REGISTER - BEATE HOLMEBAKK (MANTHEY KULA)

In this episode Hugh Strange interviews Beate Holmebakk of Mathey Kula Architects to speak about her work, and that of her practice.

Beate is a leading figure in Norwegian architectural practice and education. Her practice has made a singular position with works that seek to establish a resonant formal presence within the remarkable landscapes in which they are situated. In considering the lineage for this work it comes as no surprise that Beate studied with Sverre Fehn and John Hejduk among others.

Harnessing pragmatic concerns (such as the consideration of snow melt and rain water on a roof form, or of the organisational requirements of a hydro electric plant) Manthey Kula find space for expression sited within the particular logics of each site and brief. The manner in which they distill this into the finished work is remarkable, through a process invested in the power of abstraction while never losing sight of the vitality of the material presence of the finished work.

Her buildings are not mute, but are protagonists in their contexts. They possess a poise, an alertness to where they are. Perhaps they ask of us a similar alertness - they are not interested in us being aware of the building alone, but of the building in relation to where it is. They invite us to see anew.

http://www.mantheykula.no

Hugh Strange is an architect here in London, and runs a unit in our M.Arch programme http://www.hughstrange.com

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Credits:
Register is brought to you by the Department of Architecture & Landscape at the Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London
www.kingston.ac.uk/faculties/kings…-and-landscape/

Head of Department: Eleanor Suess
Producer: Laura Evans / Andrew Clancy
Interviewer: Hugh Strange
Audio: Madoka Ellis