Ilulissat, Greenland
Just 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, Danish architect Dorte Mandrup along with landscape architect Kristine Jensen has completed the new sustainable Ilulissat Icefjord Centre in the harsh, yet beautiful Arctic landscape surrounded by snow and ice.
“The Icefjord Centre offers a refuge in the dramatic landscape and aims to become a natural gathering point from which you can experience the infinite, non-human scale of the Arctic wilderness, the transition between darkness and light, the midnight sun, and the Northern lights dancing across the sky,” says Dorte Mandrup.
Τhe streamlined building blends effortlessly into the landscape and offers a unique vantage point from which to experience the astonishing Icefjord and understand the dramatic consequences of climate change on this remarkable landscape.
Mandrup described the finished building as “a snowy owl’s flight through the landscape.”
The building’s party features a twisted, triangular structure and a rooftop viewing platform.
The aerodynamic, light structure of the building appears to levitate over the magnificent, rugged terrain— like an outstretched wing gently touching the bedrock.
The shape frames the views towards the fjord while preventing snow build-up and creating a shelter from the snow and freezing winds.
An important factor is that the building is as sustainable as possible.
It is mainly constructed around a steel frame with the absolute minimum use of concrete—usually the main contributor to the carbon footprint—which also means the structure is extremely lightweight.
The lightness of the structure makes the impact on the ancient bedrock and its fragile flora and fauna minimal.
“The Icefjord Centre offers a refuge in the dramatic landscape and aims to become a natural gathering point from which you can experience the infinite, non-human scale of the Arctic wilderness, the transition between darkness and light, the midnight sun, and the northern lights dancing across the sky,” explains Mandru.
Designed as a year-round visitor center and meeting place for local residents, companies, politicians, climate researchers, and tourists, the center will house exhibitions, a film theatre, a café and a shop as well as research and educational facilities.
The center will function as a hub of research, education, and exhibitions exploring the impact of climate change in this region.
It tells the story of ice, mankind, and evolution on both a local and global scale and relates to the history of time—sitting lightly on the Greenlandic bedrock—which is the oldest in the world.
The roof provides a natural extension of the area’s hiking routes, leading visitors onto one of the best lookout spots to see the massive icebergs in the fjord and the surrounding landscape.
It is open to the public and free to access.
At each end of the building, there are also covered spaces, creating shelter, and gathering places.
When the first glimmer of light hits the horizon in January after six weeks of darkness, the community gathers in this area to celebrate the sun coming up for 40 minutes before leaving again.
The hope is that the roof will become the place for this important gathering.
Inside, the exhibition, designed by JAC Studios, consists of a landscape of ice flakes where archeological objects and films are exhibited in ice prisms of glass that visitors can move between.
The ice prisms are created from ice blocks collected in the Kangia Ice Fjord, 3D scanned, and mouth-blown in the glass.
Central to the exhibition are authentic ice core drillings taken from the ice sheet that narrate the story of culture and climate from 124,000 years BC to the present.
Project: Kangiata Illorsua Ilulissat Icefjord Center
Architects: Dorte Mandrup A/S
Landscape Architect: Kristine Jensen Landscape & Architecture
Exhibition Designers: JAC Studios
Clients: Realdania, Avannaata Kommunia and Naalakkersuisut
Photographers: Adam Mør
