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Copenhagen X	IT University of Copenhagen	Arcikitecture
Open, visible, humane Openness, visibility, and human contact are the primary offerings of the new IT University of Copenhagen. The institution for education in Information Technology is under construction in the new district of Ørestad, by the architect Henning Larsen. Architecturally, the building is characterised by openness, because the modern IT education is typically organised around group work and group projects. Visibility, because researchers, students and teachers in the new university complex are in constant visual contact with each other across disciplines and physical location. Human contact, because the IT culture, unfortunately, is often marked by social isolation in front of a computer screen. Therefore, the physical environment is an active participant in the attempt to eliminate social isolation in the IT environment. Even the institution's leader will be visible in his office. In full view of each other, students, teachers, and researchers will be working side by side. This sense of open co-operation will extend outside the institutions walls, where IT University will work in close co-operation with partners from the business community and other institutions. Drawers with a view As an axis, a link between IT University's two main wings, one finds a large panoptikon space, a gathering atrium, wrapped in a metal sheath. All of the public areas in the two wings are oriented towards this atrium; the central and common room. From the floor, it is possible to grasp of all the activities in the complex. The rooms for teaching, conferencing, meeting and researching are literally pulled out into the atrium. Here they hang like a long row of transparent "drawers" pulled open to various degrees. This gives unparalleled opportunities for looking onto, looking into, looking out of, and following in all of the activities. In principle, there are no private rooms in		the IT University, where every thing is open and accessible. However, the researchers need for a certain amount private space is respected. Study room on the balconies A row of study areas are established on the balconies between the open "drawers", where the students can connect to the wireless network. These work areas are designed to invite informal meeting and social contact. Experience from similar institutions indicate that the students prefer to work in these open spaces precisely because they open opportunities for spontaneous and informal contact. This changes the traditional and damaging perception of conditions within the IT culture where "nerds" live a life as "organic appendages" to hard disk and screen, socially and physically isolated from others, but in global contact over the net with the rest of humanity. Digital art in the atrium The atrium is decorated with digital art. Digital images and animation are projected onto the ends of the protruding "drawers" so that the human activity in the atrium is accompanied by fluctuating images, light and information. The pulsing life of the atrium is intensified by the digital art, that can be seen as a metaphorical expression of the intensity of life in the network society. The digital artwork might be influenced by parameters such as light, traffic, and temperature, so that the round the clock lifestyle, both inside and outside the building could be connected to the artistic expression. A giant screen, with information for users and guests, is also intended as part of the program. A place in the elite With openness, visibility, and close human contact, the new IT University of Copenhagen has the means to achieve the institution's primary goal: to insure Denmark a place among the international IT elite, integrating education and research at the highest level. © Jan Andersen 2002