3/16/10 Required Reading Reflection: "New Danish Architecture," by Tobias Faber

Despite what the article made it sound like, I can't help but feel like the post-war housing developments stand as a moment of weakness in the Danish Design tradition. Although described as "one of the most attractive residential districts in the country," housing developments like the Søndergardsparken estate are not only environmentally unsound but also a blatant abandonment of craftsmanship and respect for materials. I acknowledge that housing developments can be democratic and even efficient (in the short term), but the process of building hundreds of nearly identical houses over a short period of time in an area large enough to contain them all together (which is invariably removed from urban areas where the residents most likely live) is in fact economically shortsighted.

Suburban sprawl, fueled by developments such as Søndergardsparken estate mean that people live farther away from where they work, shop, etc. so that additional infrastructure has to be created to support these large populations living separately. Moreover, people have to travel farther to get places, meaning that more fuel is being used in transit (even despite the public transportation that is available in the Five Fingered Plan). Also, although not mentioned in the article, often, housing projects such as these were under so much pressure to be constructed quickly that corners were cut regarding environmental issues such as water runoff and excess material waste.

Map of the Five Finger Plan, a well thought out form of suburban sprawl (but it's still sprawl)
http://www.denmark.dk/NR/rdonlyres/708B2649-213C-4A60-A863-15C665E262CE/0/Fingerpaln2007.jpg

The article described the houses as being constructed out of "conventional materials," which is not bad in and of itself, however, as discussed in previous posts, when something is mass produced, the quality and craftsmanship of the object invariably goes down. While I am no expert on Danish architecture from the 1950's, American post-war architecture, most often seen in developments of cookie cutter houses, is infamous for its poor quality. Although I can see how housing developments fit into the Danish desire for design that reflects the welfare state, I do not think housing developments are a positive residential design. Even if functionalism is what is desired for most, there must be a way to incorporate houses that are well-constructed and economically friendly (some offsite, prefabricated house constructing companies are now doing projects such as this) that can be integrated into communities that are less isolated from urban areas. In this way, the values of the welfare state can be upheld as well as a dedication to craftsmanship and an awareness of the environment.

Kingohusene, designed by Jørn Utzon (1958-1960)
http://www.dac.dk/db/filarkiv/6023/kingo1.jpg

Above, I included a picture of Kingohusene, another housing complex designed in the same time period. Granted, this complex works dynamically with the environment so that green spaces are integrated into the community design and each house is situated so that it benefits from natural light. Nevertheless, these institutionalized buildings lack the attention to delicate detail that seems so integral to Danish design. Addressing housing shortages may be a modern problem but I can't say that the post-war Danish designers found the best solution.