In contrast to many other concert halls, the Mogens Dahl Institute was not conceived as a ‘black box’ – instead it’s large panes of glass open up towards the courtyard. This becomes especially clear at night when the large skylight turrets on the roof shine in the dark like
In contrast to many other concert halls, the Mogens Dahl Institute was not conceived as a ‘black box’ – instead it’s large panes of glass open up towards the courtyard. This becomes especially clear at night when the large skylight turrets on the roof shine in the dark like
Exterior and previeus functions
In this colourfully mixed community of buildings, the site at Snorresgade 22 stands out due to its well-cared-for exterior. Erected in the early 20th century, the main building was originally home to a printing company. On the opposite side of the yard, an annex with a porter’s lodge, coach shed and stables for horses was built at the same time, exactly where Dahl’s Institute is accommodated. Later, it was used as a car workshop for many decades. Until just a few years ago, the ground floor was used as a car painting shop, housing all the associated equipment. The first floor was divided into small chambers by numerous partition walls and was jam-packed with spare parts. Even before the planning phase,
the building had to be completely cleared. Only gradually did the parts worth retaining come to light.
Functionality today
Today, two simple but striking black strips of lettering characterise the two buildings’ facades, which face the street and are covered in broken white plaster. The ‘Gemini’ building has become a symbol of this urban reconstruction: two former silos, right next to the water, that Dutch architects MVRDV turned into very different apartment towers for well-off customers. The old porter’s lodge next to the street is now dual-purpose. On the ground floor, there is the Institute’s administration office and the first floor can be used as a guest apartment, a meeting room or a restroom for the musicians. At first glance, you might think that the conversion of the old stables has changed it very little, as if this constituted its special strength. But that would be a mistake. Today, the institute in Copenhagen offers a unique mixture of master classes for song, piano and conductors, as well as jazz, choir and chamber concert. The large hall is a multi-functional room. Singing lessons take place here as well as rehearsals and chamber music concerts. As a result, the room has to be refurnished fairly frequently – there is no fixed seating. For a concert hall, the room is extremely intimate.
Closeness was important for Mogens Dahl: ‘Normally, the audience in concert halls is a long way away from the musicians. But here people can see all the details, smell the wooden instruments, hear the breathing of the musicians and the turning of pages of the score. Similarly, the musicians feel every change in the mood of the listeners. This kind of direct feedback is enormously important.’
Concept
Mogens Dahl explains his motivation for establishing his Institute for Music, Choir and Conducting: ‘For a long time, I worked for universities, conservatories and opera houses – old ‘heavy’ institutions in which it is frequently difficult to change the way things are done and initiate new decisions. After all those years, I felt I was ready to dare the step into freedom and become self-employed.’ Mogens Dahl compares this process of uncovering with ‘modern archaeology’: the impressive roof beam was left as it was and the necessary additional heat insulation applied. Dahl came up with his ideas for what should constitute the new institute even before the process of conversion started, some of these ideas being developed through many conversations with visitors and colleagues during the one and a half years of construction work.
Site and location
Like many other cities in Europe, Copen-hagen is currently re-discovering its waterfront. Islands Brygge, a former dockworker’s district in the east part of the city centre, in particular has developed into a focal point of new Danish architecture. This has followed a social transformation that has taken place in this part of the city. In the residential buildings from the late 19th century, the workers who once lived there have been succeeded by the young, the creative and finally the affluent, while feverish construction activity has started in the industrial facilities strewn around the quarter. Warehouses have been converted into lofts, a pencil factory now accommodates a photo studio and fitness studio, and a former barracks now houses the offices of accountants. Snorresgade is one of the few spots on Islands Brygge to retain their original, slightly chaotic character. The change from temporary to permanent buildings gives the area something of the atmosphere of the Klondike. Opposite the district’s old church there is a new kindergarten, next to it the brick building of a shipping company and, right at the end of the street, a collection of wooden huts whose owners rent out horse-drawn carriages.
At the beginning of 2006, the Mogens Dahl Institute for classical and contemporary Music moved into a converted car workshop, on Islands Brygge, a former dockworkers’ district in Copenhagen. Its light-filled, spacious and yet intimate rooms are the result of a strenuous process of archaeological recovery and conservation.
Variations in white
Frank Maali never tires of stressing the importance of daylight for his design: ‘Daylight is enormously important and now that the building is finished, it’s clear that we were on the right track in terms of design when we decided to install skylights or high sidelightingin the dark rooms. The building could never function as a music school if we hadn’t done all this.’storical model.
Variations in white
Frank Maali never tires of stressing the importance of daylight for his design: ‘Daylight is enormously important and now that the building is finished, it’s clear that we were on the right track in terms of design when we decided to install skylights or high sidelightingin the dark rooms. The building could never function as a music school if we hadn’t done all this.’storical model.
Materials and construction
With the exception of the foyer and its oversized staircase with its high steel sides, the rooms of the Institute are almost completely white. The brick walls have been plastered but the structure of the brickwork is still detectable. The wooden roof beam and the heavy steel girders of the gallery have been painted white. Even the new, three centimetre thick wooden floorboards have been treated with a translucent white paint. Only the black, slim steel frames of the windows and glass doors through which the hall opens onto the yard contrast with the monochrome interior. No decision on the acoustic measures necessary was made by the client and his architects until the conversion process itself. They were as- sisted by the experienced acoustics planner, Jan Voetmann. After a series of exhaustive tests, he decided on the installation of perforated acoustic panels on the rear wall of the large hall. They were necessary because of the extensive hard surface materials such as steel, wood and glass and are intended to reduce the reverberation time in the room to an optimum.
Skylight
Before the beginning of the project, Frank Maali and Gemma Lalanda were clearer about the light effect they wanted. In place of dim daylight coming in through a few vertical windows, they decided on allowing generous amounts of light to enter the room from above but without any glare. To this end, four new skylight turrets, from both sides of which light enters the interior, were mounted on the roof. The direct south light is diffused by large alabaster glass windows whereas the indirect north light reflected skylights have been added. On the north side, large centre- pivot windows have been fitted and, in the south, small windows with dark semicircular arched frames that were specially developed for old buildings that are listed as historical monuments. With the exception of the stay peg that holds the window in the open position, they are based on a hi Frank Maali never tires of stressing the importance of daylight for his design: ‘Daylight is enormously important and now that the building is finished, it’s clear that we were on the right track in terms of design when we decided to install skylights or high sidelightingin the dark rooms. The building could never function as a music school if we hadn’t done all this.’storical model.
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