Endless horizons, extreme cold, wind and ice, collective memory, and rugged coastlines. Danish architecture firm Dorte Mandrup draws on artistic, humanistic, and scientific approaches to create buildings that belong intimately to their surroundings. The goal isn't sentimentality—it's meaning-making: deepening how we understand and experience place. Marking its 25th anniversary this year, Studio Dorte Mandrup shares its philosophy and methodology with visitors through this exhibition. "Place" stands as a love letter to context itself, inviting you to discover the narratives behind five extraordinary projects and the architectural visions they inspired.

Each project is presented using a sculptural model that illustrates the dialogue between the location and the building. From the yellow-brown marshes of the Wadden Sea and the breathtaking expanse of the Arctic to the mysterious landscape hidden beneath the surface of the Norwegian Sea and the difficult memories of war, flight and displacement immortalised in the ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof station in Berlin. The exhibition goes beyond the buildings themselves, displaying artefacts, materials and studies that allow visitors to follow the creative process and explore how Dorte Mandrup engages with the complexities of place to create spaces that not only meet functional and environmental requirements, but often evoke emotional responses.

The Copenhagen-based architectural firm Dorte Mandrup was founded in 1999 by Dorte Mandrup. The studio is internationally renowned for its context-sensitive approach, which seeks to design buildings that deepen awareness of the surroundings and enhance the experience of each location. In recent years, the firm has distinguished itself through its ability to work in complex and sensitive contexts. Among its best-known projects are the Wadden Sea Centre in Denmark, the Kangiata Illorsua – Ilulissat Icefjord Centre in Greenland, The Whale in Norway, the Exile Museum in Berlin and the Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre in Canada.

The event is aimed at architects, interior designers, planners and anyone from civil society who is interested in building culture.

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