ringbo nursing home, bagsværd, copenhagen 1961-1963.
architect: hans christian hansen, 1901-1978, working for the copenhagen municipal architects department under f.c.lund, 1896-1984.
let's not pretend we have him pegged. there is more to hansen than his industrial architecture. here is a wooden clock tower with an asbestos roof in a huge circular garden...I don't know anyone else who could have arrived at this. I still don't know how he arrived at this.
the hans chr. hansen set.
the comments I have added to some of my photos can be read together as a kind of mangled, yet surprisingly brief essay on hansen. repetitious and opinionated, it reflects the writer above his subject, but until someone does some serious research on hansen, a complete lack of competition makes me immune to criticism. enjoy :)
01. introduction, amager 1966.
02. the engineer as ideal, hansen's pre-war architecture, sundholm 1939.
03. the church he didn't build. war and the return to tradition, 1942-1944.
04. following fisker. wartime housing, hulgårds plads 1943.
05. the architect finding himself in kindergarten, skydebanen 1948.
06. developing the restless section. hanssted school 1954.
07. early industrial. nyborggade transformer 1958.
08. the brutalist, bellahøj 1961.
09. perfect self-confidence, ringbo nursing home 1961.
10. perfect idiosyncrasy. ringbo bell tower 1961.
11. the masterpiece, bremerholm 1962.
12. on the fine art of knowing when to be a backdrop. svanemølle 1966.
13. industrialized construction, a first response. svanemølle 1966.
14. concrete charm, bellahøj gas regulator 1967.
15. late irreverence. gasværksvejen school 1969.
don't copy texts and comments. respect the photos that are marked all rights reserved. for photos with a CC license, please name photographer "SEIER+SEIER".
Tags: hans chr. hansen hans christian hansen hans christian hansen arkitekt architect f.c.lund stadsarkitekt københavn copenhagen kopenhagen köpenhamn ringbo plejehjem nursing home clock tower danmark denmark architecture arquitetura architectuur architettura architektur arquitectura modern modernist modernism jenskristianseier seier+seier creative commons CC
ringbo nursing home, bagsværd, copenhagen 1961-1963.
architect: hans christian hansen, 1901-1978, working for the copenhagen municipal architects department under f.c.lund (1896-1984).
I am convinced that hans christian hansen was one of the most original Danish architects of the 20th century. but his architecture, and in particular his brutalist sensibility, does not suit all. it is about as far as you can get from the perfection of the classicists, the furniture designers, and that rather domineering character on the copenhagen scene, the furniture designing classicist, arne jacobsen.
but hansen's mature works were no isolated event. they are related to contemporary buildings by tyge arnfred and viggo møller-jensen of fællestegnestuen, to whom we shall return at a later date, and not least to viggo møller-jensen's proto-brutalist 1943 artists' housing, atelierhusene. vandkunsten, the office I currently work for, later joined the club (and later still left it again for more mainstream work).
at ringbo, we finally get to see hansen's talent unfold in a commission of size and complexity: a large nursing home with a chapel, an administration wing, technical facilities...and a belfry. the buildings are somewhat run down as such structures tend to be in the outer copenhagen boroughs, but even in pristine condition, hansen's idiosyncratic choice of materials will be off-putting to some.
here, we are standing outside the large, circular main building of ringbo. the tall skylights mark communal spaces that open onto covered terraces raised on a concrete plinth above the surrounding garden. it is not as peaceful as it sounds, since ringbo has heavy traffic nearby, but I think it must have been in '63.
a lot of work happening in the section, as we have come to expect from hansen. hints of american and traditional asian architecture, and of course the ever-present corrugated asbestos cement roof.
we discussed hansen's career earlier and how he did well for himself even if his many competition entries in his own name led to very little work or glory. I should add that when his buildings were first published, the heading would always say:
"by city architect F.C.LUND (with hans chr. hansen)".
only in hansen's last years was f.c. lund's name left out.
my boss, michael sten johnsen, told me the other day that he had heard hans chr. hansen called lund's lucky right hand. he also said that they considered him a kindred spirit in the early days of vandkunsten, but never actually met him which is quite a feat considering how small the architectural community of copenhagen was at the time.
I wonder if this tells us something about hansen's personality and why he did not run an office in his own name. so little information is available about the man himself. please let me know if you come across anything or know someone who has stories.
the hans chr. hansen set.
more words, yada, yada, yada.
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the comments I have added to some of my photos can be read together as a kind of mangled, yet surprisingly brief essay on hansen. repetitious and opinionated, it reflects the writer above his subject, but until someone does some serious research on hansen, a complete lack of competition makes me immune to criticism. enjoy :)
01. introduction, amager 1966.
02. the engineer as ideal, hansen's pre-war architecture, sundholm 1939.
03. the church he didn't build. war and the return to tradition, 1942-1944.
04. following fisker. wartime housing, hulgårds plads 1943.
05. the architect finding himself in a kindergarten, skydebanen 1948.
06. developing the restless section. hanssted school 1954.
07. early industrial. nyborggade transformer 1958.
08. the brutalist, bellahøj 1961.
09. perfect self-confidence, ringbo nursing home 1961.
10. perfect idiosyncrasy. ringbo bell tower 1961.
11. the masterpiece, bremerholm 1962.
12. on the fine art of knowing when to be a backdrop. svanemølle 1966.
13. industrialized construction, a first response. svanemølle 1966.
14. concrete charm, bellahøj gas regulator 1967.
15. late irreverence. gasværksvejen school 1969.
don't copy texts and comments. respect the photos that are marked all rights reserved. for photos with a CC license, please name photographer "SEIER+SEIER".
Tags: hans chr. hansen hans christian hansen hans christian hansen arkitekt architect f.c.lund stadsarkitekt københavn copenhagen kopenhagen köpenhamn ringbo plejehjem nursing home danmark denmark architecture arquitetura architectuur architettura architektur arquitectura modern modernist modernism jenskristianseier seier+seier creative commons CC
ringbo nursing home, bagsværd, copenhagen 1961-1963.
architect: hans christian hansen, 1901-1978, working for the copenhagen municipal architects department under f.c.lund (1896-1984).
another great restless hansen section in pencil, scanned from the pages of Danish magazine ARKITEKTUR.
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the comments I have added to some of my photos can be read together as a kind of mangled, yet surprisingly brief essay on hansen. repetitious and opinionated, it reflects the writer above his subject, but until someone does some serious research on hansen, a complete lack of competition makes me immune to criticism. enjoy :)
01. introduction, amager 1966.
02. the engineer as ideal, hansen's pre-war architecture, sundholm 1939.
03. the church he didn't build. war and the return to tradition, 1942-1944.
04. following fisker. wartime housing, hulgårds plads 1943.
05. the architect finding himself in a kindergarten, skydebanen 1948.
06. developing the restless section. hanssted school 1954.
07. early industrial. nyborggade transformer 1958.
08. the brutalist, bellahøj 1961.
09. perfect self-confidence, ringbo nursing home 1961.
10. perfect idiosyncrasy. ringbo bell tower 1961.
11. the masterpiece, bremerholm 1962.
12. on the fine art of knowing when to be a backdrop. svanemølle 1966.
13. industrialized construction, a first response. svanemølle 1966.
14. concrete charm, bellahøj gas regulator 1967.
15. late irreverence. gasværksvejen school 1969.
the hans chr. hansen set.
Tags: hans chr. hansen hans christian hansen hans christian hansen arkitekt architect drawing blueprint section f.c.lund stadsarkitekt københavn copenhagen kopenhagen köpenhamn ringbo plejehjem nursing home danmark denmark architecture arquitetura architectuur architettura architektur arquitectura modern modernist modernism seier+seier
© All Rights Reserved
ringbo nursing home, bagsværd, copenhagen 1961-1963.
architect: hans christian hansen, 1901-1978, working for the copenhagen municipal architects department under f.c.lund (1896-1984).
the hans chr. hansen set.
-
the comments I have added to some of my photos can be read together as a kind of mangled, yet surprisingly brief essay on hansen. repetitious and opinionated, it reflects the writer above his subject, but until someone does some serious research on hansen, a complete lack of competition makes me immune to criticism. enjoy :)
01. introduction, amager 1966.
02. the engineer as ideal, hansen's pre-war architecture, sundholm 1939.
03. the church he didn't build. war and the return to tradition, 1942-1944.
04. following fisker. wartime housing, hulgårds plads 1943.
05. the architect finding himself in kindergarten, skydebanen 1948.
06. developing the restless section. hanssted school 1954.
07. early industrial. nyborggade transformer 1958.
08. the brutalist, bellahøj 1961.
09. perfect self-confidence, ringbo nursing home 1961.
10. perfect idiosyncrasy. ringbo bell tower 1961.
11. the masterpiece, bremerholm 1962.
12. on the fine art of knowing when to be a backdrop. svanemølle 1966.
13. industrialized construction, a first response. svanemølle 1966.
14. concrete charm, bellahøj gas regulator 1967.
15. late irreverence. gasværksvejen school 1969.
don't copy texts and comments. respect the photos that are marked all rights reserved. for photos with a CC license, please name photographer "SEIER+SEIER".
Tags: hans chr. hansen hans christian hansen hans christian hansen arkitekt architect f.c.lund stadsarkitekt københavn copenhagen kopenhagen köpenhamn ringbo plejehjem nursing home danmark denmark architecture arquitetura architectuur architettura architektur arquitectura modern modernist modernism jenskristianseier seier+seier creative commons CC
ringbo nursing home, bagsværd, copenhagen 1961-1963.
architect: hans christian hansen, 1901-1978, working for the copenhagen municipal architects department under f.c.lund (1896-1984).
the hans chr. hansen set.
-
the comments I have added to some of my photos can be read together as a kind of mangled, yet surprisingly brief essay on hansen. repetitious and opinionated, it reflects the writer above his subject, but until someone does some serious research on hansen, a complete lack of competition makes me immune to criticism. enjoy :)
01. introduction, amager 1966.
02. the engineer as ideal, hansen's pre-war architecture, sundholm 1939.
03. the church he didn't build. war and the return to tradition, 1942-1944.
04. following fisker. wartime housing, hulgårds plads 1943.
05. the architect finding himself in kindergarten, skydebanen 1948.
06. developing the restless section. hanssted school 1954.
07. early industrial. nyborggade transformer 1958.
08. the brutalist, bellahøj 1961.
09. perfect self-confidence, ringbo nursing home 1961.
10. perfect idiosyncrasy. ringbo bell tower 1961.
11. the masterpiece, bremerholm 1962.
12. on the fine art of knowing when to be a backdrop. svanemølle 1966.
13. industrialized construction, a first response. svanemølle 1966.
14. concrete charm, bellahøj gas regulator 1967.
15. late irreverence. gasværksvejen school 1969.
don't copy texts and comments. respect the photos that are marked all rights reserved. for photos with a CC license, please name photographer "SEIER+SEIER".
Tags: hans chr. hansen hans christian hansen hans christian hansen arkitekt architect f.c.lund stadsarkitekt københavn copenhagen kopenhagen köpenhamn ringbo plejehjem nursing home danmark denmark architecture arquitetura architectuur architettura architektur arquitectura modern modernist modernism jenskristianseier seier+seier creative commons CC