Frits Schlegel
Encyclopedia
Frits Schlegel was a Functionalist
Danish
architect active during the transition from traditional craftsmanship to industrialized construction methods in the building industry. He was among the first architects in Denmark to experiment with poured-in-place concrete
.
, Copenhagen
. He completed an apprenticeship as a mason in 1915 and studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1916 to 1923, winning the small gold medal in 1924 (for a stadium design) and the large gold medal in 1927 (for a university in Aarhus). After working at the offices of Edward Thomsen (1916–34) and Gudmund Nyeland Brandt
(from 1920), Schlegel set up his own office in 1934 which he operated until his death in 1965.
His early works show inspiration from the French architect Auguste Perret
. His most important works include Tivoli Concert Hall in the Tivoli Gardens, Mariebjerg Chapel and Overformynderiet in Copenhagen.
Particularly in the 1930s, Schlegel also designed a number of furniture lines with inspiration from the Bauhaus movement
..
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
architect active during the transition from traditional craftsmanship to industrialized construction methods in the building industry. He was among the first architects in Denmark to experiment with poured-in-place concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
.
Biography
Schlegel was born in FrederiksbergFrederiksberg
Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It surrounded by the city of Copenhagen. The municipality, co-extensive with its seat, covers an area of and has a total population of 98,782 making it the smallest municipality in Denmark area-wise, the fifth most...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. He completed an apprenticeship as a mason in 1915 and studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1916 to 1923, winning the small gold medal in 1924 (for a stadium design) and the large gold medal in 1927 (for a university in Aarhus). After working at the offices of Edward Thomsen (1916–34) and Gudmund Nyeland Brandt
Gudmund Nyeland Brandt
Gudmund Nyeland Brandt was a Danish landscape architect who was internationally renowned.-Career:...
(from 1920), Schlegel set up his own office in 1934 which he operated until his death in 1965.
His early works show inspiration from the French architect Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret was a French architect and a world leader and specialist in reinforced concrete construction. In 2005 his post-WWII reconstruction of Le Havre was declared by UNESCO one of the World Heritage Sites....
. His most important works include Tivoli Concert Hall in the Tivoli Gardens, Mariebjerg Chapel and Overformynderiet in Copenhagen.
Particularly in the 1930s, Schlegel also designed a number of furniture lines with inspiration from the Bauhaus movement
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
..
Selected projects
- Daells Varehus (with Vilhelm LauritzenVilhelm LauritzenVilhelm Lauritzen was a leading Danish modernist architect, founder of the still active architectural firm Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter.-Biography:...
, 1923) - Søndermark Crematory, Søndermark CemeterySøndermark CemeterySøndermark Cemetery is a cemetery in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark, located on Roskildevej, opposite Solbjerg Park Cemetery and next to Søndermarken and Copenhagen Zoo...
, Copenhagen (with Edward Thomsen, 1926–27) - Mariebjerg Chapel (1936)
- Overformynderiet, Copenhagen (1937)
- Giraffe House, Copenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen (1939)
- Statsanstalten for Livsforsikring (with Mogens LassenMogens LassenMogens Lassen was a Modernist Danish architect and designer, working within the idiom of the International Style. He mainly designed residential buildings, both in the form of single-family houses and apartment blocks...
, 1950–53) - Tivoli Concert Hall, Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen (with Hans Hansen, 1954–56)
- Bikuben building, Nørre Vold, Copenhagen (1956)