“Dome of Visions” by Kristoffer Tejlgaard & Benny Jepsen // Copenhagen, Denmark.

Photo courtesy of Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen.

Photo courtesy of Søren Aagaard.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Kronborg Grevsen.

Photo courtesy of Søren Aagaard.

Dearest Yellowtracers, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to our newest contributor – Samuel Dowleysmith – our very own Yellowtracer in Scandinavia. Sam is originally from Melbourne, and completely crazed by design, everything new-age and technology based. He speaks English, French and ‘en lille smule’ Dansk. Sam recently graduated with an M.A.A from Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademis Arkitektskole (The Royal Danish Academy of Arts’ School of Architecture) after two years studying and living in Copenhagen. Whilst seeking employment as an architect in Copenhagen, he developed an obsession for architectural writing and publishing. Please make him feel welcome! – Mama Yellowtrace x

For all those old school ‘Bucky’ Fuller fans out there. Beware! This project will have you going triangles for Scandinavian sustainable design. Copenhagen’s ‘Dome of Visions’ Project is the experimental love sapling conceived by architects Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen in collaboration with construction firm NCC.

Intelligently playing on the contemporary greenhouse metaphor and inspired by the futurist ideals voiced by good ol’ ‘Bucky’ Fuller, the Dome acts like a monument on the edge of Copenhagen’s main canal, attracting unwitting design buffs, like myself, to a sexy piece of exo-skeleton. Whilst its transparent, scaly, polycarbonate shell, shields an array of terraces supporting a fragrant variety of plant life, cultural events and seminars; occasionally involving some guy walking a tight rope, who wouldn’t pass by, look in and think ‘what the …’?

Related Post: #YellowtraceTravels // Copenhagen, Denmark.

Photo courtesy of Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen.

Photo courtesy of Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen.

Photo courtesy of Søren Aagaard.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Kronborg Grevsen.

From the structural members to the interior finishes, the Dome can be deconstructed and reconstructed time and again using the same materials as it travels throughout Denmark, advocating and exemplifying sustainable design practice. And boy, this project advocates it oh-so-well! Have a closer squiz at that interior. Are your timber-taste-buds tingling yet? Whether it’s the hardwood terraces, the light pine studio house space in the middle or the sphere of structural members floating above, the interior breathes that warm and cozy feeling that the Danes and I go nuts for. Strengthened by the contrast created by the visual exposure to the exterior, the Dome’s soft, warm interior hosts an array of cultural seminars by architects and designers from around the globe to discuss issues of sustainability. Ah it makes it so much easier to appreciate awesome design, if it’s actively doing a good thing too.

Planning on staying in Copenhagen until mid-2015, this gem of a building stands as a platform for some pretty cozy discussion on some pretty tough topics. Even though it’s all soft and warm on the inside, I am pretty sure this dome of visions would have done Bucky proud.

Related Post: #YellowtraceTravels // Copenhagen, Denmark.

[Images courtesy of Jonathan Kronborg Grevsen, Søren Aagaard, Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen.]