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

Lunds Stadshall

Competition Entry, Transformation, restoration and flexible furniture system for Lunds Stadshall, 2019
Collaboration with Christian Vennerstrøm (Bahraini-Danish)

Vores vision for Stadshallen er at skabe et hus, der summer af liv. Et åbent, inviterende og transparent hus, der fletter sig sammen med gadens liv og bliver et naturligt forsamlingssted for byens borgere med en stærk forankring i stadens blomstrende kultur- og foreningsliv. Et hus, hvor mange begivenheder kan finde sted samtidigt og tilsammen skabe liv både morgen, middag og aften.

Visionen er at Stadshallen efter transformationen fremstår med de åbenlyse kvaliteter styrket og skavankerne forkastet. Det er således forslagets ambition at fastholde husets karakter og samtidig foretage de nødvendige indgreb og tilføjelser, der bringer huset ind i fremtiden.

Baggrunden for dette afsæt er husets fornemme indpasning i byen og dets særlige indre rumligheder, der i dag særligt kan opleves fra husets 1. sal. Her fornemmer man tydeligst de bærende ideer, der lå til grund for det oprindelige hus – salenes enkle volumner, der skaber et mellemrum, som bliver en del af de ydre omgivelser. Vores vision er at dette rum skal fortolkes og integreres på alle husets etager.

Det vi går efter, er at huset og dets nære omgivelser får en særligt imødekommende og folkelig atmosfære, og samtidig fastholde en stærk forbindelse til bygningens ånd og grundtanker.

Vores hovedgreb for stadshallen er derfor at styrke husets iboende kvaliteter ved at forenkle den eksisterende plan, tilføje nye åbninger i gadeplan samt etablere forbindelse på tværs gennem huset og vertikalt mellem etagerne. Afsættet er husets eget formsprog, der både ligger til grund for planændringerne og samtidig danner afsæt for husets nye inventar – et væsentlig aspekt ved vores forslag. Vi foreslår at befolke huset med helt nye borde, stole og bænke tegnet specielt hertil med udgangspunkt i salenes krumme geometri. Nogle møbler er faste mens andre kan flyttes omkring og bruges på forskellig vis som pop-up scener og siddeplinte.

0. sal bliver i vores forslag til en naturlig forlængelse af byens gulv. Indre barrier fjernes og en ny plan med restaurant, hvor turistinformationen er i dag, etableres. Den nye stueetage tillader frit blik og passage gennem huset på tværs af det åbne køkken og de nye trapper. Udeservering fra restauranten trækker livet ud på Rådhuspladsen, hvor også en ny scene kan danne ramme om festlige begivenheder. En gennemgående, monumental vindeltrappe inviterer byens borgere op på stadshallens tag, der nu kan indtages med arrangementer og urtehave for restauranten.

Hovedgrebet tilstræber at indfri de bymæssige og arkitektoniske visioner på den ene side og økonomien og teknikken på den anden side.