Wonderful Copenhack
Wonderful Copenhack is a satirical critique of inequality in urban space. Done as part of Emergency Architecture & Human Rights
Type of project:
Architectural Critique, Satire, Mapping, On-site Interventions, Carpentry,
Critical Spatial Practice, Education, Public Awareness, Activism
Years active:
2023-ongoing
Location:
Copenhagen, Denmark
With:
Emergency Architecture & Human Rights
Architectural Critique, Satire, Mapping, On-site Interventions, Carpentry,
Critical Spatial Practice, Education, Public Awareness, Activism
Years active:
2023-ongoing
Location:
Copenhagen, Denmark
With:
Emergency Architecture & Human Rights
Copenhagen is a city much revered for its architecture, urban planning, and liveability. Yet, if one begins to scratch the surface of this rosy red image, another Copenhagen is revealed, leading much to be desired: Hostile design targeting the homeless and most vulnerable populations; personal storage facilities popping up and taking over large areas of the city in the midst of a housing crisis; and diverse, alternative living situations being shut down to make way for the gentrified, globalised and monotonous;
In the summer of 2023, the UIA World Congress of Architecture was held in Copenhagen. Afterwards they released a utopic document called the “10 Copenhagen Lessons”. Much like the Sustainable Development Goals, they are hard to disagree with. Who do not want “Dignity and agency for all people”? Or think that carbon capture shouldn’t exceed carbon footprint? But in practice, all the good intentions in the world are often expressed very differently.
Wonderful Copenhack is a playful counternarrative to these utopic Copenhagen Lessons, and the idea that the Danish Capital is without fault.
I’ve been personally involved in all the projects presented below, as an architect, researcher, educator and carpenter.
In the summer of 2023, the UIA World Congress of Architecture was held in Copenhagen. Afterwards they released a utopic document called the “10 Copenhagen Lessons”. Much like the Sustainable Development Goals, they are hard to disagree with. Who do not want “Dignity and agency for all people”? Or think that carbon capture shouldn’t exceed carbon footprint? But in practice, all the good intentions in the world are often expressed very differently.
Wonderful Copenhack is a playful counternarrative to these utopic Copenhagen Lessons, and the idea that the Danish Capital is without fault.
I’ve been personally involved in all the projects presented below, as an architect, researcher, educator and carpenter.
The unofficial city map of Copenhagen
Satirical mapping of Copenhagen, that shed light on urban inequality and hostile design. Doubles as the “Copenhack Lessons”. Printed as foldable maps mimicking the official tourist maps of Copenhagen, and distributed to bars, libraries and transportation hubs across the city.
The maps/lessons:
1. How to pee like a local
2. How to hide your homeless
3. How to kick out your squatters
4. How to store your junk
5. How to take advantage of your foreign students
More maps are in development and a book is underway.
Satirical mapping of Copenhagen, that shed light on urban inequality and hostile design. Doubles as the “Copenhack Lessons”. Printed as foldable maps mimicking the official tourist maps of Copenhagen, and distributed to bars, libraries and transportation hubs across the city.
The maps/lessons:
1. How to pee like a local
2. How to hide your homeless
3. How to kick out your squatters
4. How to store your junk
5. How to take advantage of your foreign students
More maps are in development and a book is underway.
Hostile furniture for sale
Furniture tags in an IKEA-style, placed on various hostile designs around Copenhagen.
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Furniture tags in an IKEA-style, placed on various hostile designs around Copenhagen.
A classic Copenhagen-bench, with an added coffee table for more caffé latte and less homeless
Bunk beds for Hugs & Food
Custom design and construction of bunk beds with built-in storage at Hugs & Food, a day shelter for rough sleepers and drug users in central Copenhagen.
Hugs & Food offer essential services - like a hot meal, a place to sleep for a few hours, a shave and a warm shower, fresh socks and shoes, basic medical services and storage lockers for the important valuables (identity papers, legal documents, heirlooms, etc.) - at no cost, and in a comfortable cafe-like environment that bring back a sense of normality to the city’s most vulnerable.
Hugs & Food is part of Kirkens Korshær (DanChurchSocial)
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Custom design and construction of bunk beds with built-in storage at Hugs & Food, a day shelter for rough sleepers and drug users in central Copenhagen.
Hugs & Food offer essential services - like a hot meal, a place to sleep for a few hours, a shave and a warm shower, fresh socks and shoes, basic medical services and storage lockers for the important valuables (identity papers, legal documents, heirlooms, etc.) - at no cost, and in a comfortable cafe-like environment that bring back a sense of normality to the city’s most vulnerable.
Hugs & Food is part of Kirkens Korshær (DanChurchSocial)
The Copenhack Lab
Upcoming workshops in Hostile Design for the architecture and design students at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. I will be the main teacher and facilitator at the workshop.
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Upcoming workshops in Hostile Design for the architecture and design students at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. I will be the main teacher and facilitator at the workshop.
Emergency Architecture & Human Rights (EAHR)
is a non-profit organisation employing spatial tools to fight inequality in the built environment. The team consists of both architects, anthropologists, and social scientists, which is reflected in their interdisciplinary approach and innovative projects all over the world.
Their projects span broadly: from schools in Syrian refugee camps, to earthquake-proof cultural centres in Nepal, and citisen engagement in impoverished neighbourhoods in Denmark.
is a non-profit organisation employing spatial tools to fight inequality in the built environment. The team consists of both architects, anthropologists, and social scientists, which is reflected in their interdisciplinary approach and innovative projects all over the world.
Their projects span broadly: from schools in Syrian refugee camps, to earthquake-proof cultural centres in Nepal, and citisen engagement in impoverished neighbourhoods in Denmark.