A new traveling exhibition by Danish architecture studio Dorte Mandrup opens at Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin on 8 July 2022. The exhibition entitled PLACE delves into the strong interrelation between place and architecture and explores the role of the context ties in the quest for sustainable solutions for the future. In September, the exhibition will move to Le Bicolore – Maison du Danemark in Paris.
The exhibition seeks to understand architecture as a man-made geological force, constantly interacting with a radically changing context. The PLACE exhibition explores the unique character of each site, landscape, and terrain the studio works in, emphasizing that buildings never emerge in isolation. It seeks to understand and illustrate the interplay between the character of the place and the buildings that emerge from them.
If you look at the exhibited projects individually, they might not seem directly connected, but together they express the contextual abundance that derives from allowing the place to inform the architecture – a richness in materiality, form, and function. In a time where we as humans have become a profound force of nature, it is increasingly important that architecture conveys something contextually unique and enhances the understanding and experience of each place. Not only when it comes to sensitive landscapes, but also the social, cultural, or economic framework - Dorte Mandrup, Founder and Creative Director
PLACE explores environments with complex characteristics and histories, from the yellow-brown marshes of the Wadden Sea to the breathtakingly vast scale of the Arctic and the uncomfortable memories of war, flight, and expulsion imprinted in the ruins of Berlin’s Anhalter Bahnhof. Each model is an artistic expression of the important connection between place and architecture. Like small cabinets of curiosities, they invite visitors to explore the local narratives that have formed them.
The Copenhagen-based studio Dorte Mandrup was founded by architect Dorte Mandrup in 1999. The PLACE exhibition aligns with Dorte Mandrup’s interest in the strong interrelation between the buildings and the communities or landscapes they are part of. The exhibition will present five of the studio’s projects and tell a story of architecture’s significance and its ability to create physical spaces that help communities come together, while also drawing attention to the distinct qualities of the surrounding context. Earlier this year, Dorte Mandrul studio also presented installations at the exhibition celebrating women at the Danish Architecture Center.
