The City

On the occasion of Architecture Year 2023, Formkraft explores crafts and design in urban spaces, public spaces, and built environments. The theme publication provides space for the latest research and work on crafts and design.

Where and how is contemporary crafts and design established in the city’s space? What actors are behind it? What can we learn from history?

Woodwork in the island city

In a research project at the Royal Academy, Professor MSO Kirsten Marie Raahauge has examined what happens to cities when welfare services disappear. In the present theme, Raahauge writes about the post-welfare city in a materialistic context. The case study is Tønder, which, with its 18th-century woodwork, historical welfare institutions, its time as a welfare city, and its recent urban renewal, is unique, while the city’s development towards an island city is common to many provincial cities. The historical woodwork and old institutional buildings are integrated into present-day contexts in various ways; the city is located between the new and the old, well-preserved and dilapidated. Raahauge investigates how the city changes when welfare institutions close, while traces of the past remain.

Dark City

It is not only the homeless who lose sleeping places, but the city also loses breathing spaces when dark design is established. Professor Ole B. Jensen from Aalborg University leads a 4-year research project on ‘Dark Design – Social Exclusion in Urban Spaces.’

Research on Dark Design not only focuses on how the homeless and the city lose their breathing spaces but also on the professional ethical dilemmas that architects and designers face when the city’s inclusiveness is limited.

Urban Heartbeats – Design and the City’s Identity

Design for urban spaces can be crucial to the city’s identity and citizens’ sense of belonging. Urban fixtures such as poster columns, typography, and road signs can be visual markers and function as the city’s landmarks. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Knud V. Engelhardt’s design for Gentofte Municipality. PhD student Matthias Horneman-Thielcke and museum inspector from Designmuseum Denmark Pernille Stockmarr focus on the significance of Engelhardt’s design.

Contemporary crafts and strategy

Contemporary crafts are part of Syddjurs Municipality’s new art strategy for 2022-25. Formkraft brings an interview with the art advisors behind the strategy to gain insight into how crafts are included and what increased attention to crafts can contribute to the municipality.

Follow along as the theme unfolds on Formkraft in May-June-July 2023. In addition to professional articles, we also bring exhibition and book reviews, as well as speakers’ corner contributions.

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