Danish architecture.pdf

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Factsheet Denmark

JANUARY 2008

With its simple, clear-cut form, the Struers

headquarters , Ballerup, built in 2004 by

Dissing+Weitling, represents the Minimalist trend

in Danish architecture. Photo: Adam Mørk.

ARCHITECTURE

During the 1990s, Danish architecture

was increasingly oriented towards the Neo-

Modernism which was dominant interna-

tionally at the time, and at the start of the

21st century, it still has a strong hold on

Danish architecture.

Both building forms and room layouts

can be either severe and calm or highly

dynamic, as for instance in Vilhelm Lau-

ritzen’s Terminal 3 in Copenhagen Air-

port, Kastrup, from 1998.

The most immediately obvious com-

mon feature is the often sophisticated use

of Modernist materials: steel and glass,

but also wood, natural stone and brick are

common facade materials.

Neo-Modernism seems to follow sever-

al trends. One is the minimalist treatment

of building volumes and surfaces, as in

KHR’s building for Kommunedata in Bal-

lerup from 2002, NNE’s Novo Seven

Manufacturing Facility in Hillerød from

2002 and Dissing+Weitling’s Struers head-

quarters in Ballerup from 2004. Another

trend involves conceptual simplification of

form as in Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s

ARoS Aarhus Museum of Art from 2004.

A more poetic interpretation is also some-

times seen, for instance in Tårnby Court-

house from 2000 by Dorte Mandrup and

Niels Fuglsang. Finally, many buildings,

especially blocks of flats, are clearly

inspired by 1930s Functionalism.

The most recent and largest prestige

building projects in the capital, the Opera

House from 2004 by Henning Larsen and

the Playhouse from 2008 by Boye Lund-

gaard and Lene Tranberg, are also in their

different ways based on the Modernist tra-

dition, which is so strong in Denmark. A

related treatment of form is seen on a

smaller scale, for instance in the main

entrance to the Zoo from 1998 by the firm

of architects Entasis.

The Modernist approach to building

projects is often supplemented with new

features, including increased use of coloured

elements, as in C.F. Møller Architects’ res-

idential development Nordlyset at Ameri-

ka Plads in Copenhagen from 2006, and a

shutter motif which adds movement to

severely drawn facades, as in the FIH head-

quarters at the Langelinie quay in Copen-

hagen, built by 3xNielsen in 2001.

A new trend, the so-called Pragmatism,

has emerged in recent years. This takes an

extremely unconventional approach to the

Danes abroad – Athens and Vienna: The broth-

ers Christian Hansen (1803-83) and Theophilus

Hansen (1813-91) both obtained several commis-

sions for monumental buildings in Athens and

Vienna. They were masters of the Historicism of

the period, which they primarily interpreted in

Classicist, Byzantine and Renaissance style.

Christian Hansen was Royal Architect in Greece

1834-1843 and was entrusted with building

Athens University (1850). His brother succeeded

him and built Athens Observatory (1846) and

later the Academy of Sciences (1887) and the

National Library (1892). In 1846 Theophilus

Hansen settled in Vienna, where his buildings

include the Musikverein concert hall (1869), the

Stock Exchange (1877) and the Parliament build-

ing (1884). – The Parliament building in Vienna.

Photo: Peter Korrak.

Internally, ARoS Aarhus Museum of Art , built in

2004 by Schmidt Hammer Lassen, opens into a

spacious reception area with undulating bal-

conies. Photo: Adam Mørk.

Tårnby Courthouse , built in 2000 by Dorte Man-

drup and Niels Fuglsang, combines a modernist

idiom with distinctive colours. Photo: Torben

Eskerod.

projects and re-interprets the assumptions

of architecture in a provocative way. With

projects such as the VM houses in Øresta-

den from 2005, Plot has become the advo-

cate of a new approach to architecture.

High-rise development is a new phe-

nomenon, which has been received hesi-

tantly in Denmark. However, high-rise

buildings are currently planned in several

cities across the country, while Copen-

hagen is starting cautiously in peripheral

areas with the 21-storey Ferring Inter-

national Centre in Ørestaden, built by

Henning Larsen in 2001, and the 16-

storey Copper Tower in Copenhagen’s

North Harbour, built by Arkitema in 2004.

A characteristic feature around 2000

was Danish architects’ increasingly strong

position in major projects. Dissing+Weit-

ling started this trend as architects of the

East Bridge of the Great Belt Link in

1998, while KHR is responsible for the

most recent project so far, the Copenhagen

Metro development in 2002.

have been found through excavations of

the Viking Age military encampments of

Trelleborg, Aggersborg and Fyrkat from

around 1000 AD. Within large circular

earthen ramparts, these fortresses were

laid out on the basis of a cruciform, sym-

metrical grid of streets, whose main axes

divided the complexes into smaller units.

The conversion of Denmark to Christ-

ianity around 960 introduced a new build-

ing culture: church building. The first

churches were built of wood, but quite

soon these were superseded by Roma-

nesque stone churches. In the early 12th

century, ambitious cathedral building

projects were started in Lund, Viborg and

Ribe. The village churches usually had a

single aisle and choir, like Hover Church,

and sometimes an apse. Regional charac-

teristics might appear, such as the round

churches on Bornholm.

Roskilde Cathedral was started in the

1170s as one of Denmark’s first brick

buildings. It is an early Danish example of

the Gothic style, while St Knud’s Church

in Odense, completed at the end of the

15th century, represents the High Gothic

style. In rural parishes, the Gothic style

mainly manifested itself in alterations and

extensions of the Romanesque churches,

such as the characteristic stepped gables.

Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo

During the Renaissance, Danish architec-

ture was dominated by the building of

manor houses such as the 16th century

Hesselagergaard and Egeskov, both on

Funen. Among the Royal buildings of the

period, Kronborg Castle was completed

by Antonius van Opbergen in 1585 as a

four-winged complex, while Frederiksborg

Castle from 1602-1620 by the Flemish

Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder was

three-winged with a fourth, lower, terrace

wing. In both castles, the architectural

look itself, the decorative finish, was in

the preferred Dutch Renaissance style

with lavish sandstone ornamentation on a

red brick background.

King Christian IV’s extensive building

programme included many different pro-

jects, from the Stock Exchange (1619-

1640) through the Round Tower (1637-

1642), both in Copenhagen, to the con-

The Viking Age and Middle Ages

The earliest traces of Danish architecture

Danes abroad – Altona: In 1784, Carl Frederik

Hansen was appointed national master builder

in Holstein, then part of the Danish realm.

However, the income from the position was

modest, so he supplemented it with private

commissions, especially for the wealthy mer-

chants in Hamburg. Hansen built several houses

and country houses in Altona, especially on the

fashionable Palmaille promenade, including his

own house (1804) and Baur’s House (1805). He

also built country houses such as Cesar Godef-

froy’s (1792) on Elbchaussée. The simple, strong

Classicism of the houses with their smooth wall

surfaces, plain details and strong pillars fully

demonstrate the talent which was to make him

the foremost architect of the period. – Carl

Frederik Hansen’s own house on the Palmaille

promenade in Altona. Photo: Lars Nicolai Bock.

The round structure of the Tietgen Hall of

Residence in Ørestaden, Copenhagen, built in

2005 by Lundgaard & Tranberg, is inspired by

the Chinese Haga people’s shared housing.

Photo: Jens Lindhe.

struction of new towns such as Christian-

stad (1614) and new districts such as Chri-

stianshavn (1618) and Nyboder (started

1631), both in Copenhagen.

The Baroque style influenced Danish

architecture from modest town houses to

Royal building projects, from city palaces

such as Charlottenborg on Kongens Ny-

torv in Copenhagen (started 1672) to

country houses such as Ledreborg by Lau-

ritz de Thurah from the 1740s.

The main Danish Baroque buildings

include the Church of Our Saviour (Vor

Frelsers Kirke) in Copenhagen from 1682-

1696 by Lambert van Haven, Fredensborg

Palace from 1722 by Johan Cornelius

Krieger and the later Christiansborg Palace,

started in 1730 by the German architect

Elias David Häusser. It was, however,

mainly the leading architects of the next

generation, Lauritz de Thurah and Nicolai

Eigtved, who made their mark on the inte-

riors of the palace.

Nicolai Eigtved became the main advo-

cate of the Rococo style in Denmark. His

principal achievement was the laying-out

of the Frederiksstad in Copenhagen in

1749. This quarter was organised around

the octagonal square surrounded by the

four Amalienborg palaces. For the town-

houses, he produced type designs in his

characteristic, discreet pilaster strip and

recessed style with delicate relief effects.

The VM houses in Ørestaden, Copenhagen, built

in 2005 by Plot, represent a new generation’s

concept of architecture. Photo: Johan Fowelin.

Ferring International Centre , built in 2001 by

Henning Larsen, is the first of several high-rise

buildings planned for Ørestaden, Copenhagen.

Photo: Henning Larsens Architects.

The Metro stations in Copenhagen, built in 2002

by KHR, emphasise minimalism, robustness and

light. Photo: KHR.

Hover Church near Ringkøbing is built of granite

ashlars and is a characteristic example of a sim-

ple, Romanesque village church. Photo: Simon

Ladefoged.

Classicism and Historicism

After Eigtved’s death in 1754, another

architect had to continue the work on the

main monument of the Frederiksstad, the

Danes abroad – Rome: The Danish Academy in

Rome was completed in 1965. The main force

behind the project, Kay Fisker (1893-1965), did

not live to see the final result, but the building,

which he designed initially with Robert Duelund

Mortensen and later with Svend Høgsbro, is

characteristic of his work. The Academy appears

as a collection of clear-cut, cubist shapes with

clean, smooth surfaces. Fisker’s life-long devo-

tion to Danish brick was not impeded by the

Roman setting. Everything is dominated by the

texture of yellow brick and the outside areas are

likewise paved with yellow tiles. The heart of the

building is the double-height library room with a

balcony all the way round. – The Danish Institute

in Rome. Photo: Søren Lose.

Who is who in historical Danish architecture

Johan Cornelius Krieger (1683-1755) was

one of Denmark’s leading Baroque archi-

tects. In his time, he was particularly recog-

nised as a landscape architect, who for

instance designed the cascades at Frede-

riksborg Castle. As an architect, he under-

took projects ranging from Fredensborg

Palace (1722) through Vartov (1729) to pat-

tern drawings for Copenhagen gable attic

houses after the fire in the city in 1728.

Christian Frederik Hansen (1756-1845) was

the leading architect in Denmark in the first

half of the 19th century with his simple and

severe interpretation of Classicism. In 1800,

he was brought from Holstein to Copen-

hagen to undertake several major public

building projects. He also exerted great

influence on Danish building as both Chief

Building Director and Director of the Royal

Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

Lauritz de Thurah (1706-1759) was a repre-

sentative of late Baroque, which empha-

sised the volume and sculptural character

of buildings. His rebuilding of Ledreborg’s

cour d’honneur with two side wings and

obelisks demonstrates his talent, but he

was pushed aside by the introduction of the

Rococo in Denmark. As chief master builder

from 1754, he unsuccessfully attempted to

finish the Frederik Church (Frederikskirken) .

Gustav Friedrich Hetsch (1788-1864) as a

young man worked for Napoleon’s architect,

Charles Percier, which prepared him well for

his work from 1815 onwards on the interiors

of C.F. Hansen’s Christiansborg Palace. Over

time, his Classicist background developed

into late Classicism, which frequently drew

on historical styles, for instance in St Ansgar

Church with its brick masonry walls from

1841 and Neo-Gothic manor houses.

Nicolai Eigtved (1701-1754) was the leading

Rococo architect in Denmark. His contribu-

tion to the interiors of Christiansborg Palace

in the 1730s-1740s and his rebuilding of the

Prince’s Palace in 1744 established the ideal

for Danish Rococo rooms. Eigtved’s main

work was, however, the Frederiksstad quar-

ter with the Amalienborg palaces and the

Frederik Church, although he did not live to

complete them.

Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll (1800-1856)

was one of the leading representatives of

late Classicism. He worked freely within sev-

eral styles, including his Pompeii-inspired

major work Thorvaldsen’s Museum (1848)

and the Gothic Hobro Church (1850). The

plain, sober approach characteristic of Oringe

Hospital (1857) and the Danish Medical

Association Houses (1853) was no less origi-

nal at the time.

Nicolas-Henri Jardin (1720-1799) came to

Copenhagen from France in 1754 to take

charge of the building of the Frederik

Church, but his Piranesi-inspired style was

met with scepticism in Denmark.

Nonetheless, he facilitated the break-

through of Classicism in Denmark and when

he left the country in 1771, he left behind

partly a number of well-trained students,

partly several influential buildings.

Johan Daniel Herholdt (1818-1902) was the

leading representative of the national trend

in the late 19th century. He created a num-

ber of buildings reflecting his focus on brick

architecture, the use of modern iron struc-

tures and inspiration from Danish and Italian

medieval and Renaissance architecture,

including Copenhagen Central Station (1864,

now demolished) and the National Bank

(1870, now demolished).

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff (1735-1799) was

Denmark’s leading Classicist architect in the

late 18th century. He was responsible most-

ly for rebuildings, such as Fredensborg

Palace and Frederiksberg Castle, but

through these and his professorship at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, he had

great influence, especially on the extensive

middle-class building activity after the fires

in Copenhagen in 1795 and 1807.

Martin Nyrop (1849-1921) was a follower of

Herholdt. He was a leading figure within the

National Romantic trend, where he empha-

sised a high standard of craftsmanship in

both stone and wood and historically

inspired, personal and imaginative interpre-

tation, as seen in Vallekilde High School

(1884) or the Elias Church (1908), which was

inspired by the medieval twin towers.

Danes abroad – Oxford: In his later years, Den-

mark’s unchallenged Modernist, Arne Jacobsen

(1902-71), was frequently commissioned by for-

eign developers, including several in Germany. In

Oxford, he built St Catherine’s College (1964) as

a monumental and axial structure. The buildings

were given the severe shapes of cool Modernism

and made of the most modern materials, for

many a surprisingly contemporary response to a

traditional type of building. A undisguised con-

crete skeleton with glass facades outlines the

structure and is supplemented with yellow brick

surfaces. The same materials dominate the inte-

rior, which was equipped with furniture and fit-

tings designed by Jacobsen himself. – St Cath-

erine’s College in Oxford. Photo: Knud Holscher

Design.

Ferdinand Meldahl (1827-1908) was the

leading representative of the Historicist

European trend, which took its inspiration

from the historical Gothic, Renaissance and

Baroque styles. He often preferred plaster

facades, for instance in the Nautical College

(1865). He exerted great influence through

numerous buildings and many years as pro-

fessor and Director at the Royal Danish

Academy of Fine Arts.

Christian Frederik Møller (1898-1988) for

many years worked closely with Kay Fisker,

for instance on Aarhus University. Their

regional interpretation of Functionalism with

a concise idiom and preference for Danish

materials and forms also dominates his later

works, especially in Jutland, such as the

Fourth of May Hall of Residence in Århus

(1949).

Hack Kampmann (1856-1920) for many

years worked in the National-Romantic

style, where truth to materials and artistic

decoration were prominent features, for

instance in the Provincial Archive in Viborg

(1889) and the extension of Ny Carlsberg

Glyptotek (1906). He built the Neo-Classical

Police Headquarters with, among others,

Aage Rafn and his sons Christian and Hans

Jørgen Kampmann.

Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) was for several

years the leading figure in Danish architec-

ture. In the 1930s, he created Functionalist

major works with an international touch

such as the Bellevue area as well as Stel-

ling’s House in Copenhagen. He continued

to be a leading figure of post-war Modernism,

within both design and architecture, with

buildings such as the Minimalist Toms

Factories (1961).

Carl Petersen (1874-1923) pioneered Neo-

Classicism. The small, but monumental

street facade of Fåborg Museum (1913) and

the colourful exhibition space established a

new direction for architecture. His attention

to surfaces, textures and colours, all influ-

enced by his ceramic work, also influenced

the next generation of Neo-Classical archi-

tects.

Jørn Utzon (born 1918) belongs to the organ-

ic trend within Modernism with buildings

such as his major work Sydney Opera House

(1966) and the later Bagsværd Church (1976)

with its wavy concrete roof. In courtyard res-

idential estates such as Kingohusene (1960),

he merged rows of houses into the land-

scape and at the same time introduced new

models for private and common areas.

Kay Fisker (1893-1965) was one of the lead-

ing architects from around 1920. In his early

years, he worked in a Neo-Classical style

and especially his blocks of houses were

pioneering with their simple, severe form,

such as Hornbækhus (1922). He later con-

tinued similar characteristics within

Functionalism, where he among other

things refined the balcony and bay window

house as a type.

Jørgen Bo (born 1919) and Vilhelm Wohlert

(1920-2007) designed an exceptionally

groundbreaking building in Denmark: the

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (1958) in

Humlebæk. From a Modernist starting point,

they created an informal group of buildings

merging into the landscape. Enclosed exhibi-

tion spaces were linked by long passages

whose glass facades allowed interior and

exterior space, nature and art to interact.

Mogens Lassen (1901-1987) was one of the

pioneers of international Functionalism in

Denmark with for instance Gentofte Bad-

minton Hall (1936). His ideal was the build-

ings of Le Corbusier, which his pure Cubist

style follows quite closely. He also took on

the modern material of the time, reinforced

concrete, often in close collaboration with

the engineer Ernst Ishøy, for instance in the

System House in Ordrup (1937).

Fællestegnestuen (established 1961) with

Tyge Arnfred, Viggo Møller-Jensen and Jørn

Ole Sørensen in the 1960s introduced a

completely new use of concrete element

construction in Albertslund Syd, a dense low

development consisting mainly of courtyard

and terrace houses. Here, as in later pro-

jects, the company focused on improved

housing, for instance in Farum Midtpunkt

(1974) and Solbjerghave (1980).

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