Kay Fisker and Social Housing in Denmark c. 1920–1940

Beskrivelse

As in many other European countries, the construction of social housing in Denmark grew significantly during the interwar period c. 1920–1940. This paper discusses this development through a closer look at key social housing projects by the Danish architect Kay Fisker (1893–1965). Following a housing crisis during the 1910s, state funding was introduced in Denmark in 1918, operated during the period 1922–28 by the State Housing Foundation. This allowed for the construction of urban housing at a new scale, featuring new amenities including increasing amounts of greenspace in relation to the estates. Traditional perimeter blocks became larger and were opened to allow for more sunlight. Later, new urban typologies including parallel blocks were introduced, partly inspired by German examples. Kay Fisker was a significant figure in this process. Key projects include the Copenhagen housing estates Hornbækhus (1920–22), Jagtgaarden (1924–25), Gullfosshus (1927) and Nürnberggaarden (1931), as well as rowhouse projects, including Brønsparken (1937). Furthermore, Fisker published a survey of contemporary housing projects, “Copenhagen Building Types” in 1936, based on typological studies conducted at the Royal Danish Academy of Fines Arts’ School of Architecture, where Fisker was teaching. While these projects contributed to significantly to improving the living conditions of the working class, Fisker was not explicitly driven by political ideals. If anything, he insisted on balancing the means of architecture, paying equal attention to functions and forms.

Periode	25 maj 2022
Begivenhedstitel	Affordable Social Housing 1910s-1930s: A Comparative Study
Begivenhedstype	Seminar
Grad af anerkendelse	International