Overlooking the Kangia Fjord on the western coast of Greenland , and at the limit of the area protected by the UNESCO , the Danish architecture firm Dorte Mandrup has conceived Ilulissat Icefjord Center , a construction that comes to life as the most complete expression of the effects of climate change.
The new building of the Danish firm is located 250 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle , and will function as a center for education, study and exhibitions that will analyze the climate change In the town of Ilulissat , Greenland.
"The center offers a refuge in the dramatic landscape, and aims to become a natural meeting point from which one can experience the infinite and non-human scale of arctic Nature, the transition between dark and light, the midnight sun and the northern lights dancing in the sky," he says. Dorte Mandrup.
Ilulissat Icefjord Centre.
ILULISSAT ICEFJORD CENTER IN GREENLAND
The project arises from the appointment of icefjord What World Heritage Site in 2004, and more than a decade later, in 2016, an international competition was organized where studios such as Snøhetta, Studio Other Spaces, Rintala Eggertsoon Architects and Kengo Kuma and Associates participated. Still, the concept of Dorte Mandrup won over the jury with his “poetic, simple and visionary design”.
The aerodynamic and light structure of the building seems to levitate above the ground, managing to frame the views towards the fjord, while preventing snow build-up and creating a shelter from snow and icy winds. The founder and creative director of the eponymous firm, Dorte Mandrup , describes it as "the flight of a snowy owl across the landscape".
Although it is made up of 50 steel frames, the use of concrete has been minimal, and this contributes to significantly reduce carbon footprint of the building, making it, in turn, light, which means that the impact on the old bedrock and its fragile flora and fauna is minimal.
Looking to create a gateway between the town of Ilulissat and the nature that surrounds it, the roof is a natural extension of the hiking trails in the area, that takes visitors to one of the best viewpoints to see the enormous fjord icebergs and the surrounding landscape.
Design by Dorte Mandrup.
designed as visitors Center 365 days a year and a meeting place for locals, companies, politicians, climate researchers and travellers, Ilulissat Icefjord Center will host exhibitions, a movie theater, a coffee shop and a gift boutique, as well as educational and research facilities.
Funded by Greenland , the City Council of Qaasuitsup and the Danish philanthropic organization Realdania, inside the center you can discover the history of humanity, the riches of nature and evolution both locally and globally.
Thus, integrating itself into the most exuberant landscape of Greenland , the center open to the public and free access offers views from which it is possible to contemplate the majesty of the fjord , and also understand the dramatic consequences of advancing climate change.
Ilulissat, Greenland.