prsentation kongelig akademi rev 7
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Presentation - Christian ILCUS – Kongelig Akademi – Strategisk Byplanlægning<br />
My name is Christian Ilcus’. I have an MSc in Political Science from IFSK-Århus, and an MA in<br />
EU Studies from the College of Europe. I have participated in Øresund University's Summer School<br />
almost 20 years ago. I consider myself European. I hope all of you do too. I have noted how the<br />
construction of a transnational metropolis has been rebranded as the Greater CPH or Greater<br />
Copenhagen. I believe this expresses an immature approach, an immaturity that expresses itself<br />
primarily through our desire to avoid examining the true roots of concepts that orientate our<br />
thinking and, therefore, our entire approach to the world. The motive is perhaps more prestigious:<br />
Copenhagen's relapse contains the seeds of the next phase of the transformation of the city within a<br />
certain jurisdiction but with a multicultural flavor. In more direct terms, only a fool is blind to the<br />
role of women's desire for emancipation, struggles within the labor movement for dominance, the<br />
skyrocketing of house prices, and bureaucracies' difficulties in dealing with "threats" to internal and<br />
external cohesion in joining the EU. This is part of the entire process.<br />
However, I am not out to destroy, but to evaluate and, above all, to create, integrate, and build new<br />
values.<br />
I am 53 years old. I live in Kolding, where I have ended up as a bit of a hustler, an insider on the<br />
outside with informal influence in the EU, and locally as part of my political activism, not-for-profit<br />
policy advisory, and scientific production. I studied courses in strategic management and Chinese in<br />
the p<strong>rev</strong>ious semester at the Business Academy in Kolding. Here, I learned about the<br />
interrelationships between systems, structures, and processes and the interaction with the outside<br />
world in a contemporary form, the need to position oneself, the importance of story-telling, the<br />
importance of communicating how the organization should move forward, and why it has an interest<br />
in doing so.<br />
I am motivated by the desire to enter permanent paid employment.<br />
I ran for the European Parliament for the Liberal Party in the South Jutland Region but lost to<br />
competitor Asger Christensen, which was expected. However, I received the longest applause, and<br />
the audience gasped during my speech for my courage and my clear messages. One of my key<br />
issues is the strengthening of EU urban governance policies and networks through the establishment<br />
of the European Center of Excellence in Metropolitan Governance.<br />
I am motivated by the desire to contribute to the construction of the European Union's urban<br />
policies based on a theoretically sound urban theory and through the use of outstanding architects.<br />
The starting point for this could be a multicultural European City on the site between the Blue<br />
Planet and Kastrup Airport. I have dabbled in urban theories, such as modernization theory, smart<br />
growth, center-periphery, and regionalism, but only superficially. I look forward to deepening my<br />
knowledge of this subject. I have no idea where to start or how to orient myself in literature. All I<br />
know is that I am not interested in the Dadaist assemblage. I am committed to a cultural-political<br />
statement that is holistic and coherent, communicating European identity with a Scandinavian<br />
flavor that is qualitatively superior to what has gone before.<br />
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I am the author of a book on European Painting, which I am currently <strong>rev</strong>ising. Therefore, I know<br />
the importance of being both theoretically sound and inventive in designing innovation and<br />
contributing to cultural development. Updating my artwork has also led me to the EU's cultural<br />
policy, whose strategic framework is currently being <strong>rev</strong>iewed. I want to contribute to the reflection<br />
on how the EU should relate to cultural policy given the treaty framework. Art is part of the<br />
political, spiritual, and economic development of cities, three purposes that are probably the basis<br />
for why we have the cities in which most humanity lives today. Many of us in Europe believe that<br />
something new needs to happen and that Europe needs an initiative, but how do we move from<br />
Ahnung to thought, from theory to action?<br />
I visited China in 2019 and was quite shocked by how the cityscape, with its many generic<br />
buildings and the lack of cultural facilities, felt. In China's Inner Mongolia, Ai Wei Wei and Herzog<br />
Meuron have been working on the construction project Ordos100, where architects have put a lot of<br />
knowledge, time, and energy into designing the type of houses. The project's failure is an important<br />
lesson for the outside world, if not for the Chinese, who may well perceive life in high-rise<br />
buildings as desert migration from and to a life with a villa, Volvo, and dog. This movement was<br />
effectively ended for political, economic, and commercial reasons.<br />
I also experienced a case of agoraphobia in a square in Minsk, built in a Stalinist monumentalism<br />
style, where it felt like I was disappearing as a human being - it was an eerie experience. It a world<br />
apart from the golden harmony and decorative elegance characterizing Lithuanian Baroque. This<br />
reminds us that we are servants and that man come first. There is the human situation and human<br />
character.<br />
Then, there is - to quote Joel Kotkin - the Human City.<br />
By that, I do not mean that we should let the nation-states of Europe use themselves until they fall<br />
over exhausted and Asians take over. On the contrary, I think we should take a self-conscious<br />
approach, declare ourselves European, and build Europe politically, economically, and culturally<br />
before the suburbs of the world retaliate. Andres Duaney published The Smart Growth Manual over<br />
a decade ago. Perhaps we should define the elements and put together an integrated urban theory<br />
with the working title, The European Urban Manual. What is the conceptual infrastructure of this<br />
study?<br />
My career goal is to develop my leadership as a European public policy representative.<br />
Right now, I live in Kolding, Denmark's 8th largest municipality, which is stagnant and has several<br />
suppressed social conflicts and a well-grown, self-absorbed, and power-hungry bureaucracy, as well<br />
as full-time politicians in the city council who are too busy to think. However, it is also a region<br />
with a wide expanse of nature where people get along as human beings. There is certainly a vibrant<br />
church in Kolding, but this may not be a busy town. Alternatively, as they say, out in West Jutland:<br />
“If the mission does not get you, the fox will”.<br />
Of course, I am interested in getting my foot into the door and contributing to the city's development<br />
as one of several possible routes to the job market. I'm sure I deserve it.<br />
In Copenhagen, Europe meets Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea meets the Arctic. In winter, cold<br />
Siberian winds occasionally blow across harbors. In Southern Jutland, the Wadden Sea provides<br />
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esidents with a sense of horizon and opportunities to relax, while Kolding contains Koldinghus,<br />
Galleri Trapholdt, and Christiansfeld, as well as a river that flows slowly through the town with<br />
cryptic messages. Like my ancestors, who fled the duchies, Kolding became a city where people<br />
stayed briefly to move on, the city was a êntre-pot. The only square is the railway station square<br />
with a view of Koldinghus that masks the absence of true democracy in the city. On the other hand,<br />
the Crown Prince opened an exhibition that included the bow of Dannebrog. I have interpreted this<br />
as an invitation to the people of Kolding to create something new and to honor the city with the<br />
need for an architectural masterpiece that is steeped in renewal in harmony with the ancestors. I am<br />
just an ambitious voice, wearing the velvet gloves of Central Europe - without which, according to<br />
Milan Kundera, Europe is not possible.<br />
Family-wise, I have a distant cousin in Venezuela, a former city architect in Caracas. My father's<br />
uncle, Uncle Serban, is the former mayor of a Transylvanian mountain municipality, after which my<br />
father is named. He was baptized by Serban Dan. Today, he is named Dan Serban.<br />
I have been encouraged to apply for the program. I do not know who is paying for it.<br />
It goes without saying that, without love and spring water, the hero is no good, no matter how selfdependent<br />
and self-aware he is. Like humans, we rely on interactions with others to nourish<br />
ourselves. At the same time, life in institutions provides people the opportunity for an exchange<br />
between bodies, impressions, thoughts, ideas, and considerations – to exercise power. However, as<br />
students, you are at least ganz frei.<br />
This must be set against the fact that urban planners' perceptions of their roles have changed over<br />
time. They make decisions, filter issues, seek to influence others, and put pressure on themselves.<br />
Architecture, on the other hand, helps to tell a story and changes people's self-perception. This has<br />
become more subtle and agile.<br />
However, what does the transformation of governance structures mean for what we think about<br />
urbanism in Europe? We used to be post-modern. If we are to be modern again in Europe,<br />
theoretically sound approaches will be required. Therefore, I would like to get out of the program<br />
the ability to contribute to the construction of Europe and the quality of urban development in<br />
Denmark regarding the tasks I may have in the future. As you can see, I believe that we should not<br />
only take a more strategic approach to urban planning in Europe, but also create new, wellstructured<br />
bodies that are both European-oriented, nationally anchored, and sufficiently lubricated.<br />
This is provided by theoretically sound approaches that link good urban management with strategic<br />
urban design and architecture beyond Seaside, Florida.<br />
In other words, there are three projects in play: (1) A document entitled "Towards a European<br />
Architecture" (2) The New Kastrup project (3) An Urban Theory Manual that interacts with and<br />
engages architecture as a natural part of the city, an architecture that is both a symbol and an<br />
everyday thing, and a human experience that connects the built environment, sensory experience<br />
and influences how citizens stroll along streets and squares. This trinity requires solid grounding<br />
and integration between related disciplines such as architectural theory, urban theory, and practice,<br />
as conceived by the Copenhagen School. In other words, this is an urban design rather than urban<br />
planning, although it is hardly an ideal city.<br />
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Without an integrated theory-informed approach to urban development and architecture, there is no<br />
European urbanism to relate to. Mark Jayne and Kevin Ward suggest the elements around which a<br />
European city in New Kastrup could be harmonized: participation, materials, play, social utility,<br />
technology, sustainability, rhythm, mobility and mixed-use, learning and entrepreneurship,<br />
encounters and consumption, markets and waterfronts in a reproducible and comparative way. The<br />
value of the European City lies in the way it connects urbanization with urbanity, cultural policy<br />
with democracy, multicultural identity with local distinctiveness, and architecture with urban theory<br />
to create a contemporary European expression combined with a sense of innovative visual form. We<br />
must create something new and better in Europe.<br />
The aim is not only to excite Copenhageners and make them feel more European but also to<br />
contribute to the development of multicultural European theory-informed urbanism. Of course, I<br />
respect New Bauhaus' implicit desire to act as a support wheel for the political unification of<br />
Europe under the leadership of Paris-Brussels-Berlin. However, this is not the focus of my project.<br />
The autonomy of art is at stake. At the same time, the connections between architecture and human<br />
experience are not particularly well elucidated in the urban-theoretical literature. There are<br />
questions regarding the relationship between the political system, governance of the project, and<br />
funding.<br />
Copenhagen must be an actor in the fast-changing world of European urbanism, and help shape<br />
European capitalism with its own goals and values, which are now in the making stage. The city<br />
must communicate clearly and build relationships along this path through bridge-building and<br />
networking. I envision a European city that expresses an anthropocentric cosmic order, is functional<br />
and organic in its form as fungi that grow in and hold together the earth, as conceived by urban<br />
theorists, architects, and artists in happy symbiosis from all EU and candidate countries, and with<br />
leading forces to be defined. Strong leadership and good governance are necessary to lead change.<br />
The purpose of this is to express a certain idea of the European City. I see Fungi as signaling: (1)<br />
The earth that holds us together through an invisible network that we must cherish; (2) that we must<br />
be earthy in the sense of being down-to-earth, natural, or even open and direct about what others<br />
avoid, or are ashamed of; and (3) to stimulate a connection to the earth in Europe or to European<br />
soil, something that we have become distanced from in our society.<br />
But I cannot do it alone. I need your help.<br />
I am hoping for fruitful exchange and guidance from teachers and students in both directions.<br />
In a nutshell, I will explore the connections between politics and urban planning, architecture,<br />
sculpture, and painting within an appropriate urban theoretical framework.<br />
Overall, I think we need to prepare for rapid change in Europe. We must combine boldness with<br />
smoothness as part of a well-thought-out plan for the political unification of the EU. May les<br />
consciences keep up.<br />
What are your contributions?<br />
Christian Ilcus director@ilcus.eu<br />
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Bibliography:<br />
Brenner, Neil New Urban Spaces. Urban Theory and the Scale Question, OUP, 2019.<br />
Carrera, Judit Europe City Lessons from the European Prize for Urban Public Space. CCC-BCN,<br />
2015.<br />
Galindo, Michelle Collection: European Architecture, Braun, 2009.<br />
Gospodini, Aspa "European Cities in Competition and the new "Uses" of Urban Design", Journal of<br />
Urban Design, vol.7(1), 2002.<br />
Kotkin, Joel The Human City - Urbanism for the Rest of Us, 2017.<br />
Kristjansdottir, Sigridur Nordic Experiences of Sustainable Planning, Policy and Practice,<br />
Routledge, 2018.<br />
Mark Jayne & Kevin Ward Urban Theory New Critical Perspectives, Routledge, 2007.<br />
Cecilie Sachs Olsen and Christina Juhlin "Architecture and Urban Studies - an awkward kinship,”<br />
Nordic Journal of Urban Studies, vol.2, 2022.<br />
Sheldrake, Merlin Entangled Life - How Fungi make our worlds, change our minds, and change<br />
our futures, Vintage, 2021.<br />
Ward, Kevin Towards a Comparative return in Urban Studies - some reflections, Urban Geography,<br />
vo.29(5), 2008.<br />
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