Kenzō Tange Lecture: Dorte Mandrup, “Conditions of Place & Form”

Throughout the last 25 years, Copenhagen-based architect Dorte Mandrup has specialized in projects that require a high degree of consideration and care, balancing pragmatics and creative exploration. For Mandrup, a building’s context is much more than the physical elements that you can see, touch, and feel. It includes the invisible layers of memory, emotion, and identity that give a place meaning. Her architecture is characterized by its attention to context in both spectacular and fragile landscapes, and places grappling with uncomfortable historical events.

In this lecture, Mandrup will discuss the importance of context in the studio’s work, including projects that engage with the yellow-brown marshes of the Wadden Sea, the vast scale of the Arctic, the mythical landscape beneath the surface of the Norwegian Sea, and the difficult memories imprinted on the ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin.

Speaker:

Danish architect Dorte Mandrup is the principal and creative director of the Copenhagen-based architecture studio Dorte Mandrup, which she established in 1999. The studio is internationally recognized for their ability to create architecture that actively engages with the complexities of each place and contributes with new relevance. Using the entire context as a conceptual starting point, Mandrup employs an artistic, humanistic, and scientific approach to create designs that enhance the awareness and experience of each place. In recent years, Mandrup has distinguished herself in the architectural field with extraordinary projects like The Whale in Norway, the Exile Museum in Berlin, Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre in Canada, and Ilulissat Icefjord Centre in Greenland.

Dorte Mandrup has received numerous national and international awards for her work. She headlined the international exhibition at La Biennale de Venezia in 2018, chaired the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2019, serves as Vice Chairman of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, and is a member of Akademi der Künste in Berlin. Mandrup is also Honorary Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Design and Conservation, Adjunct Professor at Accademia de Architettura de Mendrisio in Switzerland, and the spring 2025 Kenzō Tange Design Critic in Architecture at the Harvard GSD.

0:00 Welcome by Sarah Rafson
02:04 Introduction by Grace La
08:08 Lecture by Dorte Mandrup
01:04:46 Q+A