Aarhus – home of famous architects

Aarhus stands out by having two buildings which are included in the Canon of Danish Art and Culture issued by the Danish Ministry of Culture in 2006. The Aarhus Town Hall, design-ed by the architect and designer Arne Jacobsen in collaboration with the architect Erik Møller, and the University of Aarhus, designed by the architects C.F. Møller and Kay Fisker.
The prominent place in the canon hardly comes as a surprise. Aarhus is home to some of Den-mark’s largest and most well-known firms of architects, including C.F. Møller, Friis & Moltke, Kjær + Richter, Arkitema, 3XNielsen, Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen, Pluskontoret and CUBO Arkitekterne. The ten largest drawing offices in Aarhus alone employ almost 900 people.

And new drawing offices are springing up all the time, including A.A.R.T and Cebra. This is not least attributable to the presence of the Aarhus School of Architecture, which has greatly added to the dynamics of the Aarhusian architectural scene since 1965.

“The Aarhus School of Architecture is an inspir-ing and international environment, which en-sures that it is relatively easy for the drawing offices to recruit new architects due to a constant supply of competent graduates,” says Kim Herforth Nielsen, architect and co-owner of 3xnielsen. 

Kim Herforth Nielsen’s favourite building in Aarhus is the Town Hall, and he believes that there are enough visionary architects in Aarhus to keep up the impressive tradition.

“The way ahead is to hold onto the idea that projects must be based on visions and ideas, rather than on what we can afford.”

Architect og coowner of 3XNielsen
Kim Herforth Nielsen

This is a view to which the architect Knud Friis from the firm of architects Friis & Moltke readily subscribes. He was one of the people behind the School of Architecture and was also on the committee which planned the school and took on the first teachers. Between 1967 and 1970 he was also a professor at the School of Architecture.

“Our ambition was to create a centre of excellence for architects and architecture outside Copenhagen. And I believe we succeeded in doing just that. The Aarhus School of Architec-ture has been a bonus for Aarhus by fostering an inspiring and challenging dialogue between architects, citizens and politicians,” says Knud Friis.

Professor og architect, Friis & Moltke
Knud Friis

He believes that Aarhus is full of good architecture, but for him the architectural highlight is still the University of Aarhus and the surrounding park, designed by the architects C.F. Møller and Kay Fisker. In his opinion, both were excellent architects, and C.F. Møller’s drawing office was in itself a good school for young architects.

“You must remember that architecture is like a puzzle where many pieces have to fall into place. If form is placed over function and gen-eral content, the result is superficial. Good architecture is when the client’s wishes and requirements are combined with the architect’s ambitions for good design.”

More recent architectural initiatives mentioned by Knud Friis include the opening of the Aarhus River at the city centre. From having been a street with quite a lot of heavy traffic, Åboulevar-den has now become an oasis of cafées and urban living. In his own words: “With this project, the Municipality of Aarhus has created something really valuable”.