MOGENS A. MORGEN PUTS THE WHOLE BEFORE THE PARTS

13.05.2024

Professor Mogens A. Morgen views cultural heritage as a living entity that should inform our way of building. His approach is ‘The whole before the parts’.

Mogens A. Morgen wished to be photographed for this article in the Rainbow Panorama at ARoS. For a man who works with architectural heritage, one might have expected a more aged building as the background. However, the professor naturally has a point about his choice.

‘Cultural heritage is considered museum-like, but it is not. It is about high architectural quality in construction, good sustainable building techniques, but also an artistic finesse, as exemplified by the Rainbow Panorama,’ he says.

But how did he get here? Why is he standing on top of Aarhus, looking down at the former business archive designed by Hack Kampmann? It is due in no small part to an unexpected encounter.

‘I believe it matters greatly which people you meet along your way. I had a fantastic teacher at the Art High School in Holbæk who opened my eyes to art and architectural history. Pierre Beskow’s teaching led me to apply for art history at the University of Copenhagen, but it was too much head and not enough body. That’s why I switched to the School of Architecture in Copenhagen,’ says Mogens A. Morgen.

10×3

After his studies, he worked for ten years at an architectural firm. One of the projects was the restoration of the Art Society Gl. Strand, which helped to strengthen his interest in cultural heritage.

‘The windows were from the 1700s, and you had to relate to the entire original structure and, of course, bring it into our time as a contemporary art gallery.’

The experience meant that Mogens A. Morgen followed his ten years in architectural practice with ten years in administrative service as head of department at the Agency for Culture and Palaces. This set the stage for the next logical step: his appointment as a professor at the Aarhus School of Architecture, where he will soon celebrate his ten-year anniversary this August.

Mogens A. Morgen was born in 1959 in the Nordvest quarter of Copenhagen. His parents came from working-class backgrounds and had no higher education, but according to Mogens A. Morgen, they managed to join the middle-class thanks to the welfare state that took shape in the post-war period. His mother worked for a time at Værløse Air Base, while his father was a copywriter and advertising man – and, among other things, the creator of the famous (in Denmark, ed.) slogan, ‘Say Jolly to your cola.’

Professor

As a professor at the Aarhus School of Architecture, Mogens A. Morgen is particularly motivated by the encounters with engaged students who share his interest in architectural heritage. These encounters also provide an opportunity to inspire others in the same way he was inspired at the Art High School in Holbæk in his time.

And one of the lessons he wants to pass on is about the relationship between the part and the whole.

‘I like to look at the whole, whereas many architects focus on the detail. They say the devil is in the details, but my approach has always been the whole. The attempt to capture the whole means that I often take incredibly boring photographs. Photos usually look best with a focused detail.’

As a researcher, he sees his most important task as creating strong research communities. ‘Research is not primarily an individual effort. It is crucial to create fruitful environments because they provide a synergistic effect and, thus, greater impact than any individual can achieve alone. Our project, Sustainable Cultural Environments, is a good example – there are seven of us involved. This also means that it – hopefully – can impact society more. I like the African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’

Good homes for people

This brings us back to the welfare state, which Mogens A. Morgen sees himself as a product of. Its development is the third major motivating force in his work. ‘I believe that architectural heritage has depth and significance for the development of our society, which makes it extremely important. If you look at the buildings popping up everywhere, they are not driven by a desire to create good homes for people. They are driven by the desire for profit maximization, and that is a huge change from the welfare state I come from.’

The future is built on experiences

Thus, Mogens A. Morgen also says heritage does not reside in the past. It is something that determines how we think and build now and in the future.

‘Seeing cultural heritage as a closed chapter is something I don’t understand. It’s about creating a future through our experiences with cultural heritage. Our architectural culture may need to be reinvented constantly, but it must be based on the existing foundation. And I believe this is fundamentally a human need, which was evident in how people recently reacted to the Børsen fire’.

He saw Børsen burn

Mogens A. Morgen himself reacted to the fire by leaving his morning coffee and rushing down to Holmens Kanal, where he stayed for the next four hours, partly to provide perspective on the event for various media. Upon arrival, he was met by a loud crash – it was the spire breaking off.

‘I hope the fire will lead to a renewed debate about the importance of culture for us as a society and, of course, specifically about how the building should be restored. It’s a huge tragedy, but perhaps it can bring something positive if we set the right focus for the debate.’

Global perspective

Focusing on the whole, as mentioned, is a guiding principle for Mogens A. Morgen. Therefore, it also makes sense that a global outlook has always been a cornerstone of his work. This is particularly evident through his role as chairman of ICOMOS Denmark, an international NGO that works to preserve and protect cultural heritage, including advising on new topics for UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

‘ICOMOS helps to raise public awareness about the importance of cultural heritage in many countries worldwide. Therefore, it surprises me that the organization is underprioritized here at home, where – unlike many other countries – it does not receive public support. This reflects that we have a somewhat strained relationship with cultural heritage in Denmark. It is not integrated into our understanding of society in the same way as it is, for example, in France,’ says Mogens A. Morgen.

Around the Rainbow

When he celebrates his ten-year anniversary at the Aarhus School of Architecture in August, it will not mark the end of an era, as the other two ten-year milestones in his life did. He plans to stay where he is. The professor has too many important projects underway and in the pipeline to change course yet again. This includes the research project Sustainable Cultural Environments, which explores how to better understand and utilize existing cultural environments.

We have now come full circle around the rainbow at ARoS. Along the way, the view has offered everything from a busy industrial port to a cathedral, a university, and a rapidly growing new neighborhood – namely Aarhus K with Godsbanen, the Aarhus School of Architecture, the Institute for X, and a number of new housing blocks. In other words, the professor has been allowed to view the world exactly as he prefers: The whole before the parts.

Facts

Mogens A. Morgen is the author of several books on architectural heritage, together with good colleagues. These include “Tingbjerg – Vision and Reality” (2020), “Protected – Building Conservation in Denmark 1918-2018,” and most recently, “A Little Architecture History for Children and the Young at Heart” (2023).
He is a member of the Adventurers’ Club.
He lives in Copenhagen with his wife Pernille, who is also an architect, in a cooperative housing association that is a community, as his three adult children, Salina, Linnea, and Albert, also live in the association in their own apartments.

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