The new architects

67 new architects graduated on Friday 28 June. This was celebrated at the culture centre Godsbanen with speeches, presentation of grants and scholarships, and the opening of the graduation exhibition.

Rector Torben Nielsen and Assistant Professor Mo Krag had a few words to share with the graduates. Sofie Jürs gave the gradauation speech.

Professional courage and a debate on values

Torben Nielsen called on the new architects to take the lead in a debate about basic values: ‘What kind of society do you want to build? Not just physically – buildings, towns, landscapes, etc. – but also structurally. How do you want to create cohesion? … I urge you to go out and interfere – fight for what you believe in. You are the future and you are the ones who are creating new enterprises and a new world order – and you are also the ones who have to take a stand when it becomes necessary.’

Mo Krag continued in the same vein: ‘Go out into the world. It doesn’t matter if you go abroad or to the provinces – the culture shock can be the same. Experience and learn about the differences. If you only stay within your own comfort zone, you risk trudging around in your own closed circles, where people just confirm each other’s ideas.
… Seek out wildness, make mistakes, and move close to the edge to experiment. In fact, what is most important is that you put yourself at risk. Society would benefit if our profession showed more courage and edge. If not, we will all be eaten up by the rampant monster of consumerism.’

Inspiration from gymnastics

Sofie Jürs warned against being dazzled by today’s vast amounts of computer-generated projects and images that are presented glamorously to us on social media. Instead, what is important is to look for the substance:

‘We can scroll through endless amounts of spectacular projects. … but such images tell us nothing about what lies behind them – they only convince by looking good.’

Sophie’s role model while studying on the master’s degree programme was the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. She was the first gymnast ever to be awarded the score ten for a perfect performance – at the 1976 Olympics.

‘Comaneci won the gold medal, not just because of her flawless technique, control and execution. But because of her effortless, artistic interpretation. She not only used her body and her skills – her tools – to achieve something perfect, she used them as a medium for expressing herself. … Such a performance should be a great source of inspiration to newly qualified architects like us.’

Read more about the awards and scholarships that were handed out here.

The Graduation Exhibition

After the graduation ceremony, the tradition-rich exhibition of Master’s projects opened in Rå Hal at Godsbanen. Here you can see all of this summer’s Master’s projects. The exhibition will be open up to and including 21 July. Opening hours: every day from 11.00 to 18.00.

Below we have gathered a few impressions from the graduation ceremony and the exhibition opening.