KEA Charrette 2013

A waterfall running into Åboulevard creek crisscrossed with interactive bridges are some of the innovative features of the winning project at this year's Charrette. Over the course of five days, 20 KEA students and 50 students from around the world worked together to devise innovative projects that are changing the urban space and solving some very real challenges.

The students were put together in eight groups that consisted of a mix of nationalities, gender, and most importantly professions such as architects, building designers, multimedia designers, and graphic designers. Each group was given a site where they were asked to address some of the following issues as part of their proposal: the metro, flood problems, a growing elderly population with poor mobility, or how to bring together the digital and physical world in a way that benefits those who live in the city.

A jury consisting of members from highly respected institutions around the world, selected Group 3  with their project ‘Blue Creek’ as the overall winner.

Instead of a straight waterway on Åboulevard, the group developed their proposal to be a stream that weaves and winds, creating more dynamism and movement. In addition, there are a number of ‘touch-screen’ bridges that as well as making it possible to cross the creek are also interactive and playful, which invite pedestrians to actively use the urban space and additionally creates a more secure environment. A large glass roof at the intersection of Rantzausgade / Åboulevarden is designed such that it not only provides shelter from the rain, but also channels the water into the middle, where it falls like a waterfall - into the creek.

In addition, the stakeholder for Åboulevarden, Anders Jensen, asked that the project 3 and 7 are part of a presentation at the ‘Future Cities’ conference at Christiansborg. And the stakeholder for Byenshegn at Kongens Nytorv, Mimi Larsson, has expressed interest in working on project 4 and 8 with a hope of developing a solution inspired by them to actually be built in the beginning of next year.

"The Charrette went extremely well. The students gained insight into each other’s disciplines and became more aware of how to contribute within an interdisciplinary and intercultural context - which is of ever increasing importance in a modern workplace. All the participating institutions and faculty members have been very positive about the event and feel that their students have grown both professionally and personally", says Herman Bailey who teaches multimedia design at KEA and is project leader for the Charrette and continues:

"The event allows KEA to deepen and expand both cooperation and collaborations with the business community and the students are exposed to real issues from the real world as well as having the opportunity to collaborate with professionals and hear their views on a project during the development process."

A Successful event

Both the project stakeholders and the students were proud to present and discuss their project proposals at the final presentations that took place 18th October 2013.

Over the coming days the active images links will lead to a glimpse of the intensive development process that each group went through during the 5 day event.

Project Background

With the coming metro ‘City Ring’, several ‘Quarters’ located within Copenhagen will have a new level of connectivity with the rest of the city, transforming the way people can come to/from those areas. The path of the new Metro in fact brings all of the sites with a 10  minute walking distance from one of the following stations:

• Nørrebro Runddel
• Kongens Nytorv
• Nuuks Plads
• Vibenshus Runddel

In contrast to the man-made connectivity of the Metro system, many other connections have appeared between parts of the city that previously had very little in common. Recent changes in weather patterns have led to conditions that push the current infrastructure beyond their original design limits. In those situations, the excess water that is unable to drain into the sewers, remains on the surface and flows to the lowest areas of the city.

Both types of ‘connection’ will initiate other transformations that could bring great opportunities to the local communities. However, exploiting those opportunities requires focus, patience and determination.

The interdisciplinary teams of students worked together for 5 days to develop a proposal for an interactive digital/physical solution that facilitated a more sustainable and engaging way of ‘living in’ and ‘interacting with’ the locality. Each team was advised by professional experts in digital technology, urban issues, society and sustainable living.

KEA Charrette 2013 Overview