Exhibition Irreplaceable Landscapes, Dorte Mandrup

This spring, the exhibition Irreplaceable Landscapes will transform part of the Danish Architecture Center (DAC), Copenhagen into a dreamy landscape to explore work by the architect Dorte Mandrup who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her firm this year.


The Danish architect Dorte Mandrup has made a reputation for herself all over the world for her beautiful and environmentally conscious work by questioning how architecture shapes landscapes and what she can do for nature. She seeks architectural answers to these questions, responses like the Wadden Sea Centre in Ribe, Denmark.
This is a celebration of traditional craftsmanship, transforming the existing building using local construction materials and long-established techniques, setting the stage for the narrative of the life of the Wadden Sea and the cycle of migratory birds, as well as how this precious UNESCO-listed ecosystem works. A tidal sea that crosses three nations - Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
This natural site is threatened by global warming and by the rising oceans caused by another phenomenon dear to the heart of Mandrup - the melting of the ice in Greenland. She addresses this issue in her project for the Ilulissat Icefjord Center, one of the most interesting individual presentations at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia FREESPACE that really stood out in the Corderie for its eye-catching appearance. This invitation to experiment with unique elements located in the nature of Greenland with an abstract 1:12 model inside an immersive installation of lights and sounds is again proposed at the DAC.
The theme of the Wadden Sea and the Wadden Sea Centre in Ribe is instead showcased to the public at the DAC through a piece of the centre itself. So, visitors to the exhibition can walk across a huge thatched roof overlooking the sea, at the same time listening to the sounds of birds in the background. Handcraftsmanship plays a major role in this Wadden Sea Centre, where not only the rooftop but also the sides are covered in straw, so the building ends up blending into the marshy landscape around it. 
The architecture designed by Dorte Madrup becomes a tangible symbol of the trilateral and cross-border cooperation of three nations: the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, which has existed for more than 30 years and forms the structural framework for the protection and integrated management of the Wadden Sea.
The Wadden Sea Centres in the Netherlands and in Germany will also be constructed by Mandrup but using completely different materials because in Germany, in Wilhelmshaven the project is based around a world war two bunker and in Den Helder, the Netherlands the centre needs to engage with an industrial port.
The exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center (DAC) opens on 22 March and will be running until 29 May 2019. It is also being held to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Dorte Mandrup's studio. A great opportunity if you're heading to Copenhagen for the upcoming spring break.

Christiane Bürklen

Exhibition Irreplaceable Landscapes by Dorte Mandrup
22 March to 29 May 2019
Danish Architecture Centre DAC, Copenhagen, Denmark
Images: see captions (photographs: Adam Mørk, Rasmus Hortshjoj)
Find out more:  https://dac.dk