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Copenhagen Architecture City Guide: 44 Projects Defining the Capital of Human-Scale Design

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Copenhagen is long famous as the global capital of human-scale design and livability. Today, the city has widened its focus and is an active space where mid-century Scandinavian modernism meets the modern demands of climate adaptability, material circularity, radical conservation, and neighborhood density. During the first-ever Copenhagen Architecture Biennial, in 2025, the city transformed into a global platform for dialogue under the theme "Slow Down," exploring how architecture can respond to global pressures by rethinking the pace of change. And this year's 13th edition of the 3daysofdesign Festival will explore the theme of "Make This Moment Matter", encouraging the global design community to step away from digital noise and mass production to focus on the present.

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AD Classics: Grundtvig's Church / Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint

This article was originally published on July 28, 2016. To read the stories behind other celebrated architecture projects, visit our AD Classics section.

Six million yellow bricks on a hilltop just outside Copenhagen form one of the world’s foremost, if not perhaps comparatively unknown, Expressionist monuments. Grundtvigs Kirke (“Grundtvig’s Church”), designed by architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen Klint, was built between 1921 and 1940 as a memorial to N.F.S. Grundtvig – a famed Danish pastor, philosopher, historian, hymnist, and politician of the 19th century.[1] Jensen Klint, inspired by Grundtvig’s humanist interpretation of Christianity, merged the scale and stylings of a Gothic cathedral with the aesthetics of a Danish country church to create a landmark worthy of its namesake.[2]

It was decided in 1912 that Grundtvig, who had passed away in 1873, had been so significant to Danish history and culture that he merited a national monument. Two competitions were held in 1912 and 1913, bringing in numerous design submissions for statues, decorative columns, and architectural memorials.[3]

AD Classics: Grundtvig's Church / Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint - Landmarks & Monuments, Column, Arcade, Arch, Door, Chair, BenchAD Classics: Grundtvig's Church / Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint - Landmarks & Monuments, Facade, ArchAD Classics: Grundtvig's Church / Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint - Landmarks & Monuments, Door, Facade, Arch, ArcadeAD Classics: Grundtvig's Church / Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint - Landmarks & Monuments, Column, Arcade, Arch, FacadeAD Classics: Grundtvig's Church / Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint - More Images+ 13