Jonathan M. Houser

BIOGRAPHY

I am architect living and working in Copenhagen, currently running my own architecture studio alongside teaching at The Royal Academy of Art, School of Architecture. Before founding my own practice I worked at Lundgaard and Tranberg Arkitekter.

The driving force in my work is the search for ideas that can act as the foundation of each project – one clear idea for every project that holds the promise of unfolding a world unique to the task at hand.

Depending on the requirements of the individual project I engage in collaborative work with various professionals from the fields of art, science and engineering in order to give client and project the highest level of professional advice.

I am currently engaged with the artistic research project MINIATURA together with Christian Vennerstrøm (bahraini – danish), a small vacation home in Denmark and the exhibition project “Jävla Kritiker” in Oslo, Norway. In addition my fingers are crossed for the funding of the project “MIND” done in collaboration with Claus Pryds Architects.

In the spring 2016 I won the competition for a Pavilion at the art museum Gl. Holtegaard that is now built in their baroque garden. Concurrently I received a working grant from the Danish Arts Council. In the fall 2016 I was awarded for my competition entry “Memorial for the Perished War Sailors 1940–45” and collaborated with director Michael Madsen on the project “Odyssey”, where I have done conceptual spaceship design for a multi-generational journey through interstellar space. My imaginary project “Island of the Dead” was shown in the Danish Pavilion at the 2016 Biennale in Venice.

Since receiving my Masters Diploma in Architecture from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2014 I worked at Lundgaard and Tranberg, Architects where I was design architect on the winning competition for a “Museum for the Danish Resistance 1940–45” that is currently being built in the historic centre of Copenhagen. You can se that HERE. I also took part in the development of schematic design for the new “Museum of Natural History” that is under construction within the Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen. You can see that HERE.

Exhibitions:

2020
Jävla Kritiker, ROM for kunst og arkitektur, Oslo, Norway

2018
The Spring Exhibition, Copenhagen, Denmark The Moon, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk

2017
VESSELS, Leth og Gori, solo show, Copenhagen, Denmark
Fall Exhibition, Den Frie, Copenhagen, Denmark

2016
The Art of Many, La Biennale di Venezia, The Danish Pavilion

2015
EVA, Kunstakademien, Stockholm, Group Exhibtion, w. Mikael Stenstrøm
Fall Exhibition, Den Frie, Copenhagen, Denmark
One to One, The Royal Academy of Art, School of Architecture, Copenhagen

2014
End of the Year Show, The Royal Academy of Art, School of Architecture

2013
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Art, London

Architecture competitions:

2020
“The Edge/Kanten”, While we Wait for the Water/Mens vi venter på vandet, 2nd prize in open competition in collaboration with Jonas Johansen

2016
“Memorial for the Perished War Sailors 1940–45”, 2nd prize (Shared) in open competition
“Moth House – A menagerie for Gl. Holtegaard”, 1st prize in open competition

2014
“The Abandoned Street”, 1st prize in open competition, collaboration with Mikael Stenstrom

Education:

2012–2014
Cand. Arch., The Royal Academy of Art, School of Architecture, Thesis advisor: Anders Abraham

2011
The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, The Cooper Union, New York

2007–2010
B. Arch., The Royal Academy of Art, School of Architecture

Moth House

1st price in open competition, Gl. Holtegaard, Holte, Denmark 2016
Consulting engineer: Henrik Almegaard
Photography: Mikael Stenström and Jonathan houser

Natsværmerhuset er et hus for natsommerfugle og er metaforisk baseret på deres forvandling. Huset er både en lukket beholder, der i løbet af dagen beskytter sværmerne i mørket, og en åben fælde, der drager dem mod lyset om natten.

Projektet er forankret i historien gennem en fortolkning af karakteristika, der knytter sig til arkitektur, kunst og tænkning fra den tid vi kalder barokken.

Barokkunsten adskiller sig fra den harmonidyrkende kunst fra renæssancen ved at beskæftige sig med foranderligheden i verden. Barokkens billeder er mørke og gådefulde og dens skulpturer befinder sig i dynamisk forvandling, som forstærkes af beskuerens bevægelse omkring sig. Kunstnerne dyrkede tiden og forgængeligheden, angsten og ekstasen i tæt forbindelse til arkitekturens uendeligt foldede rum og detaljer. Det er disse barokke temaer som natsværmerhuset har til hensigt at indlejre i sin form og sit program. Et hus i evig forvandling med et mystisk angstprovokerende program baseret på en gådefuld dobbelthed mellem det mørke, introverte og det åbne, lysende. Som en fortolkning af det årstidsbestemte forvandlingsmotiv undergår ”Natsværmerhuset” en metamorfose fra åben og gennemtrængelig til lukket og introvert. Huset åbner og lukker i takt med årstidernes skift og døgnets rytme. Går i dvale, forpupper sig og folderne vingerne ud.

Huset er tænkt som et barokt foldet rum skabt med simple bygningselementer. Bygningselementerne består af pinolhængte døre i rammekonstruktioner, der sammenstilles til en kæde og fæstnes til hinanden, så? de danner en foldevæg. Indersiden er beklædt med hvid filt, ydersiden er mørkegrønne ståltrapezplader. Filtet, hvori natsværmerlarverne forpupper sig, hæftes igennem trapezplader med messinggevindrør og bolte, som lader dagslys trænge igennem væggene. Lyset fremstår som stjerner i beholderens mørke.

Om natten åbnes dørene og elektrisk lys i pavillonen tiltrækker natsværmere. Om dagen er dørene i udgangspunktet lukkede, men åbnes af brugerne, når de træder ind i pavillonens mørke. Konstruktion og funktion skaber således en konkret og sanselig erfaring af barokkens ideer og særtræk – folden, lyset, mørket, dramaet og bevægelsen.