Guardians of the Deep:
Building Life Story of The Viking Legacy
Date: 2024 May
Instructor: Billie Faircloth, Christopher Connock
Team: Bohan Lang
University of Pennsylvania
Urban void space photo documentation.A story from studies of material culture explains how life, care, and adaptation inform this studio’s theme: Nearly a century ago, skimmed milk, cotton, and molasses were featured as the go-to feedstocks for architectural plastics. Plastics mixed from these bio-based raw materials were thermally treatable and beneficially pliable— fundamental properties for making doorknobs, switchplates, pipes, and wall panels (British Plastics Federation, 1944). However, people soon discovered unforgivable deficiencies in these products— brittleness, discoloration, degradation, and an overwhelming sense of unreliability.
The Building Life Studio explores a multi-dimensional and complicated relationship between architecture and extraction, construction, inhabitation, and reuse scenarios (Banham, 1984). We will set aside the presumptive convenience that these four form a linear relationship. Instead, we’ll start in the middle by studying existing buildings, where patterns of adapting and caring unfold daily amid social, political, and economic forces. Our research begins in Copenhagen and Roskilde, where news headlines reveal how people are wrestling with designing and planning the built environment to address the immediacy of sea level rise, embodied carbon conservation, biodiversity loss, migration, and cultural heritage.
Our focus will shift to the Municipality of Roskilde, the Roskilde Fjord, its ecological and social history, and cultural artifacts housed at the inundated and threatened Viking Ship Museum and Museum Island (ICOMOS, 2022; Viking Ship Museum, 2024). What do we learn about architecture’s limitations and strengths in these settings as people own, use, maintain, repair, replace, and refurbish buildings? How do these seemingly unexceptional daily interactions with buildings become the basis for rethinking a response to the climate emergency? New approaches to adapting and caring could now be the most radical forms of architectural disruption.
Plan: An assemble plan shows a combination of a public bar( ground floor), a semi-public winery(second floor), and private housing(third floor) from left to right.
In our exploration, the ship emerges as a pivotal element, symbolizing a nexus of memory, history, cultural, and technical significance. Through various methods, we investigate how the presence, partial presence, or even absence of a ship influences a building's lifespan and functionality. We aim to delve into the myriad ways in which ships, as architectural motifs or inspirations, enhance the resilience of buildings, thereby ensuring their enduring utility and relevance.
we value the SHIP as an artifact from its cultural significance to its technical aspect
We value preservation of the SHIP, tangibly and intangibly
We value the importance representing of the SHIP
We image three scenarios
1. Ship on “SHIP” | Decentralized | Dynamic | Master planning
2. Around the “SHIP” | Static | Infrastructure
3. Beyond tangible of the “SHIP” | Evoke | Adaptive reuse
Scenario 1 Site Plan
Scenario 2 Site Plan
Scenario 3 Site Plan
SCENARIO 1: VIKING ODYSSEY
South Façade Elevation: xxxxx
In 1962, amidst the chill of Nordic winds, the discovery of five Viking ships set the stage for a tale of history, debate, and innovation. Leading the charge was Olaf Olsen, a figure of authority and passion in archaeology, who spearheaded the excavation from July 5th to October 17th(Crumlin-Pedersen 2002,84). As the earth gave up its ancient secrets, the question of where these venerable vessels should reside ignited discussions across Denmark.
What if the pivotal coordination meeting convened on November 22nd, 1962, at the excavation site. The discussion brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including Julius Bomholt, the Minister of Cultural Affairs; Ole Crumlin, Technical Director from Perberhomen; Olaf Olsen, Archaeologist and Museum Director; Henner Bahnson, Geologist; Brorson Christensen, PEG Scientist representing the excavation site; Jorgen Christiansen, Mayor of
Frederikssund; representatives from the Outdoor Council and the Ministry of Education; and Borge Juel Hansen, Mayor of Roskilde.
Each delegate passionately presents their vision, the fervor in their voices mirroring the depth of their connection to Viking legacy. Yet, it is Olsen, with a
twinkle of ingenuity in his eye, who shifts the course of the debate. His voice, steady yet full of excitement, proposes not just a solution but a revolution: a
floating museum, a vessel to carry the Viking legacy across the fjord, docking at Perberhomen, Frederikssund, and Roskilde in a perpetual journey
through time. Olsen’s proposal transcends the confines of geography, envisioning a constant traveling experience across the fjord to multiple locations,
expanding the influence of Viking culture. At the conclusion of the meeting, Julius Bomholt approves a proposal divided into three phases: 1. Construct
the floating exhibition and develop a port of call at Roskilde Harbor; 2. Develop a port of call at cofferdam; 3. Develop a port of call at Frederikssund
Kalvøen.
Olsen’s spark became a beacon, instilling the project with the wisdom that true preservation lies not in static display but in the living narrative of history.
Thus, through Olsen’s vision , the Viking ships embarked on a new odyssey, not confined to the realms of earth and time but sailing forth on a journey of
education, unity, and inspiration. The floating museum became a symbol of collaboration, a vessel where the Viking spirit continued to navigate the
modern world, bridging gaps, and igniting imaginations with the rich tapestry of Nordic heritage.
