An Arne Jacobsen House in Gentofte

Few places in the world are as beautifully and closely associated with a single architect and designer as the municipality of Gentofte north of Copenhagen. Here, Tobias Jacobsen shares his vision of creating a living culture house in Gentofte dedicated to Arne Jacobsen’s life and work – and invites interested project partners to a collaboration.

Gentofte Municipality is the place where Arne Jacobsen has left his biggest architectural imprint. From single-family houses, terrace and linked houses, student housing and multi-storey housing to kiosk, kayaking club, riding hall, badminton hall, tennis hall, petrol station, sea baths, restaurant and theatre.

Arne Jacobsen (1902–1971) was one of the leading Nordic interpreters of functionalist architecture and design. With an oeuvre spanning all the genres of building architecture as well as landscape architecture and garden design, lighting and furniture, he was a principal figure in the golden age of Danish design in 1940–60 and played a crucial role for the global recognition of Danish design, both then and now.

Everyone who lives in or visits Gentofte Municipality is enriched, consciously or unconsciously, by Arne Jacobsen’s work on a daily basis. The municipality is a unique exponent and living showcase of the simple, functional and stylish character of modernist design. If you want to see Arne Jacobsen’s design and architecture as a component of everyday life, visit Gentofte Municipality!

Growing Danish and International Attention

Within narrow Danish and international design and architecture circles, Gentofte Municipality is already recognized as an outstanding Arne Jacobsen destination.

Currently, there also seems to be growing momentum for a broader interest among tourists from both the rest of Denmark and abroad.

Half a century after Arne Jacobsen’s death, his modernist design still captures the spirit of the time, and his furniture, lamps, door handles, jugs and cutlery are represented in homes all over the world, including in the homes of young people and families.

Many of the tourists holidaying in Denmark are culture tourists, according to VisitDenmark’s report Kulturturister på ferie i Danmark i 2022 [Culture tourists holidaying in Denmark in 2022] (September 2023):

– 55 % of foreign holidaymakers in Denmark are culture tourists.

– 5.6 million culture tourists holidayed in Denmark in 2022; 48 % came from Denmark, 52 % from abroad.

In the report, VisitDenmark defines culture tourists as holidaymakers who ‘specifically considered cultural experiences as a reason for choosing Denmark as their holiday destination in 2022. In concrete terms, this means that “design and architecture” and/or “culture, art and historical experiences/sights” played “a big role” or “a decisive role” in their choice of Denmark as their holiday destination’.

Vision: An Arne Jacobsen House – a Living Culture House

Vision: An Arne Jacobsen House – a Living Culture HouseThe vision is to create a living culture house dedicated to Arne Jacobsen’s life and work.

An exceptional gathering place where visitors can see, touch and experience Arne Jacobsen’s design and architecture and go exploring. A building where you enter and move around as you would in a private home, and where you can sense Arne Jacobsen’s personal presence. Where architecture, furniture and interiors adapt and change over time.

Where the appearance and positions of the individual elements are flexible. Where the walls, furniture, works and library can be moved around, placed out of sight or altered to match varying events and presentations. A house that can host workshops and talks and serve as a base for excursions on foot or bicycle or by bus. A place where you can enjoy a cup of coffee and maybe pick up a new design object from a carefully curated selection. An organic building that offers inspiration and learning about our shared cultural heritage and identity. A place of insight and culture.

Danes and international tourists may be familiar with the Egg, the Swan, the SAS Hotel and Danmarks Nationalbank. But do they know that Gentofte Municipality is a true hotspot and the unique basis for Arne Jacobsen’s design and architecture?

Do they know about all the single-family houses on Baunegårdsvej and Parkovsvej, the Junkers Badminton Hall, the locker room building at Gentofte Stadium, the student housing, Mattsson’s Riding Hall, Bellevue Theatre, the kiosk and the kayaking club, not to mention Arne Jacobsen’s own terrace house in the Søholm I development on Strandvejen. Does everyone know that he designed the modernization of the coastal road section from Charlottenlund to Klampenborg? And is it widely known that he was a passionate horticulturist and an important landscape architect? Does everyone know how Arne Jacobsen fled Denmark in 1943, escaping across the Øresund strait to Sweden in a rowing boat together with the prominent Danish social critic and designer Poul Henningsen; and do they know about his organic and colourful wallpaper patterns or his weakness for custard tarts?

Realization of the Project

The idea of an Arne Jacobsen house has been maturing for a number of years, but the actual realization of the project is still in its initial phase. Tobias Jacobsen aims for a process where the project is defined, developed and realized in a close collaboration with a group of project partners.

The current thoughts on the realization of the project:

Proposal of location:

There are several options for the location of an Arne Jacobsen house. The points below are intended as ideas for consideration and are subject to Gentofte Municipality’s review and input:

Private residence: A sublime location would be Arne Jacobsen’s own former home in the Søholm I development. That would also enable the effective and impactful name ‘Arne Jacobsen’s House’.

Other existing architecture: Gentofte Municipality is home to several other buildings designed by Arne Jacobsen – single-family houses, linked houses, a locker room building and others – that could potentially match the project.

New build: Finally, a new build based on one of Arne Jacobsen’s designs could be erected on a vacant plot, for example a scaled version of the Kubeflex holiday cottage that Arne Jacobsen designed in 1969–70, a year before his death.

The cottage never went into production. Until 2002 the original prototype was used a holiday home by the Jacobsen family, and since 2005 it has been in the custody of the Trapholt museum of modern art, where it is a permanent exhibit on the museum grounds and open to the public.

Kubeflex consists of cubic modules that can be combined in countless ways to change the size of the building as needed. The design is thus suited for flexible scaling to match a given purpose and site. Kubeflex consists of cubic modules that can be combined in countless ways to change the size of the building as needed. The design is thus suited for flexible scaling to match a given purpose and site.

Proposal for project partners:

Gentofte Municipality: The municipality that is home to the largest collection of buildings designed by Arne Jacobsen and also the municipality where he lived the longest. This makes the municipality a core geographic, architectural and personal site in relation to Arne Jacobsen’s life and work.

Design manufacturers: The house will naturally be furnished and decorated with Arne Jacobsen’s own designs; manufacturers of these designs thus make natural project partners.

Foundations: Over the years, numerous foundations have supported works of architecture, exhibitions and other projects related to Arne Jacobsen’s work.

Tobias Jacobsen is a board member of a foundation with the stated purpose to support science and the arts, including in particular architecture, whose income is derived from royalties on the sale of Arne Jacobsen’s designs.

Among other contributions, this foundation has donated substantial amounts to Bellevue Theatre, St Catherine’s College Oxford and the Texaco petrol station on Kystvejen. Support from foundations will be an important source of funding for establishing, maintaining and operating an Arne Jacobsen house.

Experience from a similar culture house in Japan – House of Tobias Jacobsen

The opening of House of Tobias Jacobsen (HOTJ) in Osaka in 2016 marked the realization of by Tobias Jacobsen’s vision and initiative to create a meeting place of Japanese and Danish design. The culture house, which was realized in collaboration with Japanese partners, presents Arne and Tobias Jacobsen’s designs in a context imbued with Japanese aesthetic and minimalism. It serves as an authentic and dynamic setting for workshops, talks and events about design, art and architecture across the two cultures – a dynamic, living setting where visitors can acquire new designs as well as new insights.

The experiences from HOTJ are incorporated into the concept and vision of an Arne Jacobsen house in Gentofte.

Read more about House of Tobias Jacobsen.

For collaboration – contact Tobias Jacobsen

The vision for the Arne Jacobsen house was originally conceived by the Danish designer Tobias Jacobsen (b. 1965). He is a trained goldsmith, attended The School of Design in Pforzheim, graduated as a furniture and industrial designer from The Danish Design Scholl (now the Royal Danish Academy – Design) and designs product, furniture and architecture for a wide range of manufacturers and clients in Denmark and abroad.

As a grandson of the world-acclaimed architect and designer Arne Jacobsen, Tobias Jacobsen grew up surrounded by his grandfather’s design and architecture. His sense of space, form and function was stimulated from early childhood, and today, in addition to his own design practice, Tobias Jacobsen is engaged in managing and preserving the originality of Arne Jacobsen’s work in collaboration with Arne Jacobsen Design I/S. Tobias Jacobsen is also a board member of a foundation with the stated purpose of to support science and the arts, including in particular architecture, whose income is derived from royalties on the sale of Arne Jacobsen’s designs.

Contact Info