Project 1- Jørn Utzon
1. Title/project name
Bagsværd Church
2. Architect
Jorn Oberg utzon
3. Client
Congregational Council of the Bagsvaerd sign.
4. Location
Bagsvaerd - Denmark
Aerial photos of the city of Bagsvaerd including the Bagsvaerd church location and its surroundings as well as a google earth screen grab of the church and its surroundings including the Bagsvaerd city outline.
5. About the project
Jorn Utzon was presented with the opportunity to design Bagsværd Church in 1967. However the lead up to this began back in 1538 when the church in Bagsværd was pulled down on the orders of the king so that the stones could be used to repair the old Catholic bishop's palace. As time passed there became an increasing interest in restoring a church to its rightful place in Bagsværd. This is where Utzon becomes entangled in the creation of the new Bagsværd church. In a ten year process catalyzed by an architectural exhibition in Gladsaxe, Denmark, in 1967, where Utzon included a competition project from the preceding year for Farum Town Centre . It was this that caught the eyes of the congregational council, in the coming year Utzon had drawn up two often published sketches, one with a group of people under the clouds on a beach, the other with people in procession towards a cross below a vaulted ceiling. The sketches illustrate how he explained the overall concept for the project to the Congregation (12). After a period of struggle due to lack of financial support contractors Christiane & Nielsen asserted their presence allowing construction to begin through the forthcoming three years.
Utzon during the creation of the church was aiming to portray the use of light in soft nature
The key concept that Utzon was showing in his two sketches for Bagsværd Church is expressed by the ceiling, from which a sensation of infinity emerges. The ceiling spans the whole width of the main space and ascends dramatically from the entrance, where it is low, upwards over the altar. Where the ceiling is highest, there is a window opening to the west across the whole width of the space, letting daylight in and accentuating the verticality of the space. In the afternoon, when most church services take place, the space is lit up by the light from the sky without any direct sunbeams. The indirect light is reflected on the curved surfaces of the ceiling and gives the interior a soft, graduated light that is strongest around the altar (13). Today it serves as an active part of the local community facilitating frequent masses and concerts supplied by the local choirs and is open to visitors throughout the week.
6. About the Architect
Jorn utzon- a Danish architect most notable for the design of the sydney opera house in Australia. Utzon was born in Copenhagen and grew up in Aalborg, Denmark. Following his graduation from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts he took particular interest in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. After his return to Copenhagen, in 1946 he began to travel beginning in Europe and progressing to Morocco and eventually the United States and Mexico taking inspiration along the way whilst meeting various influential architects such as Alvar Alto and Charles and Ray Eames. In his travels he gained knowledge from various cultures taking away inspiration from each such as the Chineses desire for harmony and the Japanese understanding of the interaction between interior and exterior. All this is said to have defined Jorn Utzon's architectural approach. This developed into what Utzon later referred to as additive architecture, comparing his approach to the growth patterns of nature. A design can grow like a tree, "If it grows naturally, the architecture will look after itself.”
With regards to daylight stemming from my closing quote Utzon was disposed to daylight partly from his love of nature drawing inspiration for the design of the church whilst lying on a beach in Hawaii
Proclaiming "the inspiration that I derived from the drifting clouds above the sea and the shore forming a wondrous space in which the light fell through the ceiling the clouds down on to the floor represented by the shore and the sea." (13). Additionally Utzon understood the importance of sunlight and its impact mastering the balance between direct and indirect sunlight. Utzon recognised the discomfort that comes with direct sunlight and its potential to create glare comprehending how to incorporate just the right amount of direct sunlight into a building bringing the satisfaction of sunwashed and daylit surfaces while excluding discomfort glare through correct use of materials viewing the architects role to place materials in the path of sunlight so as to capture it, redirect it, diffuse it and let its presence be seen as its felt (13).
7. About the location
In terms of the general location Bagsværd is located 12 km northwest of central Copenhagen, in the Gladsaxe Municipality. It has a latitude of 55.7 degrees with a warm season of 3.1 months and an average temperature of 17 Degrees during winter it has an average temperature of 6 degrees with the cold season lasting 3.9 months.
Bagsværd experience varying average daylight throughout the year ranging from 17.1 hours experienced in June to 7.1 hours in December this is mimicked in the uv index with Bagsværd receiving an average uv index of 6 in June and 0 in December (14).
With Bagsvaerd being located in Denmark it experiences what is known as Nordic light. In Scandinavian countries the light is a particular feature due to their latitude the sun is low for most of the year as the light is coming across rather than straight down. The sun moves towards the horizon and is no longer passing overhead in the upper atmosphere but through a line in the atmosphere and is now at its longest path on the deepest path coming through the horizon. If there is any form of particulate on this horizon such as pollution the sunlight interacts with the particulates enhancing the orange and reds this results in dramatic sunrises and sunsets .
Bagsværd has developed as somewhat of a commuting town defines as a small suburb dominated by
the Bagsværd Towers, two high-rise apartment blocks situated in its centre. The suburb is connected via the S-train with three stops between it and Copenhagen.
8. Critique of the project
In terms of project critique I quite enjoy this project and feel it has been quite carefully planned out and designed. However I personally feel although Utzon's choice of material throughout the church was quite successful I would disagree with his choice of exposed concrete in the hallways leading to the centre of the building.
I say this as I feel the bare concrete creates a cold and unwelcoming environment in hallways this is due to unpolished concrete only having a reflectance percentage of 25%. Although there is no risk of glare I feel Utzon leaned slightly too far towards pure black failing to find the ideal real material for the required task.
10. Additional information
In addition to the information I have conveyed above Utzon was aware of the spiritual side of his project. Due to this he has made use of a form of zenithal light Stemming from the curved ceiling design implemented as an expression of the spiritual light of god. Although it's not direct light being received from an oculus I personally feel the diffusion of light makes it a softer and more welcoming environment. With the recognition of this religious space Utzon was very particular about his geometric decisions in the design of the Church basic Euclidean shapes are used throughout, for example in the triangulated altarpiece screening, the circular ceiling, and the squared plan. In the church, they create a complex set of references. The geometric forms do not only parallel sources of inspiration and propose interpretations they also provide the building with a universal character creating an open and inviting environment (15).
Additionally Utzon has previously expressed his personal visual sensitivity to daylight. This sensitivity in his eyes created a particular concern for Utzon nearly drawing him further into the subject matter. As a result this sensitivity is implemented into his projects putting particular emphasis on material and surface choice This is confirmed by his other projects even the Sydney Opera House, whose shells are sheathed in a quilt of matte and gloss finish ceramic tiles that mediate its reflective qualities. Thankfully despite this extreme sensitivity Utzon understood the importance of daylight and never tried to eliminate its controlled relationships between interior and exterior spaces (16).
Bibliography
12. En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Jørn Utzon. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B8rn_Utzon> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
13. En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Jørn Utzon. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B8rn_Utzon> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
14. weather atlas. 2020. Monthly Weather Forecast And Climate Copenhagen. [online] Available at: <https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/denmark/copenhagen-climate> [Accessed 22 October 2020].
15. Schwartz, M., 2020. Form And Performance: Daylight As A Generator Of Design At Jorn Utzon’S “Can Lis” – Martinschwartz.Net. [online] Martinschwartz.net. Available at: <http://martinschwartz.net/writings/form-and-performance-daylight-as-a-generator-of-design-at-jorn-utzons-can-lis/> [Accessed 23 October 2020].
16. Asgaard Andersen, M., 2020. [online] Arkitekturforskning.net. Available at: <http://arkitekturforskning.net/na/article/viewFile/190/153> [Accessed 24 October 2020].
