18 DIGS.NET | 7.15.2022
P R O F I L E | D O R T E M A N D R U P
With sustainability at the heart of the project, Icefjord Centre is
highly accountable to the environment. In primarily constructing
the Centre around a steel frame with the absolute minimum use
of concrete (usually the main contributor to the carbon footprint,
the studio explains), the lightweight structure lessened the
impact on its age-old foundation. Most of the wood in the project
is Akoya (decking on the roof terrace is oak), which lends even
more warmth to a space overlooking a spectacle of snow and
ice. More significantly it creates a contrast with the bedrock.
Inside the Centre is an open-plan exhibition gallery, café,
and cinema, all to inform visitors about Greenland's nature,
culture, and climate. The design environment is of note too.
Triple-glazed floor-to-ceiling windows amplify the airy feel of
the sparingly touched interior, which is left to breathe and bathe
in natural light. The building's toggle between warm and cold,
light and shadow, open and sheltered, is a continual fascination.
In this dynamic ice age for Dorte Mandrup, the Copenha-
gen-based architect is producing architecture of enormous
emotional impact, including her winning design for The Whale,
another astonishing attraction north of the Arctic Circle, and
the Wadden Sea Centre on Denmark's west coast, which was
shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Contemporary
Architecture—Mies van der Rohe Award. In reference to the
Icefjord Centre, she told Louisiana Channel, "We view it as a
building that should address our own fragility." Her point of view
has never been stronger. dortemandrup.dk
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In reference to the Icefjord Centre, she told Louisiana Channel, "We view it as a building
that should address our own fragility." Her point of view has never been stronger.
