Constructed landscapes
Michael Sheridan looks at landmarks of 20th-century European architecture to explore the relationship between buildings and their environments.
The Deborah J. Norden Fund 1999
Michael Sheridan: “Constructed Landscapes”
SAS Royal Hotel garden, Copenhagen, Denmark. Credit: Arne Jacobsen.
The Deborah J. Norden Fund, a program of The Architectural League of New York, was established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah Norden. The competition awards up to $5,000 annually in travel grants to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies.
“Constructed Landscapes”
In 2003, the Architectural League awarded one grant to Michael Sheridan, who traveled to Denmark, Sweden, and Finland to study a series of 20th-century architectural landmarks in order to explore the relationship between buildings and their environments. He focused on designs of Erik Gunnar Asplund (Sweden, 1885–1940), Alvar Aalto (Finland, 1898–1976), and Arne Jacobsen (Denmark, 1902–1971). Although working with different forms and materials, the three shared a belief in “the potential of modern architecture to connect nature with modern society.”
His trip inspired his practice, which focuses on spaces for art, and a series of books, including Room 606 (Phaidon, 2003), a study of Arne Jacobsen, and Made in Denmark: Modern Houses 1950-65 (forthcoming from Phaidon, 2008).
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About the Deborah J. Norden Fund
Publications
Explore
Horizontal light: Lewerentz, Aalto and the Nordic landscape
Thomas W. Ryan explores the seminal works of Alvar Aalto and Sigurd Lewerentz in Sweden and Finland.
Mid-Century Masters
A four-part series of audio recordings from the Architectural League's archives of leading figures in post-war modernism.
A conversation on nature and the city
A discussion of the role of politics and economics in the transformation of the natural environment.