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oa Atmospheres of Designed Diversity? The Spatial Politics of in Copenhagen

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The park Superkilen (2013) was planned to represent the heterogeneous community of Copenhagen's Nørrebro neighbourhood. While the Danish/German team comprising of artists and architects (BIG, SUPERFLEX, TOPOTEK1) has been highly awarded by the international art scene, local urbanists criticized the place-marketing.

Taking this controversy of the city-funded project as a starting point, this essay analyses Superkilen's claim as culturally diverse space. I deploy a self-developed methodology for public space atmospheres. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data, the atmospheres are discussed in terms of their artistic, representative and participatory dimensions.

Superkilen's concept based on national representation and the predominantly non-migrant team show little inclusion of “migrant situated knowledge” (Ayse Güleç 2017). However, the field research revealed positive interethnic encounters. Visitors identified their favourite objects, that are from the different origin contexts of the residents. Thus, the project visualizes migration as a city-constituting quality manifesting an atmospheric duality of commoning and difference.

Keywords: Agency ; BIG architecture ; Copenhagen ; Field research ; Gentrification ; Hybridity ; Migration ; Participation ; Public space ; Representation ; Socially engaged art ; SUPERFLEX ; Topotek 1 ; Urban design ; Urbanism

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Atmospheres of Designed Diversity? The Spatial Politics of Superkilen in Copenhagen
Intellect , 142 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1386/9781789389616_10
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References

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References

  1. Akšamija, Azra. “Superkilen – A Playground for Pluralism.” Architecture and Plurality, edited by Mohsen Mostafavi, Lars Muller Publishers, 2016, pp. 190–195.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Berger, Hilke Marit, and Kathrin Wildner. “Stadt und Gesellschaft. Das Prinzip des öffentlichen Raums.” Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2018. http://www.bpb.de/politik/innenpolitik/stadt-und-gesellschaft/216873/prinzip-des-oeffentlichen-raums/. Accessed 15 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. BIG/SUPERFLEX/TOPOTEK1. 2012. Superkilen. Vimeo video. https://vimeo.com/140810327. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  4. Bishop, Claire. Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. Verso 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bloom, Brett. “Superkilen: Participatory Park Extreme!” Kritik, no. 207, 2013, pp. 47–64.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Böhme, Gernot. Aisthetik. Vorlesungen über Ästhetik als allgemeine Wahrnehmungslehre. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2001.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Caples, Sara, and Everardo Jefferson, editors. “Introduction: Mixology.” The New Mix: Culturally Dynamic Architecture, Architectural Design, vol. 75, no. 5, 2005, pp. 5–7.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Daly, Jonathan. “Superkilen: Exploring the Human–Nonhuman Relations of Intercultural Encounter.” Journal of Urban Design, vol. 25, no. 1, 2019, pp. 65–85, https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2019.1622409.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Den Tværgående Analyseenhed. “Status på København 2020.” Københavns Kommune, 2020. http://www.kk.dk/sites/default/files/status_paa_koebenhavn_2020.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  10. Folkets Hus. “Historien Om Folkets Park.” 1 May 2004. http://www.folketshus.dk/park/historie.htm. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  11. Grosso, Caroline. “The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Copenhagen.” W Magazine, 7 August 2019. https://www.wmagazine.com/story/copenhagen-travel-guide. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  12. Güleç, Ayşe. “Vermittlung von Realitäten: The Society of Friends of Halit.” Art Education Research, no. 14, 2018, pp. 1–10.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Günzel, Stephan. “Raum.” Lexikon Der Raumphilosophie, edited by Stephan Günzel, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2012, pp. 326–327.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Häkli, Jouni, and Kirsi Pauliina Kallio. “On Becoming Political: The Political in Subjectivity.” Subjectivity, vol. 11, no. 1, 2018, pp. 57–73.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Hasse, Jürgen. Atmosphären der Stadt. Aufgespürte Räume. Jovis, 2012.
  16. Hermansen, Bianca, and Sophia Schuff. “Superkilen: Hinter dem Hype.” Garten + Landschaft (blog), 4 May 2016. http://www.garten-landschaft.de/superkilen-hinter-dem-hype/. Accessed 15 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Kazig, Rainer. Atmosphären als Ressource von Partizipation und Quartiersentwicklung. Expertise, 2018. http://www.vhw.de/fileadmin/user_upload/08_publikationen/studien/PDFs/Studien_Befragungen/2018_Abschlussbericht_Expertise_Atmospha__ren.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2021.153
  18. Larsen, Jørgen Elm, and Iver Hornemann Møller. “The Increasing Socioeconomic and Spatial Segregation and Polarization of Living Conditions in the Copenhagen Metropolitan Area.” RC 19 Annual Conference of Research Committee 2013, Budapest 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Lewicka, Maria. “Place Attachment: How Far Have We Come in the Last 40 Years?” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 31, no. 3, 2011, pp. 207–230.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Löw, Martina. Raumsoziologie. Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Mekdjian, Sarah. “Urban Artivism and Migrations. Disrupting Spatial and Political Segregation of Migrants in European Cities.” Cities, no. 77, 2018, pp. 39–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Nothnagel, Stefan. “Zwischen ‘Klischee’ und ‘Möglichkeiten’. Die Gestalter im Vergleich.” Erlebnislandschaft – Erlebnis Landschaft?, edited by Achim Hahn, transcript 2012, pp. 251–274.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Pallarés, Vicente Iborra, and Iván Capdevila Castellanos. “Public Participation Process as a Tool for Innovation in the Design of Public Spaces. The Case of Superkilen Park by Bjarke Ingels Group.” Architecture: A Collection of Scientific Works, no. 9, 2016, pp. 210–215.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Petersen, Anne Ring. “Transculturality, Postmigration, and the Imagining of a New Sense of Belonging.” The Journal of Transcultural Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1–33.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Putnam, Robert. Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon and Schuster, 2000.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Rawsthorn, Alice. Design as an Attitude. JRP Ringier, 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Schwarz, Mareike. Atmosphären als Commoning? Kunst und Gestaltung des Münchner Petuelparks zwischen Differenz und Gemeinschaffen, Master thesis LMU Munich, 2020 (unpublished).
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Steiner, Barbara, editor. Superkilen: A Project by Big, Topotek 1, Superflex. Arvinius + Orfeus Publishing, 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Steiner, Barbara, editor. “Superkilen.” Creative Infidelities. On the Landscape Architecture of Topotek 1, Jovis 2016, pp. 139–158.
  30. SUPERFLEX. Superkilen's 108 Objects and Their History. 2013, https://superflex.net/files/superkilen_objects_EN.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  31. Tietjen, Anne, and Gertrud Jørgensen. “There Is More to It than Meets the Eye: Strategic Design in the Context of Rural Decline.” Transactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning, vol. 2, no. 1, 2018, pp. 9–31.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Transport- og Boligministeriet. Liste over ghettoområder pr. 1. december 2020, 2020, https://im.dk/arbejdsomraader/almene-boliger-og-parallelsamfundslovgivning-/almene-boliger/politiske-aftaler-og-publikationer-af-aeldre-dato/liste-over-ghettoomraader-pr-1-december-2020. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  33. UNESCO. “Inclusion Through Access to Public Space.” 2017, https://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/urban-development/migrants-inclusion-in-cities/good-practices/inclusion-through-access-to-public-space/. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  34. Wagner, Monika. Marmor und Asphalt. Soziale Oberflächen im Berlin des 20. Jahrhunderts. Wagenbach Verlag, 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Zhong Mengual, Estelle, and Xavier Douroux, editors. Reclaiming Art / Reshaping Democracy – The New Patrons & Participatory Art. Les presses du réel, 2017.154
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Rein-Cano, Martin (TOPOTEK1), and Mareike Schwarz. Semi-structured expert interview, Berlin, 5.6.2019 (unpublished).
  37. Schwarz, Mareike. Standardised questionnaires: quantitative-qualitative empirical (n=25) (unpublished).
  38. Schwarz, Mareike. Inquiry: qualitative empirical (n=10) (unpublished).
  39. Schwarz, Mareike. Mood protocol, Copenhagen, 6.6.–8.6.2019 (unpublished).

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