»Et elskeligt hus«

– en arkitekturfilm om Aarhus Rådhus

English

‘A Lovable House’ – an architectural documentary about Aarhus City Hall.

The documentary ‘A Lovable House’ was produced by journalist Dorte Søholm and film editor Ole Grønbæk in 2016. It presents the complete story of this iconic hall and its world-famous architecture. We hear of a building that attracted controversy even before it was constructed, but that has since conquered all our hearts with its charm and its welcoming appearance.

Watch the documentary

 

Title: »A Lovable House« (trailer)
Duration: 1:30
Subtitles: No
Narrative: Danish

Title: »A Lovable House«
Duration: 59:00
Subtitles: English
Narrative: Danish

 

The Dream

Aarhus City Hall was inaugurated on 2 July 1941. In the 1930s, visionary politicians in the city had dreamt of a building that could represent democracy, and the promise of a new and better future – a place that did not smack of bourgeois power and superficiality.

Architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller took part in realising that dream, but the people thought their draft was too spartan and modern: the concrete box was said to lack style and grandeur, and there was no tower. So, before construction could start, the architects had to adjust the design to be more appealing, adding a tower and cladding in Norwegian marble. Inside, the austere, functional lines were softened, and the building was lined with wood.

 

The architectural history

When the hall was inaugurated in 1941, the initial resistance had died down: the city was proud of the new building.
Since then, it has become known and admired all over the world as a key work in the gentle Scandinavian interpretation of modernism. Despite the compromise, it turned out that by softening  the originally austere and functional design, architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller had created architectural history. In 1995, Aarhus City Hall was declared a listed building, but the hall is far from a museum piece. It remains, in many ways, very modern, young, lively and hospitable – as well as being outrageously elegant.

 

Filmen er støttet af

Logoer for Aarhus Kommune, RealDania og Dreyers Fond