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The Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Copenhagen is a historic hotel in
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 ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
.


History

The hotel was designed by Danish architect and designer
Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple we ...
for the airline
Scandinavian Airlines System Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...
(SAS). It was opened on July 1, 1960 by
King Frederick IX Frederick IX ( da, Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Born into the House of Glücksburg, Frederick was the elder son of King Christian X and Queen ...
and
Queen Ingrid Ingrid of Sweden (born: Princess Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta of Sweden; 28 March 1910 – 7 November 2000) was Queen of Denmark from 1947 until 1972 as the wife of King Frederick IX. Born into the House of Bernadotte, she was the daug ...
as the Royal Hotel. It was also known as the SAS Royal Hotel. The hotel was renamed the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in 1994, when SAS signed a joint marketing agreement with
Radisson Hotels Radisson Hotels is an international hotel chain headquartered in the United States. A division of the Radisson Hotel Group, it operates the brands Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson Collection, Country Inn & Suites, and Park Inn by Radisso ...
. When SAS and Radisson ceased the marketing agreement in February 2009, the hotel remained with Radisson and was renamed the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel. On March 6, 2018 it was renamed Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Copenhagen. At its completion the hotel was the largest in Denmark. At 69.60 meters in height, it was the first skyscraper in Copenhagen, and until 1969, the tallest high-rise building in Denmark. In 2009, it was the country's seventh-highest tower.


Design

The entire hotel – from the exterior façade through to the stainless-steel cutlery used in the restaurant and the
Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
and
Egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
chairs gracing the lobby – was designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen. Since most of his work has been replaced by corporate standard fabrics and furniture, the hotel has been referred to as Jacobsens' ''Lost Gesamtkunstwerk''. Only a single room has been kept in the original design. It has all of the original, green furniture and the wood panels on the wall. This room, with the number 606, is no longer available for booking but guests can request a tour.Michael Sheridan 2003: ''The SAS House: Jacobsen's Lost Gesamtkunstwerk'', in: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: ''Arne Jacobsen. Absolutely Modern'' p44–49 Shades of green dominate the entire design. Jacobsen, who was also working as a landscape architect 1955-1960, pursued a "modern garden" theme. He implemented this theme using green textiles and furniture combined with "organic shapes" and rigid geometric forms. Jacobsen has created several furniture, lighting and textile designs. Some models were later adopted into mass production and have become design classics, which are exhibited in museums worldwide. Others, however, remained unique pieces. During the design phase sketches of the building were published in Danish newspapers. Critics feared a destruction of the traditional skyline of Copenhagen. The building was compared to a punch card. Jacobsen's response was, "it’s funny, for that is actually what it looks like when the windows are open on a hot summer’s day." Another term used was introduced by Jacobsen's former associate
Erik Møller Svend Erik Møller (7 November 1909 – 24 March 2002) was a Danish architect. Møller used to work with the famous Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen. Together they won the competition to design the new City Hall in Aarhus, which was ...
, who called it the "glass cigarbox". The promoter of the international style, Philip C. Johnson, said it was the worst copy of
Lever House Lever House is a office building at 390 Park Avenue (Manhattan), Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building was designed in the International style (architecture), International Style by Gordon Bunshaft a ...
. Jacobsen responded: "At least, it came in first when they held a competition for the ugliest building in Copenhagen."


Structure

The structure is twenty stories high and a defining characteristic of Copenhagen's skyline. The structure was inspired by New York
Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
structures, namely
Skidmore, Owings %26 Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...
's
Lever House Lever House is a office building at 390 Park Avenue (Manhattan), Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building was designed in the International style (architecture), International Style by Gordon Bunshaft a ...
. The building's sense of lightness emanates from its Lever House-inspired form with a two-story base supporting its lofty "punch card" tower. The reinforced concrete frame structure erected in the tower has a curtain wall of aluminum profiles and transparent green and gray anodized glass. The windows can be opened to the inside stories in all.Christian Datz, Christof Kullmann, Martin Nicholas Kunz 2005: ''Copenhagen Architecture & Design'', teNeues, . S. 134 The horizontal distance between the aluminum profiles is 60 cm. Vertical take turns green glass followed by 168 cm 120 cm window is installed. The curtain wall construction Jacobsen at the three-story City Hall was first used in 1955 Rødovre Denmark. The hotel façade differs only from the City Hall by the light-green colour of the intermediate elements and some slightly different proportions.Jørgen Sestoft and Jørgen Hegner Christiansen. Guide to Danish Architecture: 1000 to 1960. Copenhagen: Arkitektens Forlag, 1991. 257


Location

It is located in the heart of the city, in the Vesterbro district, close to Tivoli and
Copenhagen Central Station Copenhagen Central Station ( da, Københavns Hovedbanegård , abbreviated ''København H'') is the main railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the largest railway station in Denmark. With more than 100,000 travellers every day, it is the se ...
. On a road island outside the hotel is the "Freedom Statue", commemorating the abolition of serfdom in Denmark.


Gallery

File:Panorama Kopenhagen around central station.jpg, A view of the hotel on the left and to its right the
Copenhagen Central Station Copenhagen Central Station ( da, Københavns Hovedbanegård , abbreviated ''København H'') is the main railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the largest railway station in Denmark. With more than 100,000 travellers every day, it is the se ...
File:Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Room 606, by Arne Jacobsen.jpg, Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Room 606, by Arne Jacobsen File:SAS Royal Hotel furniture in Copenhagen.JPG, Swan and egg chairs in the lobby, in front of a picture of the hotel File:Arne Jacobsen - SAS - Köpenhamn-2000.jpg, An exhibition with Jacobsen's furniture etc. at SAS Royal Hotel in
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 ...
2000.


References


External links


Official Website

Pictures from a reconstruction of one of the Royal Hotel rooms
{{Authority control Arne Jacobsen buildings Hotel buildings completed in 1960 Hotels in Copenhagen Radisson Hotels Hotels established in 1960 Modernist architecture in Copenhagen Vesterbro, Copenhagen Skyscrapers in Denmark Skyscraper hotels Rezidor Hotel Group