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01/04

Danish Design Trip

Girls enjoyed an Art & Design trip to Copenhagen this month, one of the dozens of trips that take place each year to help open pupils’ minds to new experiences.

Visiting modern art galleries, interiors shops, museums and architecture, Year 10 pupils explored many of the Danish capital’s design highlights. Penelope reports back on the weekend:

‘The Copenhagen trip was an incredible insight into a re-imagined city. A highlight for me was definitely the Louisiana Gallery, where one artist projected images on the ceiling and got the viewers to lie on beds. I also loved the Yayoi Kusama exhibition – an ‘infinity room’ with mirrors on the walls, which made the hanging LED lights seem to go on forever.  Another fun activity was Tivoli Gardens. A definite favourite was the ‘Time Travellers’ ride, a somewhat crazy version of spinning teacups. Another popular one involved a ride on wooden ‘pirate ship’, set to music, with rather dramatic smoke and light effects. 

The following day, we were given an architecture tour around Ørestad, where many new buildings have sprung up in recent years during the city’s redevelopment. It was fascinating to see how Danish architects focused on both the social and trust aspects in society and incorporated these ideas into their designs; for example, a park contained both benches and portable chairs that could be moved and redeployed to create seating groups for different numbers of people. It was also interesting to note how they create mixed housing for people with different incomes, to increase the economic diversity of the area.

Whilst on the trip, we were given plenty of time to do our own sightseeing and shopping: eating pizza by the water in Nyhaven and exploring the food market in Norreport. One evening, we did an escape room activity, where three teams of both students and teachers competed – a great lesson in independent thinking and problem solving!

On the last day, we visited the studio of the architecture firm 3XN, which designed the AC Hotel in Copenhagen as well as the Cube in Berlin. This was a fascinating insight into how architects work, from the stages of entering a competition to winning a contract, to sketching out ideas for designs and modelling them, to deciding materials. We were shown a new method of building, using concrete that they had developed, where the pieces could be taken apart when the building was no longer needed and reused somewhere else.

The Copenhagen trip revealed much about the design world to me and encouraged me to think outside the box more often. It also showed me that it is possible, when the government works with citizens, to make a functioning city that attempts to be as sustainable and social as possible. Finally, I would like to thank both of the teachers that accompanied us on this amazing trip – the time we spent in Copenhagen was absolutely incredible and is an experience I will never forget!’

 

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