18-06-2018

Jørn Utzon, the centenary of the famous Danish architect

Kim Utzon, Jorn Utzon,

Niels Fabæk, Bang Clemme Film,

Aalborg, Denmark,

Exhibition, Event,

During the preview of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia we attended a roundtable discussion about Jørn Utzon, Danish architect and designer of the Sydney Opera House who would have celebrated his centenary year in 2018 - Utzon100.



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Jørn Utzon, the centenary of the famous Danish architect During the preview of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia we attended a roundtable discussion about Jørn Utzon, Danish architect and designer of the Sydney Opera House who would have celebrated his centenary year in 2018 - Utzon100.


The Danish architect Jørn Utzon designed a 20th-century architectural landmark that signalled the rebirth of a city - the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The Utzon Center in Aalborg is organising a series of events to celebrate the centenary year of Jørn Utzon's birth, and we took a look at the centre, which was the last building designed by the famous architect. 
The Utzon Center is in Aalborg, where the architect grew up and, not coincidentally, located in a place he used to walk past every day on his way to school; it is the Nordic centre for architecture and design. The centre's main focus is exhibitions on current themes in architecture and design with an eye to new technology. The architecture and methods of Jørn Utzon are also presented in a contemporary context, through the Utzon Archive.
The centre, designed by Jørn Utzon in collaboration with his son Kim, who provided the final construction drawings, was planned not as a museum but as a place for socialising and sharing, where people can meet up and discuss architecture. It was inaugurated on 28 May 2008 and was the first of a number of cultural initiatives on Aalborg’s new waterfront. Jørn Utzon passed away exactly six months later, on 28 November 2008.  
Jørn Utzon's main inspiration for the design of the Utzon Center was Aalborg’s industry and shipyards. Together with the adjacent student houses, the Utzon Center stands as an architectural intermediary between the buildings of the city centre opposite the tall, massive constructions in relation to the new House of Music by Coop Himmelb(l)au, and what remains of the heavy industry on the eastern harbour.
The building comprises two, 350-square metre museum halls illuminated only through skylights. The hall facing the sea displays - and is named after - an important memento from Jørn Utzon's personal history, Spidsgatter, the yacht designed by his father, Aage Utzon, an engineer at the Aalborg shipyards, and is a connection with the site's industrial past. A crab apple tree growing in the courtyard, sheltered by glass walls, references the nature incorporated into the construction.
East of the Utzon Center, the beautiful Utzon Park is where the architect planted his favourite trees: three different varieties of cherry. Among the cherry trees is concrete furniture made by Escofet to Utzon’s design and ‘Favntag’, a sculpture by artist Tove Anderberg.
To celebrate the centenary year of Jørn Utzon's birth, the Utzon Center is organising a number of events under the name Utzon100, including three exhibitions, one being held in Aalborg, as well as Copenhagen, Sydney and Brussels that we will showcase in a dedicated article. On top of that, there is an international Utzon100 magazine, conferences, music and educational events for all ages to celebrate one of the 20th century's most important architects.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Jørn and Kim Utzon
Location: Aalborg, Denmark
Year: 2008
Images: Visit Aalborg  and courtesy of Utzon Center see captions
Find out more: https://utzoncenter.dk/en

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