Architecture should make our lives better and buildings should give back to their surroundings. Because once a building is built, it's not going anywhere for decades to come. Ane Cortzen explores how, in this day and age, we still end up with architecture that goes wrong when she asks if there was an architect present.
Architecture should make our lives better and buildings should give back to their surroundings. Because once a building is built, it's probably not going anywhere for decades to come. Ane Cortzen explores how, in this day and age, we still end up with architecture that goes wrong when she asks if there was an architect present.
4 episodes
At the Aarhus harbor, Navitas was meant to be a bastion of architectural quality. Everyone expected a building in such a prominent location to welcome visitors and give back to its surroundings. But Ane Cortzen can’t find the inviting staircase or the transparent structure that Aarhus was promised.
Runtime: 28 minIn Copenhagen, Denmark’s largest hotel has been erected right where people enter the capital and its harbor. The goal wasn’t to recreate the criticized 1990s monoliths by the waterfront—but the hotel’s facade shows we’ve hardly learned anything. Ane Cortzen chases down who is responsible for the building turning out this way.
Runtime: 28 minLilli Gyldenkildes Torv in Horsens promised golden opportunities and green surroundings as part of a new public housing project—but today it stands as a car-oriented development rather than a people-friendly space. Ane Cortzen seeks to understand why Horsens didn’t get the airy, green construction they were promised.
Runtime: 28 minIn Asserbo Plantation, massive summer-house developments have led to the felling of mature trees and natural landscape. Why can’t good architecture coexist with nature? Ane Cortzen ventures into the forest to ask where the trees went.
Runtime: 28 minAne Cortzen is once again pursuing architectural scandals. Because even though architecture is supposed to make our lives better and buildings last for decades, things still go wrong when we build. Why do we keep getting it wrong? Follow her around the country as she asks if an architect has been present.
4 episodes
In Copenhagen, the city’s tallest residential tower in recent memory has sparked outrage. Rising 100 meters on Carlsberg’s old brewery grounds, Bohrs Tårn dominates the skyline—but Ane Cortzen investigates why this tower, visible from across the capital, received so little architectural love.
Runtime: 29 minA new pavilion on Ringsted Torv was supposed to be an elegant jewel box—but the townspeople got what looks more like a massive lump. Ane Cortzen goes searching to find out if there truly was an architect present at this unique site.
Runtime: 29 minWhat does it take to build on the highest point of the cathedral city of Viborg? It calls for grand architecture—yet Viborg’s new hotel, Peak 12, falls far short. Ane Cortzen hunts for the architect and the person responsible for the city’s concrete block.
Runtime: 29 minA massive housing development in Bagsværd sits like a fist in the suburb’s center—and there’s one big problem: it’s nothing like what politicians approved. Ane Cortzen explores whether there was even an architect present in this suburban project.
Runtime: 29 minAne Cortzen is once again pursuing architectural scandals. Because even though architecture is supposed to make our lives better and buildings last for decades, things still go wrong when we build. Why do we keep getting it wrong? Follow her around the country as she asks if an architect has been present.
4 episodes
In Hjørring, the old slaughterhouse grounds were to be transformed into a vibrant town center—but all the grand visions for the new square have vanished. Ane Cortzen asks whether an architect was present at Bispetorv.
Runtime: 28 minOn the “sunshine island,” two rows of newly built blocks sparked drama in the small fishing village of Tejn. The new harbor homes were placed so far into the water’s edge that the sea has eroded beneath them. Ane Cortzen wonders if there was truly an architect on site.
Runtime: 29 minHow does a brand-new school become a massive scandal? Ane Cortzen investigates this question in Skærbæk, asking whether an architect was present during the construction of Tønder Municipality’s largest public building ever.
Runtime: 28 minWhat was meant to be one of the largest urban development projects collapsed completely. Ane Cortzen visits Vinge, intended as the future town outside Frederikssund—and in the middle of the field, she searches for signs that an architect was ever involved.
Runtime: 29 minAne Cortzen is once again pursuing architectural scandals. Because even though architecture is supposed to make our lives better and buildings last for decades, things still go wrong when we build. Why do we keep getting it wrong? Follow her around the country as she asks if an architect has been present.
4 episodes
In the dune landscape, a new water park has been dropped—and with it, a gigantic waterslide that has sparked public anger. Here, new buildings were supposed to adapt to the terrain. Ane Cortzen examines whether an architect was present in Søndervig.
Runtime: 29 minDisappointment over Aarhus’ tallest building, Unity, is so great that it’s called a tragedy. It’s visible from afar, and many are furious. Ane Cortzen looks both high and far to see if an architect was involved.
Runtime: 29 minLolland has gotten what Ane Cortzen calls the worst-placed building. Right next to the national industrial monument—the sugar factory in Holeby—the island’s largest hotel was built, looking more like an elaborate slum. She wonders if an architect was present.
Runtime: 29 minCinemas and cultural buildings should attract us—but in Frederikshavn, things went wrong. The new cinema resembles a bunker or concrete block. Ane Cortzen searches for whether one (or more) architects were present in the town’s cultural and political center.
Runtime: 29 min