the Vision of BispeBjerg Bakke - Realdania Byg

apparent in the building’s surface in the
form of a wealth of details. So the project
is pervaded by the concept of the social
being inextricably connected with the
aesthetic. This building is also a rejection
of a modernist trend to discard any form
of tradition. Bispebjerg Bakke shows that
some traditions are worth preserving. We
are not talking about uncritical or mindless
servitude to tradition here, but about
forming a living process that provides innovation,
and thereby leads to progress.
Nørgaard has been involved right from
the beginning – he even took part in conceiving
the original idea. Frequently, the
visual arts are added to something that
has already been created: a sculpture is
placed in front of an entrance; or a painting
hung in a hall. Bispebjerg Bakke will
hopefully – with a different, sculpture-like
architecture that people will like – pave
the way for new, enriching collaborative
endeavours between artists on one hand
and the many players of the construction
process on the other.
aesthetic. With Bispebjerg Bakke, the approach
has been that if the craftsmen are
enthusiastic about the project and are
continuously able to influence the construction
process, this will be reflected in
the completed building. Bjørn Nørgaard
once said that form is very much a question
of morals. According to this school of
thought, the commitment and job satisfaction
of each craftsman will be directly
What artistic impact do you think Bispebjerg
Bakke will have?
I think that many sculptors dream of participating
in a project like this – as it is
an opportunity to work on a really major
scale. One can only hope that this will
lead to an increasing willingness to involve
artists at an earlier stage in the construction
process. There is nothing new in
involving artists in architectural projects,
but what is exciting here is that Bjørn
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