An area in Aarhus seen through the eyes of the citizens

Texts and images from a city walk in the old slaughterhouse grounds at Sydhavnen, in Aarhus, have now been collected as a catalogue meant to inspire local politicians and others when deciding on the future of the area.

On 6 March this year, a group of citizens of all ages walked around the old slaughterhouse site in Aarhus, an area known as Aarhus’ Kødby (roughly: meat market), located at Sydhavnen. Here they took turns shooting photos with a Polaroid camera. They also attended a presentation by two historians on the plot’s history. And, finally, the citizens wrote small ‘notes for the future’, which were hung up alongside the photos.

PhD student Mathilde Kierkegaard, from Aarhus School of Architecture, is behind the project. She has now gathered together this material in a catalogue: Download the catalogue in PDF form. The aim is to highlight the central narrative of the cultural environment; an intention which is evident when you examine the materials produced by the citizens

‘The participants have given us a detailed, in-depth look at Aarhus’ Kødby, showing us what matters when it comes to experiencing the historical cultural environment’, says Mathilde Kirkegaard.

Klondike

On the small notes for the future people have written statements such as: ‘At the Sydhavn of the future, you can still experience the Sydhavn of the past.’ Someone else has written the word ‘Klondike’ and urges us to remember the depth of time and to rebuild and add rather than demolish.

The project is the result of a collaboration between Foreningen Sydhavnen and Aarhus School of Architecture. And the work is part of Mathilde Kirkegaard’s PhD project on cultural environments. The students from Aarhus School of Architecture who participate in the project are all doing a four-year master with a professional orientation (Erhvervskandidatuddannelse) in the subject ‘cultural environments and urban transformation’.