SKALA – Inspiration and change

1/1

 
 

The journal existed for 10 years and invited a number of international architects and architectural theorists to Denmark to inspire and revive the discussions about architecture. ’Since I was 30 years old, I have been teaching. I was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, and I taught courses at Yale and Princeton, among others. I very much enjoy teaching. This is probably linked to the fact that I possess a natural curiosity and have an inquisitive mind,’ explains Henning Larsen. ‘Therefore, I thrive in a working environment that is fully immersed in the subject of architecture. This also served as the starting point of SKALA.’

From the beginning of his career, Henning Larsen was very internationally inclined and established a large network of architects and schools of architecture in many parts of the world. The favourable dollar rate in the 1980s resulted in an increase of the fee for designing the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the profit earned made it possible to establish the journal, SKALA. Henning Larsen got the idea for the journal on a trip to the Middle East. ‘Back then, the architectural environment in Denmark was not very open. It needed challenge and inspiration. Therefore, I launched the journal. We had a large host of authors and many international architects contributed to the journal,’ Henning Larsen explains.

As a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Henning Larsen was able to arrange lectures with the international names who were interviewed in SKALA and whose work was exhibited at the gallery. This came to have a great influence on the new generation of Danish architects who acquired a much greater international vision than previously. The strong dedication to architecture and the world is one of the most important motivating forces behind the work of Henning Larsen Architects and has permeated the company for almost 50 years.

Hide all
Show all

The journal SKALA

The journal SKALA

The architectural journal SKALA was published 30 times in all. The first issue was published in April 1985 and the last came out in 1994. The journal was edited by Kjeld Vindum, Flemming Frost and Henning Larsen. The editorial team in Aarhus included Kirsten Birch and Svein Tønsager. The publication was funded by Henning Larsen.

SKALA 24-25/1991
A lot of work was put into the content and the layout of SKALA. Issue no. 25 was an anniversary edition and a beautiful big magazine with a silver laminated cover. Among other things, it featured an article about one of Henning Larsen's own favourites.

Skala_02.jpg

The issues on Le Corbusier are some of my favourites. I truly appreciate him both as a thinker, a painter and a designer. He was a great architect,' Henning Larsen says. 'It was a very impressive edition. SKALA kept getting better and more elegant over time.'

The journal was not only concerned with architecture. Other allied art forms were also discussed, including sculpturing, painting, graphics, films and photography. In addition to Le Corbusier, the anniversary edition also featured interviews with the young architects, Martin Bühler and Daniel Studer, articles about the painter, Eric Fischl, the architectural theorist Alberto Pérez-Gómez and the sculptor Johan Törnström's figureheads.

The gallery SKALA

The gallery SKALA

From 1985 to 1989, concurrent with the publication of the journal, the architectural gallery SKALA showcased exhibitions covering some of the most interesting architects of the time. The gallery was located on the square, Gråbrødre Torv, in Copenhagen and was run by Helle Juul. The gallery displayed international names such as Aldo Rossi, Daniel Libeskind, Bernard Tschumi, Frank Gehry and many others. A total of 36 exhibitions saw the light of the day.

The journal was not only concerned with architecture. Other allied art forms were also discussed: sculpturing, painting, graphics, movies and photography. In addition to Le Corbusier the anniversary edition also featured interviews with the young architects Martin Bühler and Daniel Studer, articles about the painter Eric Fischl, the architectural theorist Alberto Pérez-Gómez and the sculptor Johan Törnström's figureheads.

Exhibitions (Cronological)
Tendencies in Nordic Architecture (1985)
9 Japanese Architects (1985)
Aldo Rossi - Retrospective (1985 in the former Zoological Museum)
Bauen in Frankfurt (1985)
Vision, Condition, Reality + Blue Quadrant (1986)
Copenhagen-Aarhus roundtrip (1986)
Ark Design Studio + AAA dept. of Industrial Design (1986)
C.T.H. Sørensen - Landscape Artist (1986)
Ernst Lohse & Torben Hardenberg (1986)
Luigi Snozzi & Rudy Hunziker (1986)
Frank Lloyd Wright (1986)
The Monumental - Photo Exhibition (1986)
30 Spanish Architects (1986)
Städelschule - Frankfurt (1987)
Blangstedgaard & Høje Tåstrup (1987)
Bernard Tschumi (1987)
Paolo Portoghesi (1987)
New York Architects (1987)
Cities: Cook & Hawley (1987)
Venturi & Scott-Brown (1987)
Daniel Libeskind (1987)
Düsseldorf Students (1987)
Aker Brygge (1987)
Le Corbusier & Architecture in Comics (1988 in Danish Architecture Centre)
Lebbeu's Woods (1988)
The Large Projects - Paris (1988)
Peter Eisenman (1988)
Nordic Symposium in Eigtveds Pakhus (1988)
Architectures Danoises (1988 in Paris)
Itsuki Hasegawa + Jens Lindhe (1988)
Hansjörg Voth - Retrospective (1988)
Kitte Fennestad - Entropy (1988)
Cooper Union + Dagmar Richter (1988)
A New Generation - Younger Norwegian Architects (1988)
John Hejduk (1989)
5 Paths - The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture (1989)