The New Gallery for Danish and International photography concentrates on the idea of the image. It stands on the far edge of Copenhagen’s shopping street among a number of corporate fast food restaurants and discount apparel stores. The idea of a cultural institution in this space is both contextual and paradoxical: contextual considering the history of the architecture itself, and paradoxical considering the current program of the area. The gallery aims to show its images in the context of its specific placement in Denmark, the people attending and not attending, and the rest of the collection. The galleries each take the form of a tray being slid into the frame of the exhibition space, creating overlapping sectional space between each gallery. Images are viewed both directly in each gallery and indirectly as they catch the eye from different points inside the space as one moves through. In addition, the galleries protrude outside the building above the public realm, making those outside the building a framed display to those inside and vis versa. Each gallery is then treated as a white box hanging in an environment of natural material rather than polished: raw concrete, aging brick from the neighboring building, and the translucent channel glass and structure of the gallery itself.
The site is located on Strøget in an obtusely shaped infill condition. The initial extrusion of the floor plate and typical flatness to the street side creates problems with both spatial functionality and urban engagement. The mass of the building is then lifted above the public realm of Strøget, creating a free flow of public life into and through the building, while also providing an overhang to the urban fabric of Copenhagen’s center, which is largely a stranger to extrusion and recession.Taking the Parallel of the eastern site wall, the mass is then cut to allow for an interstitial space for large format display, as well as additional natural lighting. The west side wall is then left its original brick with the addition of a new steel structural frame. Each gallery is then inserted into the remaining shell, making each both part and whole. The galleries feed off of each other through visual connection and their effect on the daylighting of the whole, while remaining somewhat autonomous in themselves. Each gallery then frames those viewing inside to an audience of passers-by on the street.
I completed the design for this project while studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark during the 2012-2013 school year.
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