A bit of trivia about me….when I went to university in the late-90s I was an architecture major. I have long been interested in buildings, how they are constructed, and how they can successfully (or not) engage us. But to be fair, I am a historian at heart so my real interest in architecture was always about working in historic preservation. And in just the same way that I implore my students to be mindful that historic context matters, so too, for me, does context matter in the case of built structures. If you’re going to put a modern building smack in the middle of a historic district, it better be damn good and worth it. Contextualizing and successfully integrating something into a space is no easy feat.
From the moment I walked out of the airport in Denmark and looked around, I knew it was going to be an architecturally-interesting place, and I was not wrong. The Danes, at least from what I’ve seen and experienced so far, really have a knack for blending old and new and keeping it all “human,” if you know what I mean.
For starters, two of our Airbnbs have been historic but not because they are old — quite the opposite in fact. The first is locally known as “The Mountain,” (Bjerget in Danish). Designed by famous Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, this 2008 structure was built to combine nature and urban spaces. It’s nine stories are terraced with rooftop gardens, so even though we were on the 8th floor we had private outdoor space. The views were great. The mountain theme was carried out in the pictures of peaks on the metal sheathing on the outside of the building (partially obscured by the train line in my photo above), and also in the fact that one of the ways to get to the upper floors from the parking below is via what locals call the “ski lift,” a tram-like experience that was interesting. The natural wood and plants fairly successfully obscured the fact that we were in a very urban suburb of Copenhagen with lots of hardscaping and a Metro train line just outside our door.
The next historic space is also new, being completed just in 2022 in Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city. Known locally as “The Lighthouse,” at 44 stories it is the country’s tallest building (for those of you in and/or familiar with Portland, think Big Pink). This is where I sit as I write this, in our loft on the 25th floor. This is an amazing experience. Unless it’s on a high hill somewhere, I’m pretty sure humans weren’t designed to live 250 feet (76 m) in the air, yet here we are and it’s pretty damn cool. We have a commanding view from every window of the harbor, port, and city, and we’ve been having fun watching the harbor pilots skillfully guide tanker ships in and out, as well as watching the fish and jelly fish in the water below.
One hitch….it’s hella windy here the past couple days, and feeling the building move and creak is a bit weird. I do remember that much from architecture school — these buildings are constructed so that they can move to adequately absorb the forces of nature and not fall into a pile of rubble. Fingers crossed!
There are also other cool buildings nearby to enjoy from our perch. So far, Denmark has provided lots of visual interest and new things to explore everywhere you look.
Other examples have included the opera house on the harbor in Copenhagen, a mixed use A-frame nextdoor to it, and a hotel kinda shaped like a giant “V.”
Despite these eclectic new structures, however, don’t forget that Denmark has a very old history and important buildings that reflect that as well all over the place. I’ve seen queen’s palaces, churches, and old dockside buildings that in their day had a very sordid reputation as the place where sailors “enjoyed themselves” when in town. Now a particularly touristy part of Copenhagen (with too many people for this introvert), it’s still a cool place to see a part of the city’s colorful (literally and figuratively) past.
We also got to experience the 17th century “Round Tower” built by King Christian IV as an astronomical observatory. Very interesting winding walk up this 115 ft (35 m) structure with its brick “road” and whitewashed walls where they used to drive horse carts up! The 360-degree view from the top did not disappoint :) Shout out to my Danish friend Lisbeth for showing us this gem!
As a shieldmaiden I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the [rebuilt] Viking Age longhouse we visited at Trelleborg in this discussion about Danish architecture. Even though it’s a reconstruction — and arguably not an entirely faithful one — it still gave a sense of space that’s relevant for its time in the 10th century. Like many Viking Age longhouses that have been excavated, this one exhibits the “upside down ship” type of construction, complete with bowed exterior walls to allow for maximum space for both people and animals to stay warm during the long Scandinavian winters.
Lastly, I want to share a tiny example of unique Danish housing that made me smile. In the canal right outside my doorstep on the first few days of the trip, we saw this little floating house for the birds. THIS is Danish architectural design at its best. A seamless combination of the natural world with the human-constructed world to benefit even the smallest of creatures.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little architectural trip. Today we’ll visit the Moesgaard Museum, itself a stunning triumph of Danish architecture, but I’ll save that and what we find there for another post.
The integration that keeps humans part of the natural world and not separate and imposing themselves on it seems to be something the Danes excel at. Their buildings most certainly create a sense whimsy, marvel, and that sense of “hygge” for which they are world famous.
Till next time, skál!