Architecture of Copenhagen

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View of Copenhagen from the tower of the Church of Our Saviour Vor Frelsers Kirke-view8.jpg
View of Copenhagen from the tower of the Church of Our Saviour

The architecture of Copenhagen in Denmark is characterised by a wide variety of styles, progressing through Christian IV's early 17th century landmarks and the elegant 17th century mansions and palaces of Frederiksstaden, to the late 19th century residential boroughs and cultural institutions to the modernistic contribution of the 20th century such as Arne Jacobsen's National Bank and SAS Royal Hotel.

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Copenhagen is recognised globally as an exemplar of best practice urban planning. Its thriving mixed use city centre is defined by striking contemporary architecture, engaging public spaces and an abundance of human activity. These design outcomes have been deliberately achieved through careful replanning in the second half of the 20th century, with notable contributions both by leading international architects and a wave of new successful Danish architects.

Medieval times

The oldest preserved building in Copenhagen's inner city is considered to be Helligåndshuset. Helligåndshuset is built in the late 13th century.

Renaissance

Over the centuries Copenhagen grew in importance and a number of important landmarks of present-day Copenhagen date back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This can also be attributed to the personal effort of Christian IV, who is popularly known as "the builder king" in Denmark because of his legacy of and involvement in large building projects. [1] Rosenborg Castle and the old Stock Exchange in central Copenhagen, as well as Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød are all built in the Dutch Renaissance style, sometimes referred to in Denmark as "Christian IV style". Christian IV also founded the neighbourhoods of Christianshavn, of Nyboder as well as such important green spaces as King's Garden and Kastellet.

Baroque

Church of Our Saviour Vor Frelsers Kirke Copenhagen 2.jpg
Church of Our Saviour

Baroque buildings in Copenhagen include the Round Tower and the Church of Our Saviour as well as Fredensborg Palace.

Rococo

Frederiksstaden was constructed during the reign of Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century and is considered to be one of the most important Rococo complexes in Europe. [2] It was developed to commemorated the 300 years jubilee of the House of Oldenburg taking the throne in Denmark. Leading the project was A. G. Moltke, with Nicolai Eigtved as the main architect. Frederiksstaden has Amalienborg Palace and Marble Church at its centre and together they create an axis that was extended with the creation of the new Copenhagen Opera House in 2005 on the other side of the harbour basin. The district is characterized by straight broad streets in a straight-angled street layout. The streets are lined by bourgeois houses, mansions and palaces. Another important building in the district is the royal Frederiks Hospital was Denmark's first hospital in the present-day meaning of the word. It now houses the Danish Museum of Art & Design.

21st century: modernist architecture and urban development

The developing skyline of Orestad, located in the outskirts of Copenhagen. Orestad, Copenhagen skyline.jpg
The developing skyline of Ørestad, located in the outskirts of Copenhagen.

Recent years have seen a boom in modern architecture in Copenhagen [3] both for Danish architecture and for works by international architects. For a few hundred years, virtually no foreign architects had worked in Copenhagen, but since the turn of the millennium the city and its immediate surroundings have seen buildings and projects designed by top international architects. At the same time, a number of Danish architects have achieved success in Copenhagen and abroad.

Copenhagen's urban development in the first half of the 20th century was heavily influenced by industrialisation. After World War II, Copenhagen Municipality adopted Fordism and repurposed its medieval centre to facilitate private automobile infrastructure in response to innovations in transport, trade and communication. [4] Copenhagen’s spatial planning in this time frame was characterised by the separation of land uses: an approach which requires residents to travel by car to access facilities of different uses. [5] This planning scheme largely aligned with the modernist framework endorsed by Le Corbusier in such conceptual projects as the controversial Plan Voisin for Paris. [6]

Ebenezer Howard’s conceptualisation of the Garden City also perforated Copenhagen’s masterplan prior to the 1960s. In 1949, Copenhagen Municipality implemented the Finger Plan: a policy stating that the city should develop urban clusters along its five outreaching rapid public transport arteries. [7] This early example of transit orientated development resonates with Howard’s ideal of developing periphery communities linked with productive urban centres. [8] Due to the significant replanning that commenced in 1962, Copenhagen was fortunate to benefit from the intensification of its rapid transit corridors without suffering from the undesirable urban forms associated with British iterations of the Garden City. [7]

In 1962, Danish architect Jan Gehl shifted the trajectory of Copenhagen’s development by pedestrianising key parts of its city centre with the goal of enhancing the on-street conditions for humans. [9] Rigorous field studies informed Gehl’s conclusion that city spaces perform best when they encourage the use of public spaces. [10] Gehl observed that the quality of life between buildings is diminished when substandard architecture, poor safety and overwhelming car infrastructure limit human engagement in public places. [10] Gehl therefore commenced the replanning of Copenhagen in 1962 by pedestrianising Strøget: the city’s main interior transit artery.

Aerial view of Amagertorv square in the Stroget pedestrianised zone Amagertorv aerial.jpg
Aerial view of Amagertorv square in the Strøget pedestrianised zone

Strøget is today the defining thread of Copenhagen’s urban fabric. In the first year of replanning the number of pedestrians accessing Strøget increased by 35% and the number of baby carriages observed in the street increased by 400%. [11] In the forty years since the project’s commencement Gehl has overseen the conversion of 100 000 square metres of private vehicle space into pedestrian space with fine stone street surfacing, improved ambient street lighting and architecturally designed public furniture. [10] Beyond the streetscape, the urban form is now defined by low rise, mixed use developments that thrive upon the increased pedestrian access. [4]

Gehl’s work in redefining Copenhagen’s urban form is today praised as true innovation, however the redevelopment was informed by several historical planning approaches. Most notably, Gehl drew significant inspiration from the urban forms that featured prominently in Southern European cities prior to the 16th century. These urban environments were woven with intricate street systems where irregular layouts, tights corners and narrow laneways produced engaging pedestrian experiences. [12] Gehl’s desire to implement aesthetically engaging streetscapes in Copenhagen also resonated with the work of Pullman and Lever in Port Sunlight.

Built as a worker’s town, Port Sunlight represented a landmark shift towards an urban planning approach that employed landscape architecture to deliver urban environments of high aesthetic value. [13] Pullman and Lever, and indeed Gehl, intended to enhance public life through design: a key tenant of Jane Jacobs’ seminal urban planning discourse. Jacobs described an ideal human-scale city as having “an intricate and close-grained diversity of uses that give each other constant mutual support, both economically and socially”. [14] The pedestrianisation of Stroget can therefore be understood as an attempt to implement the planning approaches of Jacobs, Pullman and Lever in an engaging urban environment possessing the walkability of a medieval Southern European city.

Buildings in Copenhagen have won RIBA European Awards four years in a row ("Sampension" in 2005, [15] "Kilen" in 2006, [16] "Tietgenkollegiet" in 2007 and the Royal Playhouse in 2008. [17] ) The last three are all by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects. [18] At the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Bjarke Ingels Group won an award for the World's Best Residential Building 2008 for a house in Ørestad. [19] In 2008 British design magazine Monocle named Copenhagen the World's best design city 2008. [20] In 2017 CNN listed The Silo, [21] designed by Danish architect Dan Stubbergaard and his team at Cobe, [22] as one of the most anticipated buildings completing in 2018 [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of approximately 660,000 in the municipality and 1.4 million in the urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the Øresund strait. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strøget</span> Pedestrian zone in Copenhagen, Denmark

Strøget is a pedestrian, car-free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city of Copenhagen, it has long been one of the most high-profile streets in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Gehl</span> Danish architect

Jan Gehl Hon. FAIA is a Danish architect and urban design consultant based in Copenhagen whose career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards the pedestrian and cyclist. He is a founding partner of Gehl Architects.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indre By</span> District in Central Copenhagen

Indre By, also known as Copenhagen Center or K or Downtown Copenhagen, is an administrative district (bydel) in central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It covers an area of 4.65 square kilometres (1.80 sq mi), has a population of 26,223, and a population density of 5,638 per km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Hall Square, Copenhagen</span> Central square in Copenhagen, Denmark

City Hall Square is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, located in front of the Copenhagen City Hall. Its large size, central location, and affiliation with the city hall makes it a popular venue for a variety of events, celebrations and demonstrations. It is often used as a central point for measuring distances from Copenhagen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gammeltorv</span>

Gammeltorv is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its buildings were constructed after the Great Fire of 1795 in Neoclassical style. Another dominating feature is the Caritas Well, a Renaissance fountain erected by King Christian IV in 1610.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nytorv</span> Public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark

Nytorv is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. Together with the adjoining Gammeltorv it forms a common space, today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone. The square is dominated by the imposing Neoclassical façade of the Copenhagen Court House, which from 1815-1905 also served as the City Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobe (architectural firm)</span> Danish architectural firm

Cobe is a Copenhagen-based architectural firm owned and managed by architect Dan Stubbergaard. As of 2020, the office has 150 employees and is involved in a large number of projects throughout Europe and North America within urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture and interior design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Denmark</span> Buildings in Denmark

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederiksstaden</span> District in Copenhagen

Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was included in the 2006 Danish Culture Canon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Danish Playhouse</span> Theatre in Copenhagen

The Royal Danish Playhouse is a theatre building for the Royal Danish Theatre in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is situated on the waterfront of the Inner Harbour in the Frederiksstaden neighbourhood. It was created as a purpose-built venue for dramatic theatre, supplementing the theatre's old venue from 1874 on Kongens Nytorv and the 2004 Copenhagen Opera House, which are used for ballet and opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gråbrødretorv</span>

Gråbrødretorv is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, just off the pedestrian street Strøget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amagertorv</span> Square in central Copenhagen, Denmark

Amagertorv is a public square in the district of Indre By in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Today it forms part of the Strøget pedestrian zone, and is often described as the most central square in Copenhagen. Second only to Gammeltorv, it is also one of the oldest, taking its name from the Amager farmers who in the Middle Ages came into town to sell their produce at the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiolstræde</span>

Fiolstræde is a pedestrianised shopping street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It passes the square Frue Plads on its way from Nørreport station in the north to Skindergade in the south where Jorcks Passage connects it to the shopping street Strøget. Copenhagen Cathedral is located on the street which also passes the rear side of Copenhagen University Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sankt Annæ Plads</span> Square in Copenhagen, Denmark

Sankt Annæ Plads is a public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and Frederiksstaden neighborhoods of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which extends inland from the waterfront, at a point just north of the Royal Danish Playhouse at the base of the Kvæsthus Pier, now known as Ofelia Plads, until it meets Bredgade. A major renovation of the square was completed in 2016.The Garrison Church is located on the south side of the square. Amaliegade, one of the two axes on which Frederiksstaden is centered, extends from the square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bredgade</span> Street in Copenhagen, Denmark

Bredgade is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major streets in Frederiksstaden, a Rococo district laid out in the middle of the 18th century to commemorate the tercentenary of the House of Oldenburg's accession to the Danish throne. It is lined with a number of fine mansions as well as other historic buildings. Many law firms, trade unions, fashion stores and art galleries are based in the street. The street also runs parallel to the Royal residence Amalienborg and Frederik's Church

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gehl Architects</span>

Gehl is an urban research and design consulting firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 2000 by Professor Jan Gehl and urban designer Helle Søholt as a continuation of Gehl's research within the area over the past four decades. The firm specialises in improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards pedestrians and cyclists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Købmagergade</span> Street in Copenhagen, Denmark

Købmagergade is a pedestrian shopping street in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects Amagertorv on Strøget to Nørreport station, although the last section, north of Kultorvet, is part of Frederiksborggade, which continues on the other side of the railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kultorvet</span> Square in Copenhagen, Denmark

Kultorvet is a public square in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark. Together with Købmagergade and the southern part of Frederiksborggade, it forms a pedestrian zone between Nørreport station and Amagertorv on Strøget. The square is lined with cafés and shops and is a popular venue for outdoor concerts in the summer time. Copenhagen Central Library was from the 1950s based on the square but has now relocated to a building in Krystalgade. Its old building has now been taken over by Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College.

References

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