Rebæk Søpark Student Housing
A large, densely packed decoration. The dormitory has seven floors with 361 rooms and 21 kitchens along corridors in the middle of the building. Each door has a unique symmetrical decoration. Around the kitchen doors they are larger than around the rooms’ entrances.
On each floor, the spaces in front of the lifts also have unique decorations down to the linoleum flooring. High on the walls is the calligraphy of sayings from, among others the Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore, Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, Danish Benny Andersen and Chinese and Danish proverbs.
Inspector Henrik Hollander talks about the decoration: “We are proud of it. It’s unique. Every corridor has its own expression, and every door has its own motif, so the youngsters can find their way home when they’ve been out on a binge. Young people have a hard time with the colours. But I tell them the story behind, and then they get a sense of ownership and begin to look after it.”
Finn Thybo Andersen: Poul Gernes Decoration Projects. London 2018, p. 287. Translated by Dan A. Marmorstein. Excerpt.
