Knud Arne Petersen (5 August 1862 – 27 June 1943) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

architect and director of

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

from 1899 to 1940. Apart from his engagement with Tivoli Gardens, where he created several prominent buildings, including the Chinese Tower and the Nimb complex, he was most active as an exhibition architect, representing Denmark at several

World Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

Early life and career

Knud Arne Petersen was born on 5 August 1862 in

, the son of draughtsman, art archaeologist and later professor Julius Magnus Petersen. He attended the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

from 1878 to 1885 and then worked as an assistant for the architects

Vilhelm Petersen Vilhelm Valdemar Petersen (5 April 1830 – 3 July 1913) was a Danish architect who became Royal Building Inspector from 1892 until his death. He was the father of architect Knud Arne Petersen. Biography Vilhelm Petersen was born in Copenh ...

, his uncle, and

Martin Nyrop Martin Nyrop (11 November 1849 18 May 1921) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Nyrop was born on 11 November 1849 at Holmsland, Ringkøbing, the son of parish priest Christopher Nyrop (1805–1879) and Helene Ahlmann (1807–1874). ...

Exhibition architecture

Petersen's significantly contributed to the

Nordic Exhibition of 1888 The Nordic exhibition of Industry, Agriculture, and Art of 1888 (''Den Nordiske Industri-, Landbrugs- og Kunstudstilling i Kjøbenhavn 1888'') was an exhibition that aimed to feature the best of art, industry, and agriculture from the five Nordi ...

where he first held an administrative position as ''Industriforeningen'' manager, but later as its resident architect until 1927. In this capacity he represented Denmark on the exhibition committees for a number of large exhibitions, including the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1893 and the Exposition Universelle in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1900. He was also active in the design of the Danish contributions and brought home several medals.

Tivoli Gardens

In his work with the large exhibitions of the time, Petersen frequently collaborated with

and in 1899 was appointed as the amusement park's new artistic director, a position he held until 1940. He continued its tradition for festive, exotic architecture and introduced its distinctive illumination scheme. His first project was the Chinese Tower which was built to his design in 1900. He also designed the new

Tivoli Concert Hall Tivoli Concert Hall ( da, Tivolis Koncertsal) is a 1,660-capacity concert hall at Tivoli (Copenhagen), Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. The building, which was designed by Frits Schlegel and Hans Hansen (architect), Hans Hansen, was built be ...

(1902) and the Nimb complex (1909), both with inspiration from

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). The term "Moorish" com ...

Other pursuits

The more notable are Ny Christiansborg, a large residential building in a prominent location on Copenhagen's waterfront, and

Klampenborg Racecourse Klampenborg Racecourse (Danish language, Danish: Klampenborg Galopbane) is a flat horse racing track in Klampenborg in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. History The first organized horse races in Denmark were held in Copenhagen in 1770 ...

Klampenborg Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with many ...

Gallery

Image:Tivoli Gardens pagoda.jpg, The Pagoda,

, 1900 Image:07Kbh Christiansbrygge 24-30 2.jpg, ''Ny Christiansborg'', Copenhagen, 1906 Image:Tivoli Gardens - Nimb.jpg, Nimb complex,

, 1909

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Knud Arne Architects from Copenhagen 1862 births 1943 deaths Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni