Halldor Gunnlgsson was son of the

merchant Halldor Johannes

Gunnlgsson and the actress Else
Sten. He graduated from senior
school in 1937 and continued at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts,
School of Architecture, in
Copenhagen, from which he graduated
in 1942. Among his teachers were
Kay Fisker and Steen Eiler
Rasmussen. Just after his final
examinations during the Second
World War he left for Sweden and
stayed in the neighbouring country
during the years 1942-44. > NEXT

Portrait of
Halldor
Gunnlgsson
KAB

Biography
1918
born in Frederiksberg.
graduated from senior school.

1937

graduated from the Royal Danish Academy

of Fine Arts, School of Architecture,
in Copenhagen.

1942

sojourn in Sweden. 1942-44

Lecturer at the Royal Danish Academy of
Fine Arts, School of Architecture, in
Copenhagen.

1956

appointed professor in building arts at

the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts,
School of Architecture, in Copenhagen.

1959

Dean at the Royal Danish Academy of

Fine Arts, School of Architecture, in
Copenhagen.

1969

Visiting Professor at Massachusetts 1961-62

Institute of Technology in the United
States.
died in Rungsted.

1985

During his career he travelled to North and South America, Japan, and the Near East, and the
inspiration found on these trips are delicately conditioned to a Scandinavian design fundamental to
his buildings. He spent his teaching career at the School of Architecture of the Royal Danish Academy of
Fine Arts in Copenhagen, where he was initially employed as an instructor, before becoming a lecturer in
1956. He was appointed professor in the building arts in 1959, and dean in 1969. From 1961-62 he was
employed as a Visiting Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
Gunnlgsson was one of the leading figures in the Danish modernist architecture, especially in the field
of detached houses. His personal interpretations of the modernist Western-American and the
traditional Japanese architectural traditions were shaped by a consciousness of specific local qualities
and demands. Using materials like wood and stone combined with a limited range of colours the
impression of his works is simple and minimalist, though at the same time very precious.
Gunnlgsson's own home on Rungsted Strandvej was built to house himself and his wife Lillemor
Gunnlgsson, and since they had no children the house consists of only two rooms with a bathroom
and a kitchen. The house is typical of the individualistic modern lifestyle of the 1950s, characterised by
simplicity and functionality and ideally placed in the middle of beautiful natural surroundings
overlooking resund. The isolated and undisturbed location makes outer shielding walls unnecessary,
and the outside is left to penetrate the rooms by means of "glass walls". The feeling of being inside
the house is thus close to the feeling of being outside, or rather to the feeling of being on a protected
terrace, since it is possible to get a glimpse of the Sound from almost every spot in the house. The
floating impression of the building, caused by the large windows and the simple wooden construction
between the end walls, underline the floating atmosphere of the interior with its open and
continuous rooms. An interesting fact about Gunnlgsson's house is the way it is adapted to serve the
needs of two people. The splendid view of the ever-changing resund, combined with the isolated
location, allowed the window-facades towards the Sound and to the other side towards the sunny
garden protected against the wind and the road by a fence. The building is erected as a wooden
framework between the two end walls. The end walls are made in stone and are white-washed, while
the wooden construction is stained in dark shades. In front of the house on the eastern side facing the
Sound is a terrace made of salt-impregnated boards. The "glass-walls" on this side have two sliding
doors, also in glass, which form the entrance to the terrace. The interiors are typical of Gunnlgsson's
work: simple materials and very few colours. The ceilings are constructed by means of untreated deal
battens. The visible beams are stained in dark shades in the same manner as the supporting timber
described above. The interior walls are made of wood and varnished black and have a polished
surface. The sliding doors, which separate the main room from the kitchen and the bedroom, are
painted in a light grey while the chimney brickwork is treated as the outer walls and white-washed. To
keep the simplicity and the minimalist impression even the heating pipes are invisible, embedded in
the floor and covered by heat-conducting Swedish marble also, in a light grey tone. For extra heating
the living room is supplied with a chimney and a fireplace situated in the middle of the room. The
windows can be covered by Venetian blinds in the same light colour as the untreated wood of the
ceiling. Approaching the house from the main road one needs to walk along the garden following the
sloping terrain. The difference in altitude between the road-level and house-level is almost two
meters. The garage is situated in the northern part of the building, while the living facilities are placed

towards the south. Entering from the western side of the building through a door leading to a narrow
part of the main room behind the kitchen, one continues directly into the main room with the freestanding chimney in the middle. The bathroom and the kitchen lie parallel to the facades, and can be
entered either from the bedroom or the main room. Gunnlgsson's own house on Rungsted Strandvej

style characteristic of the modernist

movement in Denmark in the 1950s and 1960s. Traditionally the whole area
is a brilliant example of the new

along the coast of resund north of Copenhagen was characterised by large, prestigious villas with
many rooms, placed in parks and surrounded by garages, barns, etc. Gunnlgsson's home is modest in
comparison to these. The parks were divided up into smaller sites of 1000-1500 m2 according to the
new ideal of a more functional and individual way of living, without the staff necessary to maintain the
house and the surroundings. In the case of Gunnlgsson, the trimmed gardens are replaced by the
natural flora of the coast itself, while the house is limited to the specific needs of a couple.
Gunnlgsson's own house thus resembles Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe or Phillip Johnson's
Glass House, and in its overall impression the building clearly shows an original Japanese inspiration.
The Nordic materials - bricks, wood, and Swedish marble - turn the house into an indisputably
Scandinavian interpretation of these styles. His detached houses in general, and his own house in
particular, h. The same attitude towards materials and simplicity also characterises his other major
works. In the case of the City Hall of Trnby or Fredericia the precious materials and the severe and
rhythmic structure of the facades are remarkable. Working in the southern part of Jutland he used the
local red brick so the new buildings could match the existing traditional ones. He often underlined the
function and importance of the building by making large steps leading up to official buildings like city
halls or museums. Likewise, in his project for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen, he tried to
make the new buildings correspond to the old monumental and enclosed warehouses dating back to the
eighteenth century. His oeuvre is characterised by an overall aesthetic close to that of Asplund, defined
by the idea of an architectural whole, functionality and regard for the surroundings, thorough
construction and a delicate attention to detail. < BACK
Kira Pedersen