The Natural Resources building (on the right) has an atrium at its southern end featuring floor to ceiling windows-- perfect for catching the arctic sun. After Katuaq (see this post), this is the nicest indoor space I've seen since arriving in Greenland.
Today I visited two of the most architecturally significant buildings in Nuuk: the University of Greenland and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Like a few other buildings in Nuuk that I've seen, these seem to be part of that unique genre of high-latitude-inspired architecture.
The Natural Resources building (on the right) has an atrium at its southern end featuring floor to ceiling windows-- perfect for catching the arctic sun. After Katuaq (see this post), this is the nicest indoor space I've seen since arriving in Greenland.
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Nuuk definitely has its share of art-- and that's not just in reference to the charming graffiti you see all over town (example at left seen outside the community hall where I went to a yoga class this morning.) Yes, beyond graffiti, Nuuk boasts some architectural gems and art exhibits that satisfy my cultural appetite (which, admittedly, has about a 15-minute attention span.) Most notable of these are found at the Katuaq Cultural Center. Katuaq is a beautiful building--slightly reminiscent, in my opinion, of University of Alaska's Museum of the North. Seems that high latitudes, northern lights, and wide open landscapes have inspired more than one architect in similar ways. Katuaq's cafe area. Katuaq shows movies and hosts performances in its main performance hall, but it also has a cafe with wonderfully lofted ceilings, loads of natural light, and a constantly changing gallery space that wraps from the cafe around the rest of the building. On weekdays, I often come here to observe the mother-barnevogn phenomenon (which you can read about here), revise my resume, and occasionally go through old files so as to appear to be employed. Saturdays and Sundays, the cafe offers a brunch (seen below) that Ken and I have so far resisted. Instead, we like to split a 35 DKK (7 USD) cafe au lait and watch other people eat brunch, then go home to eat some off-brand muesli. One day, one day, we may partake. This week's gallery exhibit at Katuaq was a kids-with-cameras deal featuring young photographers from Paamiut, a small town (population 1619) in southwest Greenland. I've attended exhibits of similar projects while working in Ethiopia and Pakistan, but this exhibit is by far the best I've ever seen. Better subject matter? More inspiring landscape? Nicer cameras? I'm not sure, but there were some great photos. Below, some of my favorites. |