Utzon Center - Aalborg, Denmark
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vraatja
N 57° 02.975 E 009° 55.590
32V E 556207 N 6323286
The Utzon Center in Aalborg, Denmark, was the last building to be designed by Jørn Utzon, the architect behind the Sydney Opera House. On April 7, he was awarded the 2003 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Waymark Code: WMEXGN
Location: Denmark
Date Posted: 07/18/2012
Views: 28
In 2003 Jørn Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, international architecture's highest honour. Utzon’s son Jan, also an architect, accepted the honour and a $US100,000 cheque on behalf of his 85-year-old father at a ceremony at the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid on May 20.
One of the judges described Jørn Utzon as the groundbreaking Danish architect who had constructed something "well ahead of its time, far ahead of available technology and he persevered through extraordinary malicious publicity and negative criticism to build a building that changed the image of an entire country. It is the first time in our lifetime that an epic piece of architecture gained such universal presence."
"Jørn Oberg Utzon (1918 – 2008) was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon was born in Copenhagen, the son of a naval engineer, and grew up in Aalborg, Denmark. Just in Aalborg he designed his last building, located on the Limfjord waterfront in the city where Utzon spent his childhood. The building was completed in 2008.
The Utzon Center with its highly reflective, dramatically curved rooftops, is the centre cannot be missed. The rather tent-like spaces they enclose 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 Lim Fjord. 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, some of which have an almost fortress-like appearance.
The centre consists of several individual buildings creating a special place around a courtyard on a platform. The tall sculptural roofs of the auditorium and the boathall, both on the harbour front, and the library facing the park area and the city are set off by the lower roofs of the exhibition and workshop areas inside the complex."
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