Dream of Tower - Danish Architecture Center

Dream of Tower
Danish Architecture Center
Copenhagen, Denmark

The exhibition will be on view through October 2005.

Photo courtesy DAC

“The tower reaches into the sky and expresses our eternal endeavour to show what we can jointly accomplish, and what we believe in. From Antiquity to the current soaring growth in Asian cities, the elements heaven, city and tower have played a pivotal role in creating identity, culture and growth – a common vision for our daily lives.
A vision that tells us who we are and gives us identity – gives us a name. In Antiquity, a common vision, identity and name should ensure unity of the family, the tribe and the state. Today, cohesion of multicultural urban regions and international companies is achieved by building brands. We “brandbuild” and name our worlds by erecting skyscrapers as a symbol of our common aspirations.”
Kent Martinussen
CEO Danish Architecture Center

Photo courtesy DAC

The exhibition is organised around three themes; a historic overview of the dreams and visions, an emotional experience of the global city skyline, and the physical experience of being inside a skyscraper.

The first exhibition room focuses on man’s perpetual vision of building upwards - from the Tower of Babel to Norman Foster’s design for the Millennium Tower - on buildings that represent the dream of reaching the sky, building the best and the tallest.

Photo courtesy DAC

Photo arcspace

In the center of the room visitors can see a model of the spectacular Tatlin Tower, which was the Soviet Union’s suggestion for a skyscraper at the World Exhibition in 1919.

Photo: arcspace

From New York and Chicago to the myriad of new skylines that spring up like mushrooms in Asia, the second exhibition room shows the high-rise buildings in their proper surroundings – the city.
All the models are the same scale (1:200) giving visitors a real sense of their proportions.

Photo: arcspace

A row of “View machines” give 360 degree views over the metropoles of the world.

Photo: arcspace

The last exhibition room focuses on engineering and building technologies focusing on the most important preconditions for high-rise buildings; the invention on the lift, eartquake safety, energy consumption, interior climate etc.
You learn curious details and facts; like the Empire State Building in New York uses 3,194.547 light bulbs and St. Mary’s Axe in London can manage vertical transportation of 378 people at the same time.

Photo: arcspace

Visitors can also experience the view towards Copenhagen from Santiago Calatrava’s “Turning Torso” and follow the construction in the program Extreme Engineering from Discovery Channel.

Photo: arcspace

“Let’s build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
Genesis, Chapter 11
The City of Babel
The Old Testament

Dream of Tower is sponsored by Fonden Realdania.
The exhibition is a redevelopment of the exhibition Der Traum vom Turm, organized by the NRW-Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Düsseldorf.

A catalog is available in English
Gammel Dok (DCA) Danish Architecture Centre

August 22, 2005







		EXHIBITION		Features
		Dream of Tower Danish Architecture Center Copenhagen, Denmark The exhibition will be on view through October 2005. Photo courtesy DAC “The tower reaches into the sky and expresses our eternal endeavour to show what we can jointly accomplish, and what we believe in. From Antiquity to the current soaring growth in Asian cities, the elements heaven, city and tower have played a pivotal role in creating identity, culture and growth – a common vision for our daily lives. A vision that tells us who we are and gives us identity – gives us a name. In Antiquity, a common vision, identity and name should ensure unity of the family, the tribe and the state. Today, cohesion of multicultural urban regions and international companies is achieved by building brands. We “brandbuild” and name our worlds by erecting skyscrapers as a symbol of our common aspirations.” Kent Martinussen CEO Danish Architecture Center Photo courtesy DAC The exhibition is organised around three themes; a historic overview of the dreams and visions, an emotional experience of the global city skyline, and the physical experience of being inside a skyscraper. The first exhibition room focuses on man’s perpetual vision of building upwards - from the Tower of Babel to Norman Foster’s design for the Millennium Tower - on buildings that represent the dream of reaching the sky, building the best and the tallest. Photo courtesy DAC Photo arcspace Photo arcspace In the center of the room visitors can see a model of the spectacular Tatlin Tower, which was the Soviet Union’s suggestion for a skyscraper at the World Exhibition in 1919. Photo: arcspace From New York and Chicago to the myriad of new skylines that spring up like mushrooms in Asia, the second exhibition room shows the high-rise buildings in their proper surroundings – the city. All the models are the same scale (1:200) giving visitors a real sense of their proportions. Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace A row of “View machines” give 360 degree views over the metropoles of the world. Photo: arcspace The last exhibition room focuses on engineering and building technologies focusing on the most important preconditions for high-rise buildings; the invention on the lift, eartquake safety, energy consumption, interior climate etc. You learn curious details and facts; like the Empire State Building in New York uses 3,194.547 light bulbs and St. Mary’s Axe in London can manage vertical transportation of 378 people at the same time. Photo: arcspace Visitors can also experience the view towards Copenhagen from Santiago Calatrava’s “Turning Torso” and follow the construction in the program Extreme Engineering from Discovery Channel. Photo: arcspace “Let’s build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Genesis, Chapter 11 The City of Babel The Old Testament Dream of Tower is sponsored by Fonden Realdania. The exhibition is a redevelopment of the exhibition Der Traum vom Turm, organized by the NRW-Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Düsseldorf. A catalog is available in English Gammel Dok (DCA) Danish Architecture Centre August 22, 2005