Northern Suburbs

Architect Arne Jacobsen is credited as being the founding father of modern Danish functionalist design. Jacobsen was prolific, producing over one hundred buildings throughout his career. The seaside town of Klampenbord is home to a whole complex of Jacobsen-designed buildings and structures, including a theater, housing complex, and beach cabanas. The architect won the commission for the site in the '30s and added more structures in the '50s, all in the international modernist style—white-washed walls, split-level apartments–to ensure sea views for all occupants.

Texaco commissioned Jacobsen to create a new standard gas station model, which the architect completed in 1938. The new model was never implemented but the structure still functions as a gas station today (the modern gas pumps were added later). The station is essentially a concrete box clad in white ceramic tiles—the distinctive feature is the oval-shaped canopy above the pumps (affectionately called "the mushroom" by locals). While the canopy looks a little obsolete, Jacobsen's philosophy that every design element needs to have a function is definitely at play. The canopy acts as a shield from the rain by day and as a streetlight (the canopy is bottom-lit so the light diffuses to illuminate the whole station) by night—functional, beautiful, smart.

Post World War II, the notion that good quality, aesthetically pleasing design could improve the daily life of Danes emerged—meaning that something totally utilitarian, like a chair or table, should also be beautiful. Architect and designer Finn Juhl, aside from being one of the founders of this new era of modern Danish design, built and furnished his own home in the spirit of this new movement's principles. Basically untouched since Juhl's death in 1989, his home acts as the perfect exhibition space for his work. The house is an early example of open-plan, with white walls and large windows drawing attention to the functional yet incredibly sculptural furniture. There is no design piece in this house that doesn't serve a purpose, so the space is simple and devoid of clutter. You'll see some of Juhl's most famous pieces like the Egyptian chairs (1949) and Poet sofa (1942) in their natural environment—the minimalist Danish home. This is on the ground's of the Ordrupgaard museum.

Home to an impressive collection of Golden Age Danish and French Impressionist art (including works by Renoir, Monet, and Manet), Ordrupgaard Museum's most interesting design addition is the late Zaha Hadid's extension completed in 2005. Hadid's building is intended to be a continuation of the landscape with no real defined form. As you walk through the galleries inside, the ceilings rise and fall with the terrain and there are constant splashes of greenery courtesy of the many windows. The exterior is a mix of black lava concrete and glass that reflects the changing colors of the landscape, the concrete roof in particular can look almost multi-textural when clouds pass overhead. Finn Juhl's house is also on-site. The museum will be closing in December for renovation.