Hans Christian Hansen

Bremerholm Transformer Station and Bellahøj Transformer & Control Station document a capability to reinvent traditions in construction and material use, and translate the challenges of contemporary construction industry he was facing into modest, long lasting building designs that link culture/tradition, locality and scale around the human experience of the work. One could argue that his buildings define an ecological tectonic approach that addresses the urban scale in a direct unimpressed and highly original manner, outlining a direction for an ‘urban tectonic’. In this way Hansen’s work sets an example in itself as built heritage, but in addition, they set a methodological example when valued in relation to Frampton’s notion of the arrière-garde. Hansen’s work witnesses a critical and reflective ability on his behalf that enables him to act in everyday practice and to shape construction elements into spatial experiences that link the urban fabric to the human scale. In this way the notion of the arrière-garde sets an example for future architectural research as well, by demanding of it to feed practice with such a critical reflective approach, skills, and methods.