Supertanker is a group of urbanists that was formed in 2003 in response to the urban transformation of the Copenhagen harbor – and the debate regarding it. Since then, the group has been working to explore and develop opportunities for social, cultural and urban participation, with a vantage point in relational art and design, urban pedagogy, process facilitation and social innovation – in short, urbanism. Over the years, Supertanker has contributed to the development of new forms of practice in urban planning, citizen’s participation and community development and, in connection with this, has carried out extensive research and teaching.
Supertanker has undergone several metamorphoses since its inception as a grassroots laboratory. The role of consultant was immediately tested together with the ongoing experimentation with ever new methods of participation. In addition, the academic role and culture have always been a companion or blind passenger. This has resulted in a number of academic publications as well as contributing to the development of the Planning, Cities and Processes programme at Roskilde University – in addition to a completely urban track through the bachelor and graduate programmes at Roskilde University. In addition, for more than 10 years Supertanker has been very active in social projects in the Western suburbs of Copenhagen.
The different roles within urban development have yielded a lot of experience, which it is worth, and perhaps even a duty, to pick up on. Each and every one of the roles has enabled or prevented an urban practice in resonance with our professional and cultural core feeling. The experiences have been formulated in various writings and presentations on an ongoing basis, but in an upcoming phase, where we cross our tracks, they will be gathered and conceptualized further in an attempt to show how our urban practice is explicitly and implicitly moulded by the conditions of possibility in contemporary Denmark.
All of it in order to bring the spirit of our lesser experiences
into ideas of something greater.
SUPERTANKER 