Architecture + Design

Lee F. Mindel Visits A Striking Danish Church

Lee F. Mindel tours a Lutheran church designed by Jørn Utzon
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    Bagsværd Church, located just north of Copenhagen, was Jørn Utzon’s masterpiece of regional modernism. Its industrial, rectilinear exterior is sharply contrasted by a sinuous interior.

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    The church organ is under a concrete vault.

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    Courtyards, skylights, and clerestory windows flood the church with natural light.

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    Utzon used unfinished concrete, bleached pine, and white to articulate the hierarchy of structure and infilled materials to humanize the space.

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    The view from the altar of the balcony.

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    Skylights above the vault and balcony cast light from the setting sun on the pews and altar.

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    The altar is framed by an asymmetrical textured masonry wall. The church’s textiles and rugs were designed by Utzon’s daughter, Lin.

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    A detail of the concrete “cloud” vault, seen from the second-floor balcony.

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    Bleached-pine balcony pews overlook the altar.

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    A detail of the walls behind the altar.

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    A detail of the steel-and-wood organ, designed by Utzon.

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