Bellavista housing estate

The Bellavista housing estate designed by Arne Jacobsen is the clearest example of Bauhaus architecture in Denmark. Completed in 1934, the estate is located just north of Copenhagen, in Klampenborg, Gentofte Municipality, next to Jacobsen's Bellevue Beach, which had been completed a couple of years earlier.

While still a student, Jacobsen travelled to Germany where he was attracted by the Modernist architecture of Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius, both pioneers of the Bauhaus school. This encouraged him to collaborate with his old friend Flemming Lassen in designing the "House of the Future" which won the Danish Architects Association's competition in 1929. In 1930, Jacobsen designed the Functionalist, white-plastered Rothenborg House on Klampenborgvej in Klampenborg, planned and furnished as a total work of art. The building was warmly received, not only by the Danish press but by its occupants.

Shortly after he had completed the Bellevue Beach bathing centre, Jacobsen received a commission from Gentofte Municipality to build an apartment complex in the same area. It was specified that the buildings should have flat roofs, that they should not have more than three storeys and that those facing the coast road and the sea beyond should not be more than two storeys high. Jacobsen decided to construct his 68 modern, well-fitted apartments in a U-shaped configuration consisting of three wings overlooking a central lawn. The name Bellavista stemmed from the Bella Vista villa which had previously stood on the site. The Bellavista development has been listed since 1987.

The buildings are built of brick with a whitewashed finish and iron girders between the floors. The roofs are tar-papered, the window frames are teak and the balconies have reinforced concrete fencing. In order to take full advantage of the sea view, Jacobsen staggered the facades of the north and south wings so that each apartment has two rooms with views over the sea. The sea can also be seen from the balconies which are integrated into the structure of the buildings rather than protruding outwards as was the usual practice at the time. The south wing which stands on lower ground has a basement with garages. The largest apartments are those in the west wing, behind the two others and parallel to the coast road, where there is no requirement for a staggered facade. A few shops were also included in the complex. Jacobsen succeeded in creating interesting effects with his floor displacements, rounded corners, and the latticework over the balconies. The shadows over the white surface of the buildings create ever changing impressions as the day progresses. With their white-washed facades and corner windows, the buildings instill an atmosphere of exotic, elegant modernity, so typical of Functionalism. Bellavista allowed Jacobsen to realize his dream of a modern town.

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