MORE ROOM FOR THE NON-HUMAN

Emma Helene Rishøj Holm has designed three points of contact between the island of Egholm and humanity. They are intended to make us more aware of the places we inhabit.

16.02.2021

In the autumn of 2020, Emma Helene Rishøj Holm was walking north along Hærvejen (the Ox Road) for several days. Her destination was the island of Egholm, which is located in the Limfjord.

Udsnit af illustration // Emma Helene Rishøj Holm

‘One of the things I saw on my way was the shell of a pecten jacobaeus (a scallop, Ed.) on a sign symbolising the connection with the Camino de Santiago. This made me feel with my own body that Egholm is part of Europe and part of the world.’

Walking along Hærvejen was her way of getting to know the landscape around Egholm. A place where she would be doing her extensive autumn project in 2020 – together with a group of other students.

Up and down with the water

A few months later, when she had finished the project, she had designed a promenade, a campfire hut, and a shelter for Egholm – each of which in their own way emphasise the place in the specific landscape.

‘The promenade is located on the beach meadow. It moves up and down with the tide and any future sea level rises. It is specifically intended for use by bird watchers. In the campfire hut, groups, e.g. school classes, can gather to collect local ingredients and cook food together. And the shelter has been secured to the trees in a way that allows the tree to move and grow around it,’ Emma explains.

Dense or open

Her respect for the surroundings and the specific location is a recurring theme in Emma’s way of approaching architecture. And part of her preliminary research was spent on theories about the relationship between man and nature, inspired by Hans Fink, Timothy Morton, Mickey Gjerris, and others. Her methods were inspired by ecopedagogy, which urges us to learn simultaneously in, through, and about nature.

‘The big question is: to what degree should architecture separate us from or integrate us into our surrounding environment? We can build everything from ‘tight as a plastic bag’, open to diffusion, to entirely open. I, for instance, designed the campfire hut without a floor and with walls that can be rolled down. There is very little that separates the visitor from the surroundings. Architecture can thus be seen as the expression of our view of nature. In this respect, the specific meeting between what has been built and the ecosystem in which it is located plays a central role.’

Seven square metres

Emma sees the architect as a potential mediator between humankind and nature. And she is aware of the planetary boundaries future building projects will need to respect. Two former students from DTU (the Technical University of Denmark), Stephan Sander and Charlie Møller, have calculated that if we want to comply with the boundaries and build using the materials we use today, an average of seven square metres will be available for living for each planetary citizen. Danish citizens on average live on 59 square metres.

For Emma, the boundary between her profession and her private life is not razor sharp. Just as in her projects she is looking for sustainable solutions, she attempts to live by this code when not at work. For this reason, she has helped start a house share, where people share the available food, space and materials.

‘How much can we share? And how much – or how little – do we actually need? This is what I would like to examine’, she says.

Room for the non-human

And, in the end, like the Egholm project, this is all about our relationship to the non-human: how can we provide room for it? The less space we use, the more space we potentially leave for it. It is Emma’s hope that in the future architects will be able to play an important role in these efforts.

‘I believe that sharing may improve our quality of life. Architects can help make this choice more accessible and appealing through the work they do. We possess the skills of being able to draw up a vision for the future that is entirely concrete, making it visible to others. In this context, one of the most important responsibilities of architects is to inspire others.’

Stepping stones

It is not very likely that Emma’s Egholm’s project will be realised – at least not here and now. That’s the way it is with study projects. But perhaps it can inspire others. And, if nothing else, it is a stepping stone on Emma’s path towards a life of more sustainable architecture. But we still do not know where her exploratory steps along the Ox Road will be taking her, when, this summer, she graduates as an architect.

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Aarhus School of Architecture is about to move! For this reason, we have arranged a discipline-specific festival called Opening in the new building at Exners Plads, this October. And you are invited! Throughout the year, we will be warming up for the event with stories about our purpose: training creative architects that are ready to take on the challenges of our times and doing research into the contributions of architecture towards solving these challenges. In other words: Engaging Through Architecture.