Located on the Limfjord waterfront in Aalborg (Jutland, Denmark), the ‘Utzon Center‘ was the last building to be designed by Jørn Utzon, the architect behind the ‘Sydney Opera House’. Utzon planned the centre not as a museum but as a place where students of architecture could meet and discuss their ideas for the future. Aalborg was the city where Utzon spent his childhood, and the building was completed there in 2008, the year Utzon died.
Jørn Utzon grew up in Aalborg, a harbour city in the north of Jutland, where he spent much of his boyhood sailing on the Limfjord or at the wharf where his father, Aage Utzon, worked as a shipbuilding engineer and where Jørn became fascinated with ships and their intricate designs, that would be a lasting inspiration for his later works. The idea of a centre came from ‘Aalborg University‘s School for Architecture and Design’ as a place where students could research and discuss architectural trends. The ‘Utzon Research Center’ was established in 2003 with the objective of promoting understanding of Utzon’s work: thanks to its success, economic support was received from Sydney, Australia, and major funding was allocated by the EU and the Obel Foundation for the creation of an Utzon archive and research center, providing a basis for the Utzon Center itself.
As a result, Utzon and his son Kim were invited to design plans for a new building: in August 2005, when he was 87 years old, the plans Utzon and his son Kim had completed for a 2,700 square metre exhibition and research centre on the Aalborg waterfront were presented to the press. The Utzon Foundation under university rector Finn Kjærsdam would be responsible for completing the project.
The outline of the centre cannot be missed: its tent-like spaces are reminiscent of Utzon’s times in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Most of the rooms are impressively well lit, offering views out over the Limfjord: to protect visitors from the wind, Utzon has provided sheltered courtyards inside the complex which also contribute to the pleasure of eating in the outdoor area of the restaurant. The building has an open and welcoming look but at the same time has the protective feel of Utzon’s houses on Mallorca and of Kim Utzon’s other projects.
The centre consists of several individual buildings creating a special place around a courtyard on a platform that includes the tall roofs of the auditorium, the boathall (both on the harbour front), and the library facing the park area and the city. The ‘Utzon Research Center’ at Aalborg University is responsible for planning the centre’s core activities: the top priority is to research and promote the significance of Jørn Utzon’s work and approach by organising workshops, conferences and exhibitions and disseminating their results. Beyond the archive of Utzon’s original drawings, the centre is not a museum immortalizing Utzon but rather a knowledge centre designed to convey an understanding of architecture in general and quality in the broadest sense. It also celebrates the boatbuilder Aage Utzon, the architect’s father, and includes ships designed by him.
The Utzon Center also hosts exhibitions of the work of other architects and has a programme of events of interest to the general public.
Read more on Utzoncenter.dk
