Kay Fisker
Encyclopedia
Kay Otto Fisker was a Danish
architect, designer and educator. He is most known for his many housing projects, mainly in the Copenhagen
area, and is considered a leading exponent of the Danish Functionalism.
, Copenhagen
. He entered the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1909 and while there worked at the offices of leading Scandinavian architects such as Anthon Rosen, Sigurd Lewerentz
, Gunnar Asplund
and Hack Kampmann
parallel to his studies. In 1915, in collaboration with Aage Rafn, he won a competition to design the railway stations along the Almindingen-Gudhjem railway on the Danish island of Bornholm
.
After graduating, his career as a practicing architect was dominated by numerous influential residential projects. Vestersøhus was built in from 1935 to 1939 by Fisker and C.F. Møller
. It instantly became a model in Denmark for the balcony and bay window blocks of the time.
A key building in his production was Århus University (1932–43), considered to be one of the most important examples of Danish Functionalism, which he designed in collaboration with Povl Stegmann and later C.F. Møller
, and with Carl Theodor Marius Sørensen. Kay Fisker also designed the Danish Academy in Rome.
.
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, designer and educator. He is most known for his many housing projects, mainly in the 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...
area, and is considered a leading exponent of the Danish Functionalism.
Education and career
Kay Fisker was born on 14 February 1893 in the 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 entered the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1909 and while there worked at the offices of leading Scandinavian architects such as Anthon Rosen, Sigurd Lewerentz
Sigurd Lewerentz
Sigurd Lewerentz . He was an architect, but initially trained as a mechanical engineer at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg . Later he took up an architectural apprenticeship in Germany...
, Gunnar Asplund
Gunnar Asplund
Erik Gunnar Asplund was a Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s, and during the last decade of his life as a major proponent of the modernist style which made its breakthrough in Sweden at the Stockholm International Exhibition...
and Hack Kampmann
Hack Kampmann
Hack Kampmann was a Danish architect. His parents were the priest Christian Peter Georg Kampmann and Johanne Marie Schmidt...
parallel to his studies. In 1915, in collaboration with Aage Rafn, he won a competition to design the railway stations along the Almindingen-Gudhjem railway on the Danish island of Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
.
After graduating, his career as a practicing architect was dominated by numerous influential residential projects. Vestersøhus was built in from 1935 to 1939 by Fisker and C.F. Møller
C.F. Møller
Christian Frederik Møller , generally referred to as C. F. Møller, was a Danish architect, professor and, from 1965 to 1969, the first rector of the Aarhus School of Architecture. His former practice, Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, which he founded in 1924, still exists and bears his name...
. It instantly became a model in Denmark for the balcony and bay window blocks of the time.
A key building in his production was Århus University (1932–43), considered to be one of the most important examples of Danish Functionalism, which he designed in collaboration with Povl Stegmann and later C.F. Møller
C.F. Møller
Christian Frederik Møller , generally referred to as C. F. Møller, was a Danish architect, professor and, from 1965 to 1969, the first rector of the Aarhus School of Architecture. His former practice, Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, which he founded in 1924, still exists and bears his name...
, and with Carl Theodor Marius Sørensen. Kay Fisker also designed the Danish Academy in Rome.
Academia
From 1936 to 1963 Fisker was a professor at the Royal Academy and as teacher of the school's class on housing he was known as an inspiring lecturer with great influence on Danish housing culture. From 1951 to 1957 he was a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Selected buildings
- Railway stations, BornholmBornholmBornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
(1915–15) - Hornbækhus housing, Copenhagen (1922)
- Århus University, Århus (1932–43)
- Vester Søhus'' housing, Copenhagen (with C.F. MøllerC.F. MøllerChristian Frederik Møller , generally referred to as C. F. Møller, was a Danish architect, professor and, from 1965 to 1969, the first rector of the Aarhus School of Architecture. His former practice, Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, which he founded in 1924, still exists and bears his name...
, 1935–39) - DronningegårdenDronningegårdenDronningegården is a Modernist residential complex in central Copenhagen, Denmark, consisting of four L-shaped buildings defining an urban space around the intersection of Adelgade and Dronningens Tværgade. Designed by Kay Fisker in collaboration with C.F...
housing, Copenhagen (with Eske Kristensen, 1943–58) - '[Voldparken housing, Copenhagen (with others, 1945–51)
- Danish Academy in Rome, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy (1963–65)
Awards
- 1926: Eckersberg MedalEckersberg MedalThe Eckersberg Medal is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts...
- 1947: C. F. Hansen MedalC. F. Hansen MedalThe C. F. Hansen Medal is awarded annually with few exceptions to one or more recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for an outstanding contribution to architecture. It is the Academy's highest obtainable destinction for an architect. It is named after the architect C. F. Hansen and...
- 1964: Heinrich Tessenow MedalHeinrich Tessenow MedalThe Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal is a prize established in 1963 by the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S. of Hamburg in honour of Heinrich Tessenow, organised and awarded annually by the Heinrich-Tessenow-Gesellschaft e.V....