English edition Danmarks Nationalbank

DANMARKS NATIONALBANK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The architect Arne Jacobsen ...... 4

Fitting into the street scene Spatial organization . . . . . 6

The facades Open and closed facades . . . 8 Glass facades ...... 10 Natural stone facades . . . . 11

Spatial descriptions Lobby ...... 14 Corridor ...... 16 Banking hall ...... 16 Conference rooms . . . . . 18 Employee lounge ...... 19 Lounge/reception area . . . . 20 Offices ...... 21 Office landscapes ...... 22 Details of furnishings . . . . 23 Banknote printing hall . . . . 24 Canteen ...... 26

Landscaping Courtyard above the printing hall 28 Courtyard above the banking hall 29 Roof garden above the low building ...... 30 Forecourt ...... 30

Architecture competition Background ...... 32 The competition . . . . . 32 Winning project . . . . . 32

Building history Stages ...... 33 Timeframe ...... 33 Functions ...... 33

DANMARKS NATIONALBANK

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Published by Danmarks Nationalbank, Photos indicated by page and picture no.: Mydtskov og Rønne: 16, 17, 26-1 Havnegade 5, DK-1093 Copenhagen K, Stelton A/S: 4-18 Telephone +45 3363 6363 DISSING+WEITLING: 4-2, 4-4, 4-9, 4-10, Strüwing Reklamefoto: 4-8, 4-11, 4-12, Fax +45 3363 7103 4-15, 4-17, 4-19, 4-20, 10-1, 12-4, 12-6, 4-14, 4-16, 5, 32-1, 32-4, 33 www.nationalbanken.dk 18-4, 28-2, 28-3, 28-4, 28-5, 29, 32-3 Jan Kofoed Winther: 7 [email protected] DISSING+WEITLING / Adam Mørk: Cover photo, 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10-2, 10-3, 11, 12-1, Portions of this publication may be Graphic design and layout: 12-2, 12-3, 12-5, 13, 14, 15, 18-1, 18-2, quoted or reprinted without further DISSING+WEITLING 18-3, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26-2, permission, provided that Danmarks 27, 30, 31 Nationalbank is expressly credited as Printing: HellasGrafisk, Haslev Arne Jacobsen: 4-1, 4-3, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7, the source and that photographers 28-1, 32-2 are credited. The content may not be ISBN online 87-87251-35-3 Georg Jensen Cutlery: 4-13 changed or misrepresented.

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FOREWORD

Danmarks Nationalbank is Denmark’s central bank. Its main functions are to conduct monetary and exchange-rate policy to keep the Danish krone stable against the euro, and to produce coins and banknotes. The Nationalbank also contributes to keeping financial markets efficient, compiles financial statistics and is the banker of the central government and banks. The bank represents Denmark internationally in a number of contexts. The Nationalbank is the workplace of about 600 employees.

The Nationalbank building in the middle of Copenhagen is a distinctive presence in the street scene. It was designed by the internationally renowned Danish architect Arne Jacobsen and built between 1965-78. The building is considered one of Arne Jacobsen’s finest works.

This publication shows the Nationalbank building inside and out. In general, the interior of the bank is shown as it is today, but a few pictures show its original appearance.

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House of the Future 1929 Bellavista housing complex 1934 Novo therapeutic laboratory 1935 Bellevue Theatre 1937

Stelling building 1937 Århus Town Hall 1937 Service station 1937 Søllerød Town Hall 1942

Søholm linked houses 1950 ‘Ant’ stackable chair 1952 Simonÿ’s residence 1954 Rødovre Town Hall 1956

AJ cutlery 1957 Munkegård School 1957 ‘Egg’ easy chair 1958 SAS Royal Hotel 1960

St. Catherine’s College 1964 Cylinda Line 1967 HEW electric power plant 1969 VOLA fittings 1969

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THE ARCHITECT ARNE JACOBSEN

When Arne Jacobsen died in the spring of 1971, the first stage of the Nationalbank building had just been completed. During his long career, Arne Jacobsen designed some of the finest buildings and industrial products of the 20th century, leaving a life’s work that ensured him a distinguished place in international architectural history and making him one of the few Danes known by a wide circle of people throughout the modern world.

As a recently trained, very young architect, he introduced himself to the public at a building exhibition in Copenhagen with a project entitled ’The House of the Future’, which featured motorboat access in the basement, a garage at ground level and a helicopter pad on the roof.

The House of the Future was international functionalism’s first appearance in Denmark, a futuristic proposal as to how the new technological tools could shape a new architecture. Based on simple geometric forms, the house, which was built in full scale for the exhibition, expressed the design idiom that would later become so characteristic of Jacobsen.

In his building designs, Jacobsen was originally influenced by Danish neoclassicism, but he quickly turned to European functionalism, just as he understood how to adopt various international architectural trends throughout the century and adapt them to his own personal style. It has been said that Jacobsen was international in a Danish way and Danish in an international way.

His production was prodigious, and there cannot be many areas that he did not turn his hand to. His works range from several waterfront housing complexes, theatres, sports halls for swimming, riding and tennis, schools and other institutions for children, hotels, central banks and town halls, administrative buildings, factories and laboratories, blocks of flats, row houses and single family houses. All designed with attention to detail and respect for a good solution, and often incorporating innovations that advanced the field of architecture.

Jacobsen is one of the Danish architects with numerous buildings abroad. For example, St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, England. In Hamburg, Germany, his works include the HEW administration buildings and headquarters and a school. Also in Germany are his holiday centre on the island of Fehmarn including accommodations and a swimming hall, the Town Hall in Mainz and the minimalist foyer addition to the theatre in the Baroque gardens in Herrenhausen in Hannover. These buildings helped promote Jacobsen’s international reputation.

Arne Jacobsen’s goal was totality. As an architect, he wanted to have total control of a project and nothing was to be left to chance. Thus he was obligated to deal with the details of his buildings. This led to the design of a series of products of such high quality that although they were developed in conjunction with specific building projects, they had such universal application that they could become part of standard production. Jacobsen’s designs comprise a wide assortment of items such as furniture, textiles, lighting fixtures, door handles, cutlery, stainless steel tableware, glassware, clocks, water taps and accessories. Many of these products have achieved the status of international classics and have certainly helped Jacobsen’s rise to dizzying heights on the international firmament.

Through his work, Arne Jacobsen left his mark on generations of architects and thus helped build a special Scandinavian architectural tradition that is characterized by exemplary thoroughness from the general to the very specific. Very few Danes have achieved the broad international fame of Arne Jacobsen, who today stands for some of the best works produced in the 20th century, with an inherent quality that has ensured their sustainability into the new millennium.

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The bank marks the end of the compact Bremerholm waterfront and signals the entrance to Børsgraven.

Seen from Kongens Nytorv square, the bank delimits the street space towards Holmen’s Canal. The vertical facade divisions can be seen as a repetition of the column rhythm in the classical gable front of the nearby Erichsen’s Mansion.

The western facade seen from Holmen’s Bridge, with Holmen’s Church in the foreground.

The theme of a vertically articulated building corpus above a low continuous wall can also be found in the interplay between the long chapel of Holmen’s Church and the wall along the quay.

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The building is composed of two spatial elements: a one-storey high enclosing wall that defines the perimeter while FITTING INTO THE STREET SCENE highlighting the trapezoidal building structure, and a massive five-storey block Positioning the tall building block at the building line on the street called Niels Juels rising above a good half of the area, with Gade maintains the original proportions of the street space and fixes the bank as closed end-walls and open, long glass curtain-wall facades. an urban element in the context of the existing 19th century building mass in the Gammelholm quarter. The low section of the building avoids crowding the 350-year- old Holmen’s Church, which a more dominating and intrusive building mass would invariably do. The landscaping treatment of the bank’s forecourt across from the church and the roof garden on the low building accommodates and complements the proportions of the church. Seen from the water, the five-storey block ensures the building’s relationship to the building mass of the waterfront, while the low section of the building provides a transition to the low, open character of the funnel-shaped Børsgraven canal.

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A bronze ‘portcullis’ shields the discreet main entrance when the bank is closed. When the bank is open, the door is lowered into the basement.

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The natural stone cladding is light grey, Porsgrunn marble, named after the town near the Norwegian quarry. The THE FACADES marbling pattern provides a lively surface, restrained and subordinate at a distance, The two types of facades in the tall building, the open glass-clad curtain-walls and but interesting and varied upon closer the closed end-walls, are subject to the same modular concept. Both are designed inspection. The marble was flint-rolled, as vertical panels the full height of the building, and mark the column spacing of the a process that crushes the surface. The result fully enhances the pattern and main construction. The modular vertical division helps articulate the long uniform structure of the marble. Arne Jacobsen facades. The division has its classical counterpart in the vertical sandstone bands used the same facade cladding in several in the old stock exchange as well as the chapel of Holmen’s Church, where a fixed earlier buildings, the first time in Århus pattern of vertical facade markings divides the long facade into units that are easily Town Hall, later in Søllerød Town Hall understood visually. and the last time in the Town Hall in Mainz, Germany. In addition to technical and practical requirements, the choice of facade materials was also based on the feasibility of being able to manufacture components with a great degree of precision and finish, which would live up to and work with the very simple and monumental main lines of the complex.

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The curtain-wall facades are made of three layers of glass. Outermost is an insulating pane of heat-absorbent plate glass. Next is ordinary sheet glass, while the inner pane is tempered side-hung glass frosted to parapet height. A transparent sunshade hung between the inner and outer glass layers traps some of the non-absorbed solar heat.

Nationalbanken set fra Holbergsgade med Holmens Kirke i baggrunden

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The low wall that continues beyond the tall part of the structure allows a clear view of two Renaissance buildings: the old stock exchange and Holmen’s Church.

The two facade types have the same modular rhythm and indication of column spacing.

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The glass curtain-wall varies widely in appearance depending on the weather and time of day.

The cornerstones were chamfered to emphasize the heaviness of the View from the grounds at Holmen’s Church, with the west facade visible above the low surrounding wall. perimeter wall.

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A low corridor opposite the window wall connects the lobby to the banking hall behind.

The delicate steel stairway, like the ceiling above the vestibule, is suspended from the roof.

The narrow openings in the gable towards Havnegade make it possible to completely control the light and spatial elements in the lobby. The walls and floor are clad with light Porsgrunn marble.

LOBBY

Almost 20 meters high, the wedge-shaped lobby has a curved, slightly sloping wind lobby at one end, while at the other end, a sculptural steel staircase serves the six floors to which the lobby provides access. The unusual shape of the space, the simple choice of materials and – for the first-time visitor – the surprising height, are emphasized by the narrow vertical window openings that allow an expressive play of daylight to the space.

Kim Naver wove the five tapestries hanging in wall niches in the lobby.

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A low, closed passageway connects the lobby with the banking hall. Along the walls are built-in showcases displaying old and new series of banknotes.

Baskets of plants are suspended at The banking hall, whose function is currently being redefined, was originally designed with a various heights in glass cases lit by public service area, flexible office landscape and screened-off cash department with service daylight from the courtyard above. The counters. Only the glass cases and columns marking the perimeters of the courtyard above showcase character of the glass cases were fixed elements in this large space. emphasizes this decorative effect.

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THE BANKING HALL

The original appearance of the banking hall has not been maintained. The hall is placed under the southern courtyard in a space that spans the entire width of the tall building. In contrast to the rather cool stone materials and limited daylight in the lobby, the banking hall, with its skylights and bright lighting, takes its character from the warm colours of the wood floors and pear-wood veneer panels. Whereas the lobby is a space clearly defined by the precise limitations of the floor and wall surfaces, the banking hall with its counters, screens and low partitions does not seem to have any real boundaries. This effect was reinforced by the diffuse, almost floating character of the ceiling, achieved by providing completely even, up-lighting of the ceiling surface from suspended light fixtures.

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The conference rooms on the upper floors of the building have high ceilings. A double cabinet wall separates the long lobby from the many meeting rooms. Here again the dominant colour comes from the pear-tree veneer cabinets and wall panels together with the wood floors, which are also reddish brown.

Built-in folding walls and modular desk units allow rooms to be divided and used in various ways.

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The main visual element of the employee lounge is six glass cases for plants set into the panelled cladding of the outer wall between the narrow vertical window openings. The glass cases, which follow the narrow panel width of the gable facades, are lit from the roof above, which allows daylight along the back wall of the glass cases, formed by the gables’ Porsgrunn marble cladding. The plants are orchids and other tropical flowers in hanging baskets. The room has several built-in multi-use options. Thus it can be adapted for showing films, used as a lecture hall etc. It is also possible to divide the room in half or in thirds by using folding walls built into the double wall towards the long lobby.

CONFERENCE ROOMS AND EMPLOYEE LOUNGE

There are a number of conference rooms throughout the building for use by the various departments, and their location and design are the same as the offices they serve. However, several rooms at the top of the building are an exception. The Board of Directors’ conference room overlooks Holmen’s Church and the old stock exchange, and the employee lounge provides a glimpse of Kongens Nytorv, a main square.

Access to these rooms is from a wide lobby, where the windows along the conference rooms span the entire length of the southern courtyard. The garden, seen here from a bird’s eye view, is visible from the seating groups in the lobby. Access to the employee lounge is from a wide lobby with a view of the other courtyard in the building.

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The long lobby in front of the Board of Directors’ conference room and a corresponding area in front of the executive suite are furnished with seating groups that offer a view of the southern courtyard.

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THE OFFICES

Almost all of the bank’s ordinary office functions are located in the parallel wings of the tall building. The central corridor system of the offices is based on the 420 cm square module of the supporting column construction. These are the dimensions marked in the projecting bay width of the curtain-wall facades and the division of the natural stone facades of the gables. The cross-section of a floor of offices is composed of three equally large structural modules, where the two outer offices are increased in depth by the projection of the bays. The centre module consists of two deep cabinet zones around a central corridor, from which there is access to offices on both sides through the cabinet walls.

Fixed, modular door placement, partitions above the suspended ceiling and uniform floor construction and covering provide flexibility that allows changes in the relative sizes of the individual offices.

Translucent roller blinds that trap direct heat from the sun and thus reduce cooling requirements are installed between the outer insulation panes and the hinged, inner glass panels of the office windows.

The handcrafted pear-tree veneer cabinet walls are double-sided. Thus the varied selection of wardrobe, cupboard, drawer and bookcase units, made of maple, can be accessed from either the lobby or the offices. The side-hinged doors slide into the panel wall.

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Most of the offices in the building are one or two bays wide, meaning that they span one or two of the widths of the facade bays. However, some of the functions of the bank take up a larger area, like the office landscape shown, which spans the entire width of the building with window facades on both sides. In other places, the large rooms run lengthwise down a long expanse of facade.

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One of the characteristics of Arne Jacobsen’s buildings is the attention paid to every detail. His working process, where all of the various building components were controlled, made it possible to ensure a high degree of unity in the finished result. In several cases, new products were developed in connection with major projects. These items were often of such high quality and had such general utility value that they later became standard products in the catalogues of the various manufacturers involved.

Arne Jacobsen’s Munkegård lamps, originally designed for Munkegård School, are used in offices and corridors. Doors are fitted with AJ handles and so-called Banker’s clocks are used throughout the building. Like the VOLA water taps and accessories, the clocks were designed especially for the Nationalbank building.

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The printing hall itself has a catwalk along three sides at second-storey level. It provides access to and connects a number of ancillary workshops and laboratories involved in the printing process.

Looking down along the large printing press. In the foreground, the printed notes are rolled after printing.

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THE BANKNOTE PRINTING HALL

While Danish coins are produced at the Danish Royal Mint in Brøndby, the banknote printing operation is here, from designings to plate making to packing of the finished bundles of banknotes. The printing hall is the largest room in the building: the ceiling is almost eight metres high and the floor plan is a good 25 x 50 metres. The large rotary press is here and the webs of banknotes are produced in a combined process of intaglio, offset and letterpress printing for subsequent cutting, control and packing. The banknotes are cut, controlled and packed in a special department, screened from the rest of the hall in an enclave formed by shoulder- high partitions.

One of the short sides of the hall is formed by part of a six-storey vault dealing with the banknotes produced by the printing works. The walls of the printing hall are clad As in the banking hall, the wood floor is a double construction of individually with mat-finished stainless steel sheets, supported sections readied for computer installation. perforated above door height to satisfy acoustical requirements. Also for Most of the workshops and laboratories needed for the printing operation are acoustical reasons, a perforated metal located in a band around the hall on the same level. coffered ceiling is suspended between the transverse concrete girders of the ceiling structure. The printing hall is central in the production unit of the bank, immediately beneath the northern courtyard. To prevent the transfer of noise and vibrations from the heavy machinery in the hall, the floor and supporting structures are separate from the other building components in the bank. The eleven concrete frames whose columns and girders are the visible load-bearing structure continue all the way down to the foundation on solid limestone.

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The original canteen was on one floor facing Bremerholm. Low, light partitions divided the canteen into small seating groups.

In conjunction with major renovation, an opening was made to the floor above, and a connection was created with the courtyard.

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The long expanded canteen area on the upper floor has a translucent glass roof, which permits daylight into the space along with the glass facades of the two end- walls. There is direct access to an outdoor terrace from both ends of the room.

The opening ensures a visual connection between the two canteen floors and also permits daylight from the glass roof on THE CANTEEN the top floor to reach the canteen area below. The staircase connecting the two After almost 30 years of use, it was decided to renovate the kitchen and combine floors as well as the passages on both the bank’s original two canteens. As part of renovation, the original canteen area sides of the opening are made entirely of glass. that had faced Holmen’s Church was opened up on both sides, allowing a view of the larger northern courtyard. The canteen was also enlarged by incorporating space from what had been a roof terrace above.

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Concrete drums and plants make up the Arne Jacobsen’s own watercolour drawing of the more than 700 m2 north-facing courtyard furnishings in the courtyard. The drums shows the seven longitudinal rows of low, semi-circular concrete drums that serve as beds for were cast with longitudinal ribs that plants. provide an interesting surface structure as well as a foothold for climbing plants.

In some places traditional flower beds connect the individual rows two by two. Leaving out one or more drums interrupts their course. A couple of rows in the middle of one end of the courtyard are almost dissolved by a sideways alternating displacement of the individual elements. Three small circular pools are fitted into this end, visually balanced by a large pool, also circular, at the opposite end of the garden.

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The architectural treatment of the two courtyards uses stone, water and plants as the common materials. Although these elements are organized in an easily-understood manner, closer scrutiny discloses rich detail.

The existence of two courtyards led to the temptation to test the extent of possible variations. Thus despite their start with common materials, the finished results of the courtyards are very different.

THE COURTYARDS

Two rectangular courtyards in a row were cut into the office floors in the middle of the tall building block. The main purpose of the courtyards is to serve as lightwells for the offices surrounding them as well as the only view from the interior: thus great emphasis was placed on the design. The base of each courtyard is the roof above the printing and banking halls, respectively. A connection to the function of the halls beneath can be interpreted directly in the exhaust cowls incorporated from the separate ventilation plant of the printing hall and in the placement of the skylight above the banking hall. Plantings are limited by the weight that can be carried by the load-bearing structure.

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From the triple row of long paving slabs that runs parallel with the street, the cobblestone pavement extends to a distance of a good five metres from the building. From here, on a slightly sloping plane, the pavement forms five raised planted plateaux that follow the passage lined by linden trees along the building. Granite troughs are placed along the sloping edge of the plateaux, and used alternately as basins and containers for plants. Together with a number of bollards at seating height, they make up the rest of the furniture for the area.

The stone surface of the roof provides the platform for groups of cylindrical, raised skylights and groups of plant containers. Alternating low, spreading plants with taller bushes makes the plants visible from the street – above the edge of the wall. An aluminium grid, whose square network contributes to the organization of the large roof surface, marks the modular placement of plant containers and skylights.

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An elongated pool of water was inserted among the plateaux.

THE EXTERNAL LANDSCAPING

Roof and forecourt The almost 5,000 m2 trapezoidal roof surface above the low section of the building complex is treated as a garden, as the roof becomes an important part of the total view from the four office floors. Below the roof garden facing Holmen’s Church, a forecourt garden was designed on the extended pavement area to provide a transition between the bank and the freestanding church. The pavement and its surfacing materials were the basis for the sculptural design and furnishing of the area. An elongated pool is inserted into the passage lined by linden trees along the wall of the building.

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ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION

Background In 1870, the Nationalbank moved its headquarters from Slotsholmen to Holmen’s Canal, into a building designed for the purpose by the architect J. D. Herholdt. Despite several subsequent expansions, after the Second World War the building was simply not large enough and major expansion was deemed necessary. It was considered crucial in light of the bank’s function to keep it near the central administration of the government, and thus the decision was made to incorporate the rest of the city block as the site for a new building.

The competition In 1961, the Nationalbank held a closed architectural competition and invited several of the leading architects of the day to enter. The competition was intended to provide a solution to how the Nationalbank’s existing complex of buildings could be replaced by one new building that would unify the various functions of the bank. The location of the printing works and the possibility to build and take occupancy in stages were important points on the competition programme. The Nationalbank also emphasized its desire for the design of the proposals to show special consideration for the bank’s prominent and central location near Slotsholmen, with the old stock exchange, government buildings, Christiansborg (the seat of parliament) and Holmen’s Church as neighbours. These surroundings made a harmonious adaptation important.

The winning project A majority of the jury found architect Arne Jacobsen’s proposal the best of the five projects submitted, and the only one that fully satisfied the bank’s requirements. The placement of the printing works in the first stage of construction and its function in the fully completed complex were considered excellent. Comments from the jury emphasized that the architectural idea and design of the proposal overall were successful. The committee found it valuable that the heavy concentration of functions in the double wing facing the street, Niels Juels Gade, not only had advantages in terms of interior design, but also made it possible for a considerable part of the complex closest to Holmen’s Church to be built as a very low structure, thus showing the desired consideration to the church, the old stock exchange and Christiansborg Palace. Arne Jacobsen had unsentimentally chosen to tear down Herholdt’s old bank building, thus creating new beauty in the interplay between the old, valuable architectural monuments in the area and the nearby open waterfront The motif of a low horizontal structure as and canal environment. The project, which was the smallest of the five proposals, the basis for a tall building corpus was a showed further that it was possible to meet the requirements of the competition popular architectural theme at one point, programme with a floor-space ratio considerably smaller than that allowed by local and Arne Jacobsen also used it. For planning restrictions. example, the SAS Royal Hotel (1955-60), a project for a swimming hall in Lyngby that was never executed (1964-68) and the central bank of Kuwait (1966, built in 1971-76).

The building complex has two spatial elements. Like a bastion, the one-storey surrounding wall defines the limits of the perimeter and also serves as the plinth for a five-storey building block at the eastern end of the site, facing and parallel to the street, Niels Juels Gade.

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BUILDING HISTORY

Stages

Banking functions had to be operational throughout the entire period of construction. Thus the project was designed in stages, which allowed operations to be moved gradually as the individual departments were finished.

The first stage concerned the northern section of the tall block, containing first and foremost the banknote printing works and canteens for all employees.

The second stage comprised the southern continuation of the tall block plus a small part of the low wing facing Holmen’s Church. This stage comprised all banking facilities.

The third stage dealt with the rest of the low wing containing banking service functions and underground car park.

Timeframe

1964 Demolition of existing buildings began on the site immediately next to the bank’s old headquarters and about halfway down the street, Niels Juels Gade, towards the waterfront.

1965 Actual construction started and the first stage was ready for occupancy in April 1970, with moving completed in February 1971.

1971 Arne Jacobsen died, after which the further planning and management of construction were handed over to the architectural firm of DISSING+WEITLING.

1972 The second stage of construction was begun in the area cleared along the rest of the street, Niels Juels Gade. This stage was finished in the summer of 1976.

1976 The third and final stage was initiated, closing the block along the rest of street, Havnegade, and towards Holmen’s Canal.

1978 The entire building complex was completed.

Functions

The completed Nationalbank complex totals 48,131 m2 of floor space and comprises three very different functions:

• Banknote printing works with ancillary workshops and laboratories.

• A public service area for handling various banking operations undertaken by the Nationalbank.

• Offices for the Nationalbank’s other areas of operation. Service functions include vaults, technical facilities, employee lounge and canteen and car park.

32 33 DANMARKS NATIONALBANK DANMARKS HavnegadeNATIONALBANK 5 DK-1093 Copenhagen K

TelephoneHavnegade +45 5 3363 6363 Fax1093 +45 København 3363 7103 K www.nationalbanken.dkTelefon 33 63 63 63 [email protected] 33 63 71 03 www.nationalbanken.dk E-mail: [email protected]