STUDIO VISIT — CHRISTIAN VENNERSTRØM JENSEN OF BAHRAINI-DANISH
Design
Ideas rather than looks lie at the heart of Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen’s design practice. As one of the trio behind the studio, Bahraini-Danish, the architect starts his explorations from a place of cultural duality. “When I moved to Bahrain in 2015 to work for Studio Anne Holtrop, I encountered an architecture that was very different from what I could understand. I found it beautiful, although none of the rules I had been taught at the architect school in Aarhus in Denmark applied to this place.” This sense of alienation led to his setting up the studio with his local partners, playing off their cultural differences and working with artisans to create something new. Their first piece, the aluminium Coffee Table #01 was sketched over coffee and they now have a stool in the V&A Museum in London and a table in the residence of the Danish prime minister. The low, chunky Tiny Furniture stools dotted around the 31-year-old’s combined home and studio in Copenhagen demonstrate the cultural fusion with influences from Bahrain workspaces and Danish milking stools. They also embody their conceptual approach of questioning how to focus on mass and use a single material such as wood or metal.
“There is nothing better than a good object in a good space. I believe that’s why I became an architect. I wanted to know how it feels to create rather than consume that experience.”
This story is featured in Ark Journal VOL III.
WORDS KARIN GRÅBÆK HELLEDIE
PHOTOGRAPHY HEIDI LERKENFELDT
styling PERNILLE VEST
CASE STUDY
— PERIOD PIECES
In the unique surroundings of the house created by Danish sculptor Rikard Axel Poulsen (1887-1972) furniture, lighting and homewares by contemporary designers exhibit their serene poise, the avant-garde flanked by the archaic to create layers of history.
CULTIVATING PATINA
How to create a newly built house that feels comfortably familiar and as burnished as the well-loved objects that move with the owners? Designer Elisabeth Snejbjerg and former architect now photographer Mikael Bonde after 25 years in Copenhagen moved to the country near Aarhus to a house they designed and built among trees.
BACKYARD REFUGE
Small but perfectly matched, two residences in a courtyard are reduced to the essentials using quality materials and maximum light to create welcoming tranquillity.
STUDIO VISIT — CHRISTIAN VENNERSTRØM JENSEN OF BAHRAINI-DANISH
Design
Design
Ideas rather than looks lie at the heart of Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen’s design practice. As one of the trio behind the studio, Bahraini-Danish, the architect starts his explorations from a place of cultural duality. “When I moved to Bahrain in 2015 to work for Studio Anne Holtrop, I encountered an architecture that was very different from what I could understand. I found it beautiful, although none of the rules I had been taught at the architect school in Aarhus in Denmark applied to this place.” This sense of alienation led to his setting up the studio with his local partners, playing off their cultural differences and working with artisans to create something new. Their first piece, the aluminium Coffee Table #01 was sketched over coffee and they now have a stool in the V&A Museum in London and a table in the residence of the Danish prime minister. The low, chunky Tiny Furniture stools dotted around the 31-year-old’s combined home and studio in Copenhagen demonstrate the cultural fusion with influences from Bahrain workspaces and Danish milking stools. They also embody their conceptual approach of questioning how to focus on mass and use a single material such as wood or metal.
“There is nothing better than a good object in a good space. I believe that’s why I became an architect. I wanted to know how it feels to create rather than consume that experience.”
This story is featured in Ark Journal VOL III.
WORDS KARIN GRÅBÆK HELLEDIE
PHOTOGRAPHY HEIDI LERKENFELDT
styling PERNILLE VEST