Vilhelm Lauritzen (9 September 1894 – 22 December 1984) was a leading

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 a ...

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, founder of the still active architectural firm Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter.

Biography

Vilhelm Lauritzen was born in Slagelse, Denmark. He studied at 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 Dan ...

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 ...

, graduating in 1921. The following year he founded his own firm, Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter, in 1928 and remained active in the firm until 1969. He received the Academy's Gold Medal in 1926 and up through the 1920s he created a number of monumental designs in a classicist style which were never realized.Anne-Louise Sommer: Towards the end of the decade he travelled in Central Europe and became acquainted with the latest trends in

Functionalist architecture In architecture, functionalism is the principle that buildings should be designed based solely on their purpose and function. This principle is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern archite ...

with its technical and structural innovations. This inspired him to a grounded and restrained Modernism and it was with such buildings that he had his breakthrough. His first large commission to be built was the Daells Varehus department store in Copenhagen built in stages from 1928 to 1935 as one of the first examples of

Modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...

in Denmark. He went on to win the competition for the design the first

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic ...

which was constructed from 1937 to 1939. Another major project included the national

Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...

DR Radio

Building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...

(''Radiohuset'') while its Television Building was designed by his firm with Mogens Boertmann (1918-2017) as its principal architect. Lauritzen also designed furniture, often in connection with his buildings. His lamps, especially his table lamps from the 1930s, manufactured by

Louis Poulsen Louis Poulsen is a Danish lighting manufacturer that was founded in 1874. Louis Poulsen Lighting is represented by subsidiaries, distribution offices and agents around the world. Their key sales regions are Scandinavia, Europe, Japan and United S ...

, continue to arouse interest at auctions.Per H. Hansen & Klaus Petersen: ''Moderne dansk møbeldesign: tendenser, hammerslag og historie'', 2007, Copenhagen, Gyldendal, , p. 230.

Selected buildings

* Daells Varehus,

, Denmark (with Frits Schlegel, 1933 ) *

Radiohuset Radiohuset (literally "The Radio House") is the former headquarters of national Danish broadcaster DR, located on Rosenørns Allé in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. The building complex was inaugurated in 1945 to a Functionalist design by Vilhelm ...

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

, Denmark (1936–41) * Copenhagen Airport terminal (1937–1939). The entire terminal was listed, moved and restored in 1998. * Gladsaxe Town Hall,

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Kommune is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 69,681 (2019). Its ma ...

, Denmark (1937) *

Folkets Hus People's Houses (russian: Народный дом) were originally leisure and cultural centres built with the intention of making art and cultural appreciation available to the working classes. The first establishment of this type appeared in T ...

, Denmark (1935–56) * Terminal 3,

, Copenhagen, Denmark (1995) * Shell House,

, Denmark *

Embassy of Denmark in Washington, D.C. The Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the Kingdom of Denmark's diplomatic mission to the United States. It is located at 3200 Whitehaven St., NW in Washington, D.C. The embassy also operates consulates-general in Chicago, Houston, New York C ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, USA (1960)

References

External links

Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauritzen, Vilhelm Danish furniture designers 1894 births 1984 deaths Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Recipients of the C.F. Hansen Medal Architects from Copenhagen Designers from Copenhagen People from Slagelse

Biography

Selected buildings

See also

References

External links