The Søholm Row Houses, designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen

Arne Jacobsen

Arne Emil Jacobsen, usually known as Arne Jacobsen, was a Danish architect and designer. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.-Early life and education:Arne Jacobsen was born...

 in Klampenborg

Klampenborg

Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with many large houses....

 just north of 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...

, were completed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Together with his Bellavista developments

Bellavista housing estate

The Bellavista housing estate designed by Arne Jacobsen is the clearest example of Bauhaus architecture in Denmark. Completed in 1934, the estate is located just north of Copenhagen, in Klampenborg, Gentofte Municipality, next to Jacobsen's Bellevue Beach, which had been completed a couple of years...

, the Søholm houses helped to establish Jacobsen's international reputation.

Background

Completed in three stages between 1945 and 1954, the development consists of chained and terraced houses comprising a total of 18 units. For each stage, Jacobsen designed houses of different types: Søholm I to the south with five houses, Søholm II to the west with nine houses, and Søholm III to the north with four houses. The complex stands on the site of a former manor house from which it takes its name. The buildings are constructed in yellow brick with eternit

Eternit

Eternit is the registered trademark for fibre cement. This has caused fibre cement to be known under the "Eternit" brand. Though, this is not to be confused, "Eternit" is only a trademark for fibre cement....

 roofing.

Architecture

Unlike Jacobsen's white-plastered Fuctionalism

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...

 in his Bellavista

Bellavista housing estate

The Bellavista housing estate designed by Arne Jacobsen is the clearest example of Bauhaus architecture in Denmark. Completed in 1934, the estate is located just north of Copenhagen, in Klampenborg, Gentofte Municipality, next to Jacobsen's Bellevue Beach, which had been completed a couple of years...

 developments, Søholm reflects the post-war trend for more traditional brick construction which the architect Kay Fisker

Kay Fisker

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....

 has called Functional Tradition as inspired by Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint

Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint

Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint was a Danish architect, designer, painter and architectural theorist, best known for designing Grundtvig's Church in Copenhagen, generally considered to be one of the most important Danish architectural works of the time...

's Grundtvig's Church

Grundtvig's Church

Grundtvig's Church is located in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a rare example of expressionist church architecture. Due to its unusual appearance, it is one of the best known churches in the city.- History :...

which was also built of yellow brick.

Søholm I

The chained row in Søholm I is staggered and each of the five houses is separated from its neighbour by an intermediate building and a noticeable chimney. Their roofs are divided into two sections sloping in opposite directions by a vertical window in the middle, an innovative design that contributed to Jacobsen's international recognition. To optimize the view of the sea, each house has a living room located on the first floor with access to a balcony and with steps leading down into a dining room which consequently has an unusually high ceiling. From the kitchen, located on the ground floor level, there are stairs down to the cellar which also contains a garage.

In 1951, Arne Jacobsen himself moved into the house closest to the sea (located at Strandvejen 413) and lived there until his death in 1971. As he also used the house as his place of work, he added an extension to the Standvejen end for his design studio. There were no trees as they would have obscured the view. By contrast, he developed a picturesque garden with over 300 different plant varieties. The house was purchased by Realea in 2007 and fully restored. It is rented out on condition that it is open to the public a few times each year.

Søholm II

The Søholm II houses, situated further back from the sea, are divided into two wings in order to cater for a group of beautiful old plane trees trees on the site. Each house has 130 square metres of living space. The L-shaped living room on the ground floor has a fireplace and an adjoining kitchen. The bedrooms are on the first floor. The roofs here are also interesting in that they slope down past the balconies and windows in the east-facing niches.

Søholm III

The four houses in Søholm III are staggered in relation to each other and have only one storey so as not to spoil the view. The houses are deep rectangular boxes. The kitchen and hall are in the middle of the house. The staggering allows more natural light to come in through windows on the side. The living room is on the south side next to a sunken patio. The bedrooms on the northwest side are the highest rooms in the house as a result of the sloping roof. The facade consists of a glass and wooden frame between bearing walls of yellow brick.

Assessment

According to a recent article in Fri, the Architectural Review commented: "What is particularly remarkable about the houses is the way the architect has transformed the usual two-facaded row houses into a three-dimensional composition with almost as many facets as a well polished diamond."

Peter Thule Kristensen from the Royal Danish Academy's School of Architecture comments: "The pitched roofs and yellow-brick facades of Søholm have also become an expression of Modernism which, even more than Bellavista's white-plastered Functionalism, draw on local Danish traditions."

Literature

• Thau, Carsten; Vindum, Kjeld: Arne Jacobsen, 2008, Copenhagen, Arkitektens forlag, 560 p. ISBN 9788774072300

External links

• Realea's site on Arne Jacobsen's Søholm house. Although written in Danish, the article contains interesting photographs and plans of the various Søholm developments.