Mission 2: Complete.

After many long nights that continued into the morning, getting used to the metric system, learning a new Adobe computer program and a blister, my project was complete. I presented my second assignment, a furniture exhibition design for Denmark's National Art Gallery today. Sunday morning I will be leaving for a week-long study tour to northern Germany and the Netherlands!

Studio Story Time.

Story #1: "& he went mad"
During our first studio project here, we were under a lot of pressure to complete the first project in only one week. So much pressure that one kid actually cracked! Just nights before our presentations, he started drawing all over the facade of his group's building model. Later that night, he was admitted into a psychiatric clinic, where he stayed for 3 days.
Story #2: "filthy"
For our second project, no one wanted to go to the art supply store to buy more material for their models (pricey) and someone discovered a dumpster full of cardboard in an alley near our studios. Sunday morning, Rachel went out to the dumpster to get some cardboard, but discovered that all of the big pieces were in the bottom. So she climbed right in there, crazy hair and all, to get to them. Meanwhile, an old Danish lady is taking a stroll through the alley and sees Rachel rummaging around in a dumpster. The lady began yelling at her in Danish and, not understanding, Rachel began apologizing in English. To this, the woman shakes her finger and shouts "You are filthy!"

Sustainable by Design site visit: The Green Lighthouse. A carbon neutral building.

Six weeks have already come and gone!

Nothing other than a whole lot of studio time has occurred in the past week and this week will probably follow that trend. Our second assignment, a furniture exhibit design in the Danish National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst), is due Wednesday night with two full days of presentations to follow. Last week began with a lovely Valentine's Day surprise: a dozen roses delivered to my house in Holte from Alex! My host family (& their little dog too) returned from their vacations early Sunday morning, bearing Swiss chocolate and exhausted from skiing all week.

"Week 7"

The 7th week of the year is vacation week for the Danes. Mette is going skiing in France with her classmates while Claus and Helle are traveling to Zurich for the week to visit Christian at his new flat.

Thursday night was the first night of Wine Club. We sampled a Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah while learning about the season and region of the grape, what food to pair it with and typical characteristics of each wine.

Slot vs. Slut

Today, my host mother learned a new word: slutty. Slot is the Danish word for castle so you can see how that concept would be confusing.

Suki, the family’s Japanese cleaning lady comes every Tuesday at 8:30am. At 8:00am, Laura (who was discovered to have Asian racism) is at the door barking her petite brains out. When Suki finally arrives, Laura proceeds to follow her around and bark at her. Tomorrow is Tuesday.

Western Denmark Study Tour.

The architecture students spent the weekend touring the rural cities of Western Denmark. We visited and sketched different places of architectural importance, experienced Denmark’s culture outside of Copenhagen and slept in hostels.

Day 1
Trapholt Museum of Art
Koldinghus Castle



Børnekulturhusset St.Nicolai (a preschool) Architect: Dorte Mandrup, Photo: Me in "the cloud", a glass ball pit located on the second level of the building. The glass pit is located over the arts and crafts room.


Nordkraft (previous electric facility, adaptive re-use project)

Day 2
Aalborg University (focus on virtual environment technology)
Utzon Center, Danish Architect: Jørn Utzon (famous for the design of the Sydney Opera House)


Day 3
Århus Krematorium Kapel
Hejmdal Cancer Center, Architect: Frank Gehry



Århus Radhus
ARoS Museum

Make it Work.

I spent every day of the following week in our studio, working on assignment 1. Thursday, my group and I worked through the night to finish Friday morning at 7 am. We slept for a couple hours and then presented our project multiple times to students and faculty. (model photos to come)