Jørn Utzon - Bagsværd Community Church

Jørn Utzon
Bagsværd Community Church
Bagsværd, Denmark

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The modest church, the color of the Nordic sky, stands tall and proud between birch trees, its back turned towards the noisy street. The exterior walls are clad in white prefabricated concrete panels and white glazed tiles that reflect the light. The aluminum roof gives the church an industrial, almost austere, appearance. The ambulatories and connecting pathways are covered with glass roofs.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The main sanctuary dominates the tight geometry of the plan; three sections and a courtyard between two parallel corridors. The glass roofed circulation ways blur the transition between nature outside and the church interior...but nothing prepares you for the sweeping cloudscape inside the sanctuary.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The sculptural concrete ceiling in the church is sublime and always changing with a blend of direct and reflected light light that filters through floating clouds. In Utzon's early sketches you can see his inspiration, as in his other buildings, came from nature; the sky and moving clouds.

Structurally, the vaulted ceiling is supported by the glass topped ambulatories. In contrast to the tight exterior, the softly curved ceiling and the white light in the sanctuary gives you a feeling of being elevated...of getting closer to the heavens.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The interior of the church is almost all white; the walls are specially treated white concrete, the floors are white concrete tiles, and the trellis like altar screen is glazed white tiles.

The white is offset by the light pine church benches designed by Jan Utzon and the textiles designed by Lin Utzon. A trellis wall of light pine covers the glass wall that separates the sanctuary from the entrance room.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

In a country where church buildings are universal, without religious references, Utzon has designed a church that exalts and comforts with poetic purity.

Sketch courtesy Utzon Architects

Plan

Section

Client: Bagsværd Parish
Artist: Lin Utzon
Church benches: Jan Utzon
Construction: 1974 76
Area: 1,700 square meters
Site: 100 meters by 40 meters
January 2, 2001

Jørn Utzon, (1918 ), is best known for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he studied architecture at the Academy of Arts from 1937 to 1942. After working in the offices of architects Paul Hedquist and Gunnar Asplund in Sweden and for architect Alvar Aalto in Finland, Utzon established his own practice in Copenhagen in 1950.
Utzon's earliest completed buildings were private residences, and the success of his design for the Sydney Opera House was unexpected. Construction of the building was begun in 1956, but after a series of structural problems forced changes in Utzon's original design, he resigned from the project. The Opera House was completed by the British engineering firm of Ove Arup and Partners, in 1973.
Subsequent major public projects designed by Utzon include the National Assembly building in Kuwait, built between 1971 and 1983. Although the building is made of concrete, its shape evokes a series of large tents, traditional meeting places for the nomadic Bedouin peoples of Kuwait.
Jørn Utzon lives in Mallorca, Spain. He has designed several important projects in partnership with his sons; Jan Utzon and Kim Utzon.

Jørn Utzon arcspace features







				Features
		Jørn Utzon Bagsværd Community Church Bagsværd, Denmark Photo: Kirsten Kiser The modest church, the color of the Nordic sky, stands tall and proud between birch trees, its back turned towards the noisy street. The exterior walls are clad in white prefabricated concrete panels and white glazed tiles that reflect the light. The aluminum roof gives the church an industrial, almost austere, appearance. The ambulatories and connecting pathways are covered with glass roofs. Photo: Kirsten Kiser Photo: Kirsten Kiser Photo: Kirsten Kiser The main sanctuary dominates the tight geometry of the plan; three sections and a courtyard between two parallel corridors. The glass roofed circulation ways blur the transition between nature outside and the church interior...but nothing prepares you for the sweeping cloudscape inside the sanctuary. Photo: Kirsten Kiser Photo: Kirsten Kiser Photo: Kirsten Kiser The sculptural concrete ceiling in the church is sublime and always changing with a blend of direct and reflected light light that filters through floating clouds. In Utzon's early sketches you can see his inspiration, as in his other buildings, came from nature; the sky and moving clouds. Structurally, the vaulted ceiling is supported by the glass topped ambulatories. In contrast to the tight exterior, the softly curved ceiling and the white light in the sanctuary gives you a feeling of being elevated...of getting closer to the heavens. Photo: Kirsten Kiser Photo: Kirsten Kiser Photo: Kirsten Kiser The interior of the church is almost all white; the walls are specially treated white concrete, the floors are white concrete tiles, and the trellis like altar screen is glazed white tiles. The white is offset by the light pine church benches designed by Jan Utzon and the textiles designed by Lin Utzon. A trellis wall of light pine covers the glass wall that separates the sanctuary from the entrance room. Photo: Kirsten Kiser Photo: Kirsten Kiser In a country where church buildings are universal, without religious references, Utzon has designed a church that exalts and comforts with poetic purity. Sketch courtesy Utzon Architects Plan Section Client: Bagsværd Parish Artist: Lin Utzon Church benches: Jan Utzon Construction: 1974 76 Area: 1,700 square meters Site: 100 meters by 40 meters January 2, 2001 Jørn Utzon, (1918 ), is best known for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he studied architecture at the Academy of Arts from 1937 to 1942. After working in the offices of architects Paul Hedquist and Gunnar Asplund in Sweden and for architect Alvar Aalto in Finland, Utzon established his own practice in Copenhagen in 1950. Utzon's earliest completed buildings were private residences, and the success of his design for the Sydney Opera House was unexpected. Construction of the building was begun in 1956, but after a series of structural problems forced changes in Utzon's original design, he resigned from the project. The Opera House was completed by the British engineering firm of Ove Arup and Partners, in 1973. Subsequent major public projects designed by Utzon include the National Assembly building in Kuwait, built between 1971 and 1983. Although the building is made of concrete, its shape evokes a series of large tents, traditional meeting places for the nomadic Bedouin peoples of Kuwait. Jørn Utzon lives in Mallorca, Spain. He has designed several important projects in partnership with his sons; Jan Utzon and Kim Utzon. Jørn Utzon arcspace features