Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter

is an architectural office based in Copenaghen, Denmark.

Skjern River

Skjern River, West Jutland, Denmark - 2015 - In collaboration with Bertelsen & Scheving Arkitekter

As a result of the restoration of the Skjern River basin in 2002, a vast and rich natural area has arisen, becoming an attractive visitor destination. A framework for the new life of the area has been provided with the rebuilding and extension of three pump stations, in the form of exhibition spaces, indoor and outdoor viewpoints to look out over the landscape, rooms for the organization of events, and better accessibility.

The extensions and the new interior building elements are mainly simple wooden constructions and reiterate the dimensions and rhythm of the original pump stations’ concrete relief. This creates a direct link between the old structure and the new while adding new material and another texture that is pleasing to the touch. With this detail, the cladding and the main structure become one, reducing the complexity of the building, which is reflected in the budget as well as the final expression.

Myhrwold and Rasmussen engineered the original pump stations from 1966 to be unsentimental and raw in their materiality, and the vertical relief of the concrete façades reminds us of the surrounding ploughed furrows of the fields, and profiles of the soil that control the run of the river. By building on this motif the anchoring of the buildings into the surroundings and the history of the site is strengthened.

Skjern River

The bird sanctuary at the tip of the peninsula in the southern part of Ringkøbing Fjord is, with its unique nature, an important stopping point for migratory birds and home to Europe's oldest continuous bird counts. Previously, public access to the area has been very limited, but through establishing new facilities the area has now been opened to visitors. These facilities consist of simple instrument-like additions in the landscape: a bird hide, watch tower, workshop, walking routes and a conversion of the Tipper House research station. The new structures are imagined as free-standing objects in the landscape, each with distinctive characteristics and subtle mutual relationships to one another and their surroundings.

Tipperne bird sanctuary – Instruments in the landscape

Tipperne, Ringkøbing Fjord, Denmark - 2017

Tipperne

The cottage is located within a protected landscape alongside historic vacation homes, carefully placed in slopes of overgrown moraine and sand dunes that rise from the surrounding flatlands. The reconstruction’s ambition is to recreate the quality and atmosphere of being in the old cottage before it was left unused and timber infestation made a rebuilding unavoidable.

The Cottage / pict. 1 > 10
Built in 1905 as two detached log houses later merged by the addition of a kitchen, the cottage was gradually transformed, including architect Ivar Bentsen’s addition of a stove and chimney, and introduction of a new shed.

The structure is rebuilt as a lightweight timber frame construction, allowing the exterior to maintain the protected expression of the old cottage. The new interior interprets the memories and accumulated features for contemporary conditions, informed by the modern structure, and expressed through partly painted wooden surfaces, peculiar alcoves and niches.

The Shed / pict. 11 > 13

The new pinewood structure consists of rafters resting on the ridge beam and the outer wall structure, allowing for one uninterrupted space. Spruce cladding is untreated in the interior, with the ceiling boards painted in a grey-blue shade stemming from the main cottage. Along the outer wall, built-in shelving creates storage and the flooring is built of reused bricks from the old cottage terrace. The new shed is based on a thorough survey of the old, with some adjustments.