Erick van Egeraat: housing, Copenhagen, Denmark.Won in competition in 2003 and due for completion in 2009, Erick van Egeraat's Kroyers Plads housing is located on a waterfront site in Copenhagen's harbour district. Here, close to the sea, the scale changes and horizons widen. The competition design was inspired by the rich, almost fairytale-like atmosphere of the Danish capital, with its narrow intimate streets, cobbled cob·ble 1 n. 1. A cobblestone. 2. Geology A rock fragment between 64 and 256 millimeters in diameter, especially one that has been naturally rounded. 3. cobbles See cob coal. tr. squares, dark roofs, traditional materials and intense colours conspiring to suggest that anything (and everything) could happen. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Van Egeraat's starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the for the 16 000sqm housing complex was the contextual Danish tradition of simple, pitch-roofed buildings. Yet in his provocative way, he gives tradition a sharp and timely twist. New and exaggeratedly angular forms are created by stretching, morphing Transforming one image into another; for example, a car into a tiger. The term comes from metamorphosis. Morphing programs work by marking prominent points, such as tips and corners, of the before and after images. and distorting in three dimensions. To maximise views towards the sea and the harbour, towers are rotated and apartments fully glazed, but the glazing is wrapped in a protective cladding The plastic or glass sheath that is fused to and surrounds the core of an optical fiber. The cladding's mirror-like coating keeps the light waves reflected inside the core. The cladding is covered with a protective outer jacket. See fiber optics glossary. system of louvres and grilles that provides both sun protection and visual privacy. Materials and colours allude to allude to verb refer to, suggest, mention, speak of, imply, intimate, hint at, remark on, insinuate, touch upon see see, elude the earth: copper red, terracotta and natural slate are set against more lightweight stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. and glass. With a random pattern of open and closed surfaces, the ensemble of blocks creates an intriguing contrast between the infinite expanse of the water and the more closed, hermetic hermetic /her·met·ic/ (her-met´ik) impervious to air. her·met·ic or her·met·i·cal adj. Completely sealed, especially against the escape or entry of air. and intimate volumes of the housing complex. To give them more prominence when seen from the water, blocks are arranged on a tilted concrete platform. Beneath the undulating platform are parades of shops, adding an element of civic animation to the surroundings. The small bay to the south-east of the site may also be incorporated as a marina for the waterfront residents. Though van Egeraat's whimsical warpings of form are far removed from the more reticent and sober traditions of Danish architecture, this promises to be an intriguing urban set-piece. C. S. |
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