Intro to the Studio Project: Palads

27 June 2012

Since our case studies were over, everybody in the architecture & design program were moved around to new professors and new classrooms. I was no longer in the poorly lit archaic timber constructed building with narrow winding stairs or low diagonal beams. My new studio was in the newly renovated building on the 5th floor a block southwest on the same street. It was exciting to see a shower in the studio spaces. I guess students really dedicate themselves. Or maybe the administration is trying to hint at something.

looking towards the north

The plus: the views were fantastic.

Interior Architecture was split into two studios- one in the old building with Johan, while the other studio was in the renovated building with BB. One studio morning, we were introduced to our project site and existing building: The Palads Cinema on Axeltorv. We were given existing plans, elevations, and sections of the cinema and were made to figure out what had been renovated since the original building was erected in 1917.

It wasn't easy. At all.

The renovations that had been made had made a giant mess of the space planning and program of the cinemas. Somehow 17 cinema rooms had been jam-packed into a old-fashioned cinema palace (hence the word palads) where it originally accommodated 2 cinema rooms that fit hundreds of people- if I am not mistaken it was probably an occupancy of 300. But now the smallest rooms had a screen that was no larger than a large-screen television. Talk about a movie-going experience. And all for 100 Kr. (~$18 USD). Really?

Renovations weren't just made to the rooms. The first story facade had been pushed out by about 3 meters or so and the terrace above is merely abandoned with no set purpose. It was also hard to figure out how to get there.

In conclusion: it's a mess. And the colors look like a rainbow vomit.

Palad's terrace. 

but wait! a beautiful lobby space!...

ruined by flashy movie stuff....

My Danish Breakfast

I am not quite a breakfast person. I still eat it, but I get more excited for lunch or dinner. For breakfast, I can have anything from oatmeal, yogurt, or cereal. Nothing exciting right?

But I discovered something grand while in Copenhagen. I got a little innovative. Simple, but I still consider it a bit innovative for me.

Because I fell in love with ryazhenka while in Moscow, I was determined to find it while in Copenhagen. But alas, to my dismay, it seems like it is strictly Russian, and pretty much there isn't an equivalent of it in Denmark. After researching for items that are similar to it, I came across a couple of products: A38, tykmaelk, and ymer. All of these are cultured milk products, similar to yogurts. Definitely not ryazhenka, though. It's closer to the consistency and taste of kefir, but not as sour.

All of these products are similar in price as well, between 8-12 kroner.... I think. It's been a while. Dairy is pretty cheap in Denmark. Thank goodness they love their cows (and they are proud of dairy industry). Really.

I bought tykmaelk for the most part, and only once ymer and A38. All of them are very similar, but I just always decided to stick with tykmaelk. At first I just tried drinking it with a side of rye bread with jam, but during a grocery visit, I found oatmeal and decided that it would be a great idea to mix both of them. A dash of sugar helped, too. This oatmeal was quite different, through, from any other rolled or quick oats that I have had. It's a light, thin, oat, that comes basically in crumbs. I still haven't found the equivalent of it in the states. If anyone can help me find it, please!

It's a wonderful combination. I think that I had that for breakfast almost everyday during my stay in Copenhagen without getting bored of it. I think for one of the few times of my life, I actually looked forward to such a (simple) breakfast.

Here is a blog post that has more info on A38, tykmaelk, and ymer. This is my research when I was looking for ryazhenka.

Coat Hunting

I didn't realize how cold it would be in Copenhagen during summer, or rainy for that matter. I thought that simply layering the few sweaters that I brought with me (all two of them) would suffice enough with a scarf and gloves. My cotton sweaters proved useless with the rain, soaking through sometimes touching my skin.

Shoes were another entirely different story. Tom's nor thin suede ankle boots do anything useful in the rain, obviously. None of them are waterproofed, and the rain just consumed the shoe material.
I didn't experience horrible weather in Russia nor in Riga- but I got a wonderful preview of the Scandinavian weather in Oslo during my 3 days there. I didn't think that Copenhagen would be more or less the same as Oslo. I didn't plan on bringing a coat from home. I only had a small luggage and my backpack coming into the eastern hemisphere. Bringing a coat simply would take up a lot of room. And I don't own any shoes for the rain. Sure it rains in southern California, but I don't think I have ever become desperate enough to actually get rain boots.

One day I gave up on being 'efficient' with what I brought with me, and I gave into looking for a coat- a lightweight coat for the rain, at least. I had already bought a couple of shirts and an extra pair of pants, so I thought I could do with one more item. I had to simply remind myself that because I got a new suitcase while in Riga, I did have extra room in the suitcase for purchased goodies from my time abroad.

It took me 3 days to search for a coat within my price range. The Danish currency is not friendly to an American wallet, or many wallets actually. But I managed to find a sale going on. It wasn't a coat meant for the rain, being a cotton shell with a polyester lining, but it would later fare very well in wet weather- and it kept me warm.

So $70 USD later and a hint of regret, this coat proved useful during the Danish summer rains and chilling gusty days. It slightly compensated for my wet feet, but it was a welcoming layer to cover me up when I needed it.

Midsummer Nights in CPH

These photos were taking between 11pm and midnight!

23 June 2012

2 days after the trip to Fridlandsmuseet, it was the celebration of Midsummer. It falls on the summer solstice  the longest day of the year. It got never got completely dark because Copenhagen lies just north enough to get some light from the sun, even at the dead of night. It is nothing compared to the light that I saw in St. Petersberg, since that lies even further up north, on about the same latitude as Helsinki.

my bedroom window with the pull down curtain.

But nonetheless, it was an experience, where ever I was in Russia or Scandinavia during the long summer nights. I never had trouble sleeping, as some people thought I would have. Then again I did have black out curtains in my bedroom, so that helped, especially during sunrise since it was around 4am!

Even Skyping with my family or the boyfriend was deceiving to them because I would be calling them around 9 or 10pm and there was enough sunlight to still illuminate my bedroom.
During Midsummer, on the 21st of June, the people of the city celebrate with bonfires. It originates back to the Pagan times of Scandinavia. Google that or something, I don't want to write on that.

So on the 23st, I was in studio and I knew of some of the students and my former teammates from the Holy Chapel case studies were going to go and and partake of some of the festivities along the beach or Nyhavn. I think I missed the memo, because I perhaps stayed in studio for too long and missed everyone. Too bad I didn't have anyone's number yet except for the teammates, but they were long gone at Amager strand Beach. So instead I went walking around 11pm through Nyhavn, following the scent of smoke coming from the harbor.

Indeed there were bonfires in the middle of the water on Nyhavn, so it was a sight to see. People drinking and eating on the harbor walls, and boat owners having a party of their own on deck. The dusk colored sky illuminated the city with a soft golden-blue hue, while the sun slowly began to tuck itself away from the earth.

Smørrebrød !

all done! i'm the one with the head down...

25 June 2012

On the day of our case study presentations, we were relieved that at least that portion of the program was finally over. It wasn't that bad really. Personally I love case studies. Probably because I don't have to frustrate myself over my own designs and being my own worst critic. But nonetheless, I was very, very, tired from finishing the project late the night before and coming in a bit early that morning to to some last minute printing and diagramming. But the results were great and our review went without a hitch. Well, almost without a hitch, we had to practice a few times to get the presentation just right between the 4 team members and known who said what.

And that was that. Part one of the summer study abroad program over.

After the presentations were done, a few of us from the program, including all of the team members from Holy Cross Chapel (us), headed over to get Smørrebrød- Denmark's imfamous open-faced sandwiches  I was rather excited, and this was actually my first time eating out in Copenhagen. So off we go to a nearby Smørrebrød shop near Strøget (pronounced something like "Struo"..... kind of like that. Danish is like the French of the Scandinavian languages. Probably worse than that).

Domhuset Smørresbrød storefront.

Anyway, the little sandwich shop that I found myself in was Domhuset's Smørresbrod shop (don't even try googling that place because no results will come up. Strange). For 13 kr. a piece (approx $2.25), it was a good price, considering that many other smørresbrød places will charge 15kr-18kr. a piece. These sandwiches are definitely worth a try. Just pick anything. Seriously- anything will be good.

Personally I don't even know what I chose. I just pointed at whatever I caught my eye. Pronouncing what it was was near impossible. Trying wasn't even worth it.

These little things come wrapped like a simple gift

I don't remember what this was, but it was interesting. Not bad at all.

This one was my favourite. I can still taste it! Creamed eggs on a split meatball!

Frilandsmuseet: I'm a time traveler now.

21 June 2012

Those three drawing sessions as mentioned here was to prepare us for a field trip to Fridlandsmuseet just outside of Copenhagen. I didn't know that they were going to require us to draw so much. I thought that it was going to stay within the sketching courses, not beyond that. But sketch we did, as much as I just wanted to lay on the grass and enjoy the Danish air of the more-or-less countryside outside of Copenhagen.

Don't get me wrong, I love to draw, but not when it is forced upon. At least I felt personally rewarded when I was done with a sketch.

Most of these traditional homes have been actually dismantles from their original site and have been reconstructed at this open-air museum. Some are from the 1400's. Some even as "modern" as the 1800's. All impressive nonetheless because of the greenroofing, thatching, programming, brick details, etc. There were even windmills! There was even a house with seagrass roofing! These Scandinavians had green roofs down before the whole "green" movement decided to make it big...

But as I mentioned before, I am quite meticulous with my drawings, and it resulted that at one point, the group left without me, and I had to walk around Fridlandsmuseet for about half an hour. I even tried communication with an older Danish woman asking if she saw a group of students. She at least picked out the word "student" and pointed me towards a general direction. Alas! I found my classmates! I thought I was going to have to camp out in one of those huts or something. It was too early in the program to get lost like that.

Sketch like your life depends on it...

@ Copenhagen's Cathedral. Focus: light.

The class schedule at DIS is not consistent. We had to constantly check Blackboard for our daily schedules. It wasn't based on a block schedule, but rather on a lecture schedule. So every lecture class had a different lecture on a different topic, and we had 3 sessions of sketching class during the entire session- all within one week. The only class that was consistent was studio. Otherwise, it was annoying having to check the schedule on a daily schedule.

@ Thorvaldsen's Museum

But this sketching class was something else. I thought we were going to learn how draw, or at least techniques in drawing. Rather, it was a very, very, short lecture on drawing methods for architects, and off we went to a museum to sketch. I felt bad for the students in Information Design because, well, they are clueless as to how to draw in an architectural manner. Then again, there are architecture students who can't draw to save their lives. Every one of the three drawing sessions had a different focus: color, light, and something else that I cannot remember. I tried my best to forcefully sketch something. The professors would ask for a few sketches, typically no less than 3 or 5. I would usually underachieve only because I am just so meticulous with drawing. It's good and bad at the same time.

inside Thorvalden's Museum.
The colors are exquisite... hence the focus: color.