Un-fragmented Nostalgia
Public Condenser, Copenhagen
Y. Li (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Paul Kuitenbrouwer – Mentor (TU Delft - Public Building and Housing Design)
E. Karanastasi – Mentor (TU Delft - Teachers of Practice / AE+T)
S. Corbo – Mentor (TU Delft - Public Building and Housing Design)
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Abstract
This public condenser in Copenhagen will serve as a catalyst for social connection, playing a crucial role in collectively addressing depression. It investigates the relationship between public buildings and public mental health, grounded in the five pillars of the graduation studio: multiplicity, hybridity, resilience, healthiness, and sustainability. Within the Master track, the project explores architecture as spatial and physical settings that intervene in the psychological and behavioral context, contributing to a broader interdisciplinary approach. For the Master programme, it demonstrates the potential of the built environment to address pressing societal issues.
To develop a design strategy that addresses the abstract concept of subjective recognition, the research incorporated a social-science theory of placemaking and place attachment from the field of environmental psychology. This theory helped bridge the gap between spatial settings and mental states. It informed the design of coexistence of functions that create meaningful memory, guiding the definition of space in terms of atmosphere as motivation, eventness as catalyst, and multiplicity as variation.
The design iterations informed the research process toward a greater focus on urban integration. The idea of "de-fragmentation" recalling the familiarity of the urban image emerged, leading the research toward an exploration of the local urban fabric, demolition, and regeneration, while also integrating the concepts of circularity and urban renovation. By materializing the nostalgic emotion into the reuse of architectural elements embedded with community memories, and coexisting with various social activities among different social groups, this public condenser will (re-) construct an emotional bond between the public and community.