects practice visit

Amalia Gonzales generously takes time out of her public holiday to show the group around Henning Larsen Architects. The office of over 200 architects works predominately in the cultural and educational realm and has recently attempted to distinguish itself by establishing a large environmental research and development arm. The specialized sustainability team contains engineers, architects and PHD researchers. The team has managed to create a large urban scale microclimate that is 7 degrees cooler then surrounding environment for a 3 million squaremeter financial district in Saudi Arabia.

3:00 pm Across the bridge to Malmö

We are greeted in Sweden by passport control and sniffer dogs, it appears that the passport free zone has been recoiled.

3:30 pm BO01 housing development site visit

It has been almost 10 years since I last visited Malmö and the city feels completely different. Now fresh and energetic, the city appears to have made the successful transition from a labour to knowledge and real-estate based economy. Part of that success we are told is due to the BO01 waterfront housing development. Eva from Jan Gehl’s office, who work on the original masterplan and who is now a resident, generously offered to show us around the former port. Putting aside Calatrava’s phallic twisting torso towerm the contrast between the yesterday’ss experience of Copenhagen’s Ørestad could not be more dramatic.

At BO01, the traditional large plot development has been dissolved into finegrain row house typology with larger buildings located strategically to create windbreaks. The rigid grid has been broken, resulting in a range of sheltered courtyard spaces. As we walk through the development, kids play in the streets, people garden and service crews go about their work.

4:00 pm Malmö Eastern Cemetery

A quick run around the Malmö Eastern Cemetery stuns us all. The design shifts the traditionally morbid landscape from a public utility to civic amenity.

4:30 pm World Maritime University by Terroir + Kim Utzon

The Australian project architect meets us on site for a guided tour of the new addition to the World Maritina University. The new foyer sits at the intersection of the city grid and the old port responding to the shifted axis with a folded facade. The addition allows occupants to view and engage with the existing building in ways rarely afforded to a pedestrian.

6:30 Dinner in Malmö

One of the best meals of the trip! Thanks Dulux.

Chris Gilbert, Archier

 

The conversation around the development and progression of housing in Copenhagen began for me with some locals I had met earlier in the week. They described ongoing concerns with the affordability and the huge disparities that exist between the culture and fine grain activity that occurs in an existing suburb like Norrebro and the creation of culture and community that is being attempted in the relatively new development of Orestad.

Many of us have seen successful examples of the former, but are still struggling to experience and achieve successes in the latter. We all went in with different expectations, some were excited, some were reserved, some expected the worst. A few members of the group had been taken over by the jet lag the night before and gone to bed relatively early, others had pushed through and some(one) tried to ignore that their jet lag even existed. All looking fairly spritely and ready to hit the ground running, but whether that would last would remain to be seen.

Our Spanish tour guide (and architect), Vicente was able to present us with very honest opinions about the development of Copenhagen, not impaired by the Danish responsibility and pride. He explained that the nature reserve on which Orestad stands was unpopularly sold by the government to help pay for the metro. The soil from the metro excavation was then being used to build up Nordhavnen, Sydhavn – affectionately known by locals as the ‘white ghetto’ – and other pockets of land in the water. Dubai in Copenhagen?

Our first stop was the Tietgen Student Housing by Lundgaard & Tranberg where a college resident was our tour guide – a particularly beneficial experience. As architects we often engage in conversations about our concepts, the development of ideas and construction methodologies. Rarely are we given the opportunity to discuss the results and outcomes for the user. The tour guide was a student of musicology and history, and his knowledge of the building reaffirmed how engrained design is in the culture of Copenhagen. He spoke about many positive aspects of the design; the circular form allowing for protection from the wind, surveillance of parties across the courtyard and the ability to find some sun at any part of the day.

Our student tour guide had some criticism to offer – good lessons for emerging architects. The concrete floor that can’t withstand any liquid means that spilling is just not an option. The chairs that continually break and are uncomfortable. Despite this, the architects insist that these chairs must remain as the communal area furniture. Breakages and continual maintenance don’t phase the building owners who want to be seen as a continuing to support this facility.

We continued through the desolate wind tunnel of Orestad to 8-House, VM Housing and VM Mountain Housing. The one thing that struck us all was the great sparseness and lack of activity that exists in between and around these buildings. For a city that was used to create a book about life between buildings, these lessons seem to have been forgotten in Orestad.

When these buildings are presented to us we are shown beautiful diagrams and ideas about housing that challenge the norm and challenge the clients that are funding them. And while the success of these buildings individually may be strong, the place in which they are positioned and how they relate to one another completely detracts one’s attention from the innovative ideas of the architecture.

Vicente made comment that so many of these projects are about public relations, not people. This explains the huge struggle that these developments are having in attracting and retaining people. No one wants to set up business there because no one lives there, and no one lives there because there aren’t enough facilities to support a population. As Jan Gehl wrote when people are stimulated by people, a self-reinforcing process can begin.

The visit to Orestad raised a lot of mixed feelings within the group, but I think the one thing we should take from this is solace. Solace in the fact that even a city like Copenhagen, which is put on a pedestal of successful urban design, faces the same issues that we are all facing on the opposite side of the world. I think there is a valuable lesson to be learnt in that while we can look outside Australia for guidance of successful architecture we can also learn from others mistakes. We are reminded to always question what is put in front of us because even an architect can be a successful salesman. In saying that, how does one begin to create an active and social community from nothing without first selling an idea? We can’t expect to breathe the life and activity of a city into a nature reserve overnight. Does the development merely need time to gain momentum and life? The ideas suggest yes, the tapestry of “SOLD” signs suggest otherwise.

Katy Moir

 

#2016DuluxStudyTour

We left Melbourne on the most beautiful autumnal day, off into the anywhere of airports, taxis and planes. We’ve arrived in Copenhagen. No one has lost their bags and we have managed leave the airport quickly. Our taxi has taken us to the wrong hotel, ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem. However, our itinerary is back to back and the first project visit is within two hours of landing and closes at 4pm promptly, it is a church after all.

Eventually we arrive at the hotel with 15 mins to spare, hurriedly most of us check in before another taxi is booked to take us to the Bagsvaerd Church. The taxis are already at the hotel as we disembark the first. This is no doubt a perfect opportunity to order nine different coffees in the hotel foyer. The taxis can wait, after a 21 hour flight simple pleasures seem important and coffee is essential (a shower would also be good).

Nevertheless, everyone is buoyant after their coffee and we scrape together our collective knowledge on everything related to Jorn Utzon in order to be somewhat prepared to meet Jan Utzon at the Church. Our ability to gather critical facts is somewhat impaired by the onset of jet lag, the effect of the coffee isn’t working as well as some of us hoped.

Bagsvaerd Church is in a quiet suburb and there is no one in sight as we topple out of the taxis, we are however on time. Jan Utzon emerges from the small white washed pine door to greet us. Jan ushers our group into the first vestibule and gracefully describes the building, its materiality, construction methodology, detail and history. Jan talks effortlessly about a project that he knows intimately, he made the first model in his fathers office during his final year studying and took over the project management soon after. Having been involved with the project for so long he has wonderful storeys about about the day to day and changes that have occurred over time. He recalls a few years ago the interior was repainted and the painter proudly showing him the fine work he had done painting all of the raw exposed steel handrails, this wasn’t meant to be and the poor man spent a month stripping back the paint. The hand rails are exquisite and still retain their patina unaffected by the small mishap.

It’s a project that was holistically designed by the architects including the furntiutre and textiles, there are stories about these as well but that might have to wait for another time. I asked Jan where the bells came from, bells are interesting objects and often have their own history. These were made in a foundry in Denmark as was every part of the building, some of the makers still work with Utzon to repair items designed for the church. The white patterned carpet was remade by the same weavers and looms a few years ago.

The quality of light brought into the space through the improbably thin concrete shell roof is extraordinary. While we all know the project interior, most of us have never seen the exterior of the building, it is surprisingly blank and defensive and predicted the widening of a road which never eventuated. The predominantly blank masonry perimeter is composed of matte pre cast concrete and gloss enamel tiles which reflect the interior undulations of the shell roof in an abstract pattern.

Some of us heard a quiet scuttling behind a box of cushions within the main chamber, there was a small bird trapped between the wall and box. We move the box and the bird, a little dazed, settled on one of the pews and fills the space with a short song that resonates through the space.

Weary, we bundle back into taxis and return to the hotel. Everyone retreats to their rooms for well deserved showers. Over dinner jet lag settles in and our conversation skills deteriorate, between one another this seems to work sufficiently.

A few stragglers spend what’s left of the evening in the hotel foyer making confused conversation with our friends we’ve convinced to meet us. We’ve come so far after all.

Mathew van Kooy

#2016DuluxStudyTour

After much planning and with rising anticipation, the 2016 Dulux Study Tour has finalised its itinerary and has departed Australian shores, jumping on board a flight to Copenhagen, for the first city stop off of three to be visited during the 2016 Tour.

This year the tour takes Mathew van Kooy (VIC) of John Wardle Architects, Qianyi Lim (VIC) of SIBLING, Chris Gilbert (TAS) of Archier, Hannah Slater (QLD) of Architectus and Katy Moir (NT) of Troppo Architects to Copenhagen, London and Madrid for a whirlwind architectural feast.

The Dulux Study Tour is a coveted program that inspires and fosters Australia’s next generation of emerging architectural talent and 2016 is set to hit all the marks. The twelve days of jam packed architectural tours, practice and site visits include names such as 3XN and Lundgaard & Tranberg in Copenhagen, Assemble and drMM in London and Estudio Entresitio and Selgas Cano in Madrid.

Follow @DuluxStudyTour for Twitter updates and #2016DuluxStudyTour for coverage of this year’s tour on Twitter and Instagram.
And don’t forget to read the Dulux Study Tour blog for more in-depth coverage.

And now to introduce the 2016 winners…!

Chris Gilbert | Archier, Tasmania

Chris Gilbert received a Masters of Architecture with Distinction from RMIT in 2011 after earlier completing a Bachelor of Environmental Design at the University of Tasmania. At RMIT he was shortlisted for the Woodhead Student Prize and participated in the World Architecture Workshop in Lianyungang, China.

Gilbert started his career at Room 11 in Tasmania, progressing from third-year student intern to graduate architect. His willingness to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with colleagues and peers, combined with his dedication to quality design outcomes, made him an invaluable and dynamic member of the Room 11 design team.

In 2012 Gilbert and two friends established cross-disciplinary firm Archier. This innovative practice received its first Australian Institute of Architects National Architecture Award in 2015 for Sawmill House – a project that captures many of the emerging interests of Gilbert, while also demonstrating a strong engagement with innovation and construction.

Gilbert impressed the jury with his personal contribution to architectural education. He has given guest lectures and presentations to educational institutions, architectural practices, charities and at Australian Institute of Architects events. The jury agreed that he is an excellent candidate for the 2016 Dulux Study Tour.

Follow Archier on Instagram
Archier website

Qianyi Lim | Sibling, Victoria

Qianyi Lim has had an impressive start to her career since graduating with a Bachelor of Planning and Design in 2004 and a Master of Architecture in 2008, both from the University of Melbourne. In addition to participating in several international student exchange programs throughout her studies, she worked as an architectural intern at MRT Design in Shanghai and Bjarke Ingels Group in Copenhagen.

In 2009 Lim became a graduate architect at McBride Charles Ryan, where she was an integral team member on projects including the Infinity Centre at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, Melbourne and The Quays, a multi-residential development in Docklands, Melbourne. In 2012 she and four of her university friends established multidisciplinary design studio, Sibling. The practice has gone on to receive many accolades.

Alongside her practice work, Lim has been a tutor and lecturer for studios at the University of Melbourne, RMIT and Monash University, and has participated in many industry and community events promoting architecture and design to the community – in particular activities in support of gender equity.

Lim’s experience across a diverse range of architectural practices, and on projects ranging from exhibitions to installations and built works, makes her an ideal candidate for the 2016 Dulux Study Tour. The jury believes she will benefit greatly from the collaborative nature of the tour.

Follow Sibling on Instagram
Sibling website

Katy Moir | Troppo Architects, Northern Territory

Katy Moir graduated from the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2012. Her passion for delivering architecture that is representative of culture led her to work for Troppo Architects in Adelaide. Moir is now working in Troppo’s Darwin office and, in her short time in the Northern Territory (NT), has become a respected leader within her community, chairing the Emerging Architects and Graduates Network (EmAGN) NT.

Moir has environmental and economical sustainability at heart in her architectural pursuits and has a broader way of thinking about architecture in society. This is evidenced by her tireless dedication to voluntary activities, including the Winter Sleep-out for Homelessness, Housing for Health programs, and her self-initiated Talking Through Walls tours at the Darwin Festival that delivered an avenue for broader discussion about the built environment with the public.

Under the supervision of Michael Dickson, Moir was part of a research scholarship on micro housing that embodies affordable and sustainable principles, which has been developed into a funded pilot design/build UQ program for housing of adolescents leaving state care.

The jury is confident that Moir’s involvement in the 2016 Dulux Study Tour will further strengthen her knowledge on placemaking and, as a result of her fearless ability to communicate and share experiences, will empower a whole community.

Follow Katy on Instagram
Troppo website

Hannah Slater | Architectus,  Queensland

Hannah Slater has degrees in both interior design and architecture from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In 2012 Slater was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects QIA Medallion and the Board of Architects of Queensland Prize.

She is currently employed as a project architect with Architectus in Brisbane, where significant projects have included the Kerrisdale Gardens Aged Care Facility in Mackay, Queensland, the Pullenvale Office Block in Pullenvale, Queensland, and Masterplans for James Cook University Ideas Market in Townsville, Queensland and the Wodonga Cultural Precinct in Wodonga, Victoria.

Slater is an EmAGN committee member and a sessional academic at QUT. She also regularly contributes to academic publications, conferences and public lectures including presenting her research on the resilience of Australian cities at the 2014 International Union of Architects World Congress in Durban, South Africa.

Slater is particularly interested in the social impacts of architectural endeavour, an interest that has led her to volunteer for disaster aid work locally and in the Solomon Islands. In 2011 and 2012 she was involved in public exhibitions of emergency shelters to raise money for Red Cross Disaster Aid.

The jury was impressed with Slater’s beautifully articulated submission, which demonstrated her commitment to the research and practice of architecture, and agrees that she is an exceptional candidate for the 2016 Dulux Study Tour.

Follow Hannah on Instagram
Architectus website

Mathew Van Kooy | John Wardle Architects, Victoria

Mathew van Kooy graduated from the University of Queensland in 2005 with first-class honours and is now based in Melbourne, working at John Wardle Architects. In his final year at university, van Kooy was awarded the Karl and Gertrude Langer Memorial Design Prize, the Board of Architects Prize and the Queensland Institute of Architects Memorial Medallion. He has been a tutor and demonstrator at Queensland University of Technology, and tutor and guest critic at the University of Melbourne.

Van Kooy has previously worked at Studio505, LAB Architecture Studio and Hames Sharley, gaining experience on projects including the Pixel building and Wintergarden facades (both Studio505). He has also completed a hospitality fitout in Collingwood, Melbourne as a sole practitioner. Van Kooy joined John Wardle Architects (JWA) in 2012, where he is currently involved in the Batman Avenue Bridge and the 2015 NGV Summer Architecture Commission – important public projects that raise the profile of architecture in shaping the quality of the built environment. The jury agreed that van Kooy is a deserving candidate for the 2016 Dulux Study Tour, and that his experiences on the tour will have a lasting impact on the many users of his current and future projects.

Follow Mathew on Instagram
Follow John Wardle Architects on Instagram
John Wardle Architects website

JURY:

• Jon Clements FRAIA (chair) – Australian Institute of Architects National President, Jackson Clements Burrows Architects
• Phil White – General Manager, Trade Division, Dulux Australia
• Rob Henry RAIA – 2015 EmAGN National President Rob Henry Architects
• Cameron Bruhn – Editorial Director, Architecture Media
• Daniela Crawley Aff RAIA –National Membership and Development Manager, Australian Institute of Architects
• Amelia Holliday RAIA – 2009 Dulux Study Tour winner, Aileen Sage Architects

The Dulux Study Tour is a collaborative initiative between Dulux Australia, the Australian Institute of Architects and EmAGN (The Emerging Architects and Graduate Network). It is proudly supported by ArchitectureAU.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
#2016DuluxStudyTour
#DuluxStudyTour
Follow the tour on Twitter

And the 2016 Dulux Study Tour shortlist is…

• Jesse Bennett (Jesse Bennett Studio)
• Andrew Boyne (Andrew T Boyne Architect)
• Alice Chambers (MODE Design)
• Heiron Chan (Tanner Kibble Denton Architects)
• Benjamin Cohen (Studio GL)
• Paul Focic (Cox Rayner Architects)
• Chris Gilbert (Archier)
• Matthias Hollenstein (Stewart Hollenstein)
• Lucy Humphrey (Lucy Humphrey Studio)
• Sarah Lebner (Jigsaw Housing)
• Ella Leoncio (Chamberlain Architects)
• Qianyi Lim (SIBLING )
• Rory Martin (dwp|suters)
• Yvonne Meng (Von Atelier)
• Katy Moir (Troppo Architects – Darwin)
• David Neustein (Other Architects)
• Amelyn Ng (Fieldwork)
• Lara Nobel (Greg Thornton Constructions + The tiny house company)
• Anna O’Gorman (Kieron Gait Architects)
• Joseph O’Meara (BVN)
• Nicholas Putrasia (Kerry Hill Architects)
• Albert Quizon (CHROFI)
• Hannah Slater (Architectus Brisbane )
• Ksenia Totoeva (Tonkin Zulaikha Greer)
• Mathew van Kooy (John Wardle Architects)
• Andrew Volkman (Donovan Payne Architects)
• Dino Vrynios (Grieve Gillett Andersen)
• David Weir (David Weir Architects)
• Thomas Winwood Mckenzie (Thomas Winwood Architecture)
• Joshua Zoeller (CHROFI)

Congratulations to all those who entered – the entries were all of a particularly high standard, making the 2016 jury’s job very difficult!

And of course a big thank you to all who entered. We were overwhelmed by the response which exceeded all previous years’ entry numbers.

Now on to Round Two…

The is your final opportunity to be part of an exciting and coveted program that inspires and fosters Australia’s next generation of emerging architectural talent – the 2016 Dulux Study Tour.

Winners will embark on an exciting architectural tour of Istanbul, London and Madrid where they can experience firsthand some of the best architectural sites and practices.

Simply click here to enter.

Entry into the 2016 Dulux Study Tour is a two stage process:

Stage 1
To enter, entrants are required to submit their answers to four nominated questions, their contact details and details of their employer via the online entry system.

Stage 1 submissions must be lodged by no later than AEST 4pm Thursday 17 September 2015.

Late submissions will not be accepted. Entrants’ answers to the nominated questions will be judged, and shortlisted entrants will be notified to enter into Stage 2.

Stage 2
Shortlisted entrants must upload via the online entry system an A4 document that includes; one written employer reference, resume (maximum two pages), portfolio of works (maximum of four pages). Submissions for stage 2 will be open from Wednesday 14 October 2015 when shortlisted entries will be notified of outcome. The closing date for Round 2 is 4.00pm AEDT Thursday 5 November 2015.

2016 Dulux Study Tour Terms and Conditions

Process in Melbourne kick starts the 2015 post tour talks…
When: 6.30pm, Monday 6 July
Where: Loop Bar, 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne 3000
Speakers: Bonnie Herring, Monique Woodward and Mel Bright

What drives the best of us?
Awards recognise a person’s achievements and celebrates the output of their careers. With that comes a lot of hard work in the interim, though these don’t often take centre stage. Everyone has their own drivers – the motivations, inspirations, and influences which keep us going in some form or other. This month, PROCESS brings together three Victorian architects who have been recognised through this year’s Dulux Study Tour Award and Emerging Architect Prize. The event will delve into the things behind the scenes, and discuss projects, reflections, and projections.
Join us on July 6th to talk to these amazing ladies who are driving their careers sky high.

On a tour where we spent much of our time looking up, I spent some time looking down. Here is a selection of the ‘ground’ we covered.

Much was seen. Fun was had.
All will be missed.

#2015DuluxStudyTour signing out.

– Nic

The last day of the 2015 Dulux Study Tour was upon us and I was already becoming nostalgic about its ending. Having spent more than fifteen hours together for the last eight tour and travel days, there was a fear of moving on from the carefully orchestrated Amazing (archi-)Race. Fear of being left to our own devices and that creeping feeling of ‘has this all been a dream?’

Fuelled by croissants and caffeine, we travelled to the office compound of Ateliers Jean Nouvel that had over the last fifteen years, gradually occupied a series of adjoining buildings wrapped around a paved and pot planted courtyard. Following our visit to the politically embattled Philharmonie de Paris on the edge of the Parc de la Villette the evening before, we were very conscious of the elephant in the room. Jean Nouvel’s ‘Ambassador’ Manuel filled us in on the financial political, scheduling and legal fall out of a project turned sour. Certainly at that scale it is hard for any of us to fathom.

Shifting to other points of discussion, we were surprised to receive a rather candid assessment of the practice evolution. It had become a pattern for the women architects to stick around, while their male counterparts had a tendency for itchy feet, many moving to start their own practices after learning the ropes. Though in Manuel’s case and for several others too, there was also a tendency to return once work became scarce or when they were willing to concede their design autonomy to the starchitect.

Next we visited LAN’s mixed use Homage to Haussmann in the 17th Arridosment. We were taken through cute pedestrianised streets lined with charcuterie, fresh produce and cafes that had us hankering for our next baguette fix.

Wedged between defunct rail infrastructure now being developed and an area of the traditional and iconic Haussmann housing with their hierarchical street walls, LAN borrowed from the desirable latter typology to design an adaptable apartment/office floor plate with externally load bearing and prefabricated facade that hinted little toward the primary residential use.

We made tracks to Renzo Piano’s recently completed Fondation Jerome Seydoux Pathe in the 13th where we were suitably impressed. The ‘little casper’ or silver ‘armidillo’ glazed bubble quietly rose up above the slate and zinc rooftops behind adjoining heritage facades, and was the first blobitecture we’d encountered on this trip. Surprisingly perhaps, we all immediately felt cocooned within its bow of curved timber ribs and perforated aluminium shingles. The project architect, Torsten, ran us through its sophisticated yet user operated ventilation system while we fought the urge to fall asleep in the womb like structure.

With some spontaneous hustle, we took the train to the 16th to the Fondation Le Corbusier at Maison la Roche for a speedy hit of Modernism before our final visit of the Dulux Study Tour. In disposable blue shoe covers we darted up and down the three stories ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the excessive circulation, modestly proportioned rooms and novelty of being able to track each other from almost anywhere in the building.

Content with our Corbusian diversion, we settled in at the Ordre des Architects to discuss the architectural scene in Paris over a beer, debating differences between established and aged starchitects (“who’s ego forbids them to retire”), and the smaller more collaborative studios that are still suffering from the 2009 economic downturn.

Lastly, from the austere modern of the Maison la Roche and stripped-back former convent home of The Ordre, we came to the distinctly Parisian, Train le Blieu that radiated grandeur and opulence. While we watched our dashingly dressed waiters and frescoed surrounds we reflected on some of the highlights: Fuji Kindergarten, Barbican, Fondation Jerome Seydoux Pathe, meeting with Astrid Klien and Kevin Carmody, and lowlights: bag snatchers in Paris, lack of sleep and plane food.

Never a dull moment on this premium trip. Thank you Dulux, AIA, AM and my exceptional archi peers, you’ve been an absolute delight.

#2015DuluxStudyTour

– Bonnie Herring