Shelter From the Storm: A Different Kind of Design Hotel

Summary

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Instead of working with acrylics or clay and selling their works in galleries or museums for large sums of money, artists Kenneth Balfelt, 37, and Thomas Poulsen, 32, work with people and places and relationships. They deal with "social aesthetics," making connections between people at different levels in society, and redefining public space. This is a grey zone somewhere between art, sociology, architecture and design.

While the theoretical basis for their project called "Radical Horizontality" may be hard to understand, the benefits are real: Since the artists started to implement their vision at the Copenhagen men's shelter, there has been a decrease in violent incidents and the visitors find themselves in a cozier, more homelike environment. This makes it easier for the staff of social workers, nurses, and educators to establish a dialogue with visitors and temporary residents. "It has been a radical change," says shelter director Robert Olsen.

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Shelter From the Storm: A Different Kind of Design Hotel

Something interesting is happening across from Madame Pim's strip joint in what is probably Copenhagen's most sketchy neighborhood, close to the central train station. Two Danish ar...

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