From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Fredensborg Houses
Fredensborg Houses
Fredensborg Houses
Central building with restaurant, library and guest rooms
The Fredensborg Houses (Danish: Fredensborghusene)
form a housing complex in natural surroundings on the houses as well as a central building with a restaurant,
outskirts of the small town of Fredensborg in the north meeting rooms and nine guest rooms. The homes are all
of Zealand, Denmark. The houses were designed by Jørn located around a square in groups of three, each with
Utzon for Danes who have worked for long periods an entrance from the square.[1][3] As the houses are on
abroad.[1] a slope, they all benefit from plenty of light, especially
as they face either south-east or south-west. They give
a general impression of openness, which is enhanced by
History and architecture their comparatively large courtyard gardens, even if the
The Fredensborg Houses followed Utzon’s first major houses are protected from the eyes of curious outsiders.
housing project, the Kingo Houses in nearby Helsingør. This all contributes to a feeling of security and peaceful-
The 63 units were based on a competition project Utzon ness.[2]
had developed for the south of Sweden in 1953, inspired The complex was completed in 1963 to wide ac-
by traditional Danish farmhouses set around a central claim.[4]
courtyard and Chinese architecture, in which the houses
open out onto a central court but are protected from the
surroundings by their outer wall. The development was
Subsequent influence
based on Utzon’s additive approach, starting modestly Utzon’s additive architecture approach to modern hous-
with one unit and proceeding from there, taking into ac- ing exerted a considerable influence on subsequent de-
count the lie of the land and the surroundings. Each unit velopments. In the Copenhagen area alone, his influence
was L-shaped with a living room and study in one section, can be seen in Carl R. Frederiksen’s Ved Stamedammen
and the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom in the other. Ut- in Usserød, Bertel Udsen’s Rækkehusbebyggelse in Øverød,
zon described the arrangement of the houses as "flowers and Henrik Iversen’s Carlsmindeparken in Søllerød.[4]
on the branch of a cherry tree, each turning towards the More recently, Utzon’s L-shape floor plan in combination
sun."[1] with a small courtyard has been an inspiration for Bjarke
As a result of the success of the Kingo Houses, Dansk Ingels Group’s Mountain Dwellings in Ørestad, Copenha-
Samvirke, an organization catering to the well-being of gen.[5]
Danish citizens who have worked for long periods
abroad, invited Utzon to develop a housing estate where Fredensborg Houses today
pensioners returning to Denmark could live together and
share their experiences.[2] Utzon helped to find a suitable As intended, the houses are occupied by Danes returning
site in Fredensborg, for which he developed plans allow- after a long career abroad, many having worked in the
ing each house to have a view over a green slope. Part- diplomatic corps. Although Fredensborg is just a small
ly inspired by housing in Beijing’s Forbidden City, the town, they seem to enjoy living in the area. They are able
complex consists of 47 courtyard homes and 30 terraced to get to Hillerød or Helsingør in less than 20 minutes and
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Fredensborg Houses
Copenhagen is only about 40 minutes away by car. They
are also able to enjoy the facilities of the central build-
ing which houses a library and a restaurant which of-
fers good meals at reasonable prices. The walls are dec-
orated with souvenirs and artwork the pensioners have
brought back from as far away as Iran, South America
or Sri Lanka. The annual rental also appears low in com-
parison with commercial rates: some DKK 40,000 for 73
square metres or DKK 76,000 for 130 square metres.[2]
[2] ^ "Den danske siesta", Business.dk fra Berlinske, 15
October 2006. (Danish) Retrieved 21 September
2011.
[3] "Utzons Fredensborghuse", Danes Worldwide.
(Danish) Retrieved 18 September 2011.
[4] ^ Kim Dirkinck-Holmfeld, Dansk Arkitektur 1960-1995,
Arkitektens Forlag, Copenhagen 1995, p. 51. ISBN
• 877407 1112
[5] "The Mountain Dwellings". iconeye.
http://www.iconeye.com/
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3803:the-
mountain-dwellings. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
Literature
• Jørn Utzon, Logbook Volume 1: The Courtyard Houses,
Blondal, Copenhagen, 2004, 180 pages. ISBN
8791567017
• Tobias Faber, Jørn Utzon, Houses in Fredensborg, Berlin,
Ernst & Sohn, 1991, 57 pages. ISBN 3433027021
•
External links
Coordinates: 55°58′32″N 12°23′40″E / 55.97556°N
12.39444°E / 55.97556; 12.39444
•
References
[1] ^ "Jørn Utzon, 2003 laureate, Biography",
PritzkerPrize.com. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fredensborg_Houses&oldid=456237956"
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Fredensborg Houses
Categories:
• Jørn Utzon buildings
• Housing in Denmark
• Residential buildings in Denmark
• Buildings and structures completed in 1963
• Modernist architecture in Denmark
• Fredensborg Municipality
This page was last modified on 18 October 2011 at 19:53. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
3