Johan Otto von Spreckelsen

Johan Otto von Spreckelsen (born May 4, 1929 in Viborg , † March 15, 1987 in Hørsholm ) was a Danish architect and university professor . He achieved fame through the construction of the Grande Arche , which gave new significance to the La Défense business district west of Paris on the “King's Axis” ( Ax historique ) .

Memorial plaque on the house where JO von Spreckelsen was born in Viborg

life and work

Vangede Church near Copenhagen

Johan Otto von Spreckelsen was born in Viborg as the son of the book reviser and local researcher Otto von Spreckelsen and his wife Maria Antonie born. von Taborsky born. The mother was a native Hungarian . The family was Catholic. The family name comes from Dithmarschen .

Johan Otto von Spreckelsen received his diploma in 1953 from the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen and founded his own architectural office in 1958 . He was a UNESCO representative at the Technical University of the Middle East , METU for short, in Ankara (1960-1962), honorary professor at the University of Ohio (from 1963) and finally returned in 1978 as a professor at the Art Academy in Copenhagen, where he worked for the subject of architecture was responsible.

Spreckelsen dealt intensively with the study of church buildings and mosques as well as the historical research of the works of Le Corbusier , Frank Lloyd Wright , Alvar Aalto and other architects of the 20th century.

Grande Arche , Paris

For the realization of the Grande Arche he worked with the French architect Paul Andreu . Johan Otto von Spreckelsen died in 1987 at the age of 57, two years before the Grande Arche was completed. After Spreckelsen's death, Andreu completed the building.

List of works

• 1958: Private residence and office in Hørsholm , Denmark
• 1960: St. Nikolai Church (Catholic), Hvidovre , Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1969: St. Nikolai Church (Catholic), Esbjerg , Denmark
• 1974: Vangede Church (Danish People's Church), Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1982: Stavnsholt Church (Danish People's Church), Farum , Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1989: Grande Arche de la Défense, Paris, France

Competitions

• 1967: 1st prize in the competition for new cities, for the Art Foundation of the Danish State, Statens Kunstfond , Copenhagen, Denmark (1964)
• 1971: 1st prize in the Nordic competition for a new city in Kristianstad , Sweden
• 1973: 1st prize for the new church in Aarhus , Denmark
• 1977: 1st prize for the new Farum Church in Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1983: Winner of the international competition for the construction of the Grande Arche in La Défense near Paris, France

Further mentions and awards

• 1968: Design for residential construction in Moesgaard near Aarhus, Denmark
• 1968: Draft for housing in Riisskov , near Aarhus, Denmark
• 1969: Stadium for Solbjerg Strand near Copenhagen
• 1969: Draft for residential construction in Gladsaxe , Copenhagen
• 1970: Planetarium in Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1972: Parliament building in Stockholm, Sweden
• 1975: Church in Holte, Denmark

Source: "Architectures capitales"

source

• Sys Hartmann (Ed.): Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon , (Weilbach's artist lexicon), Copenhagen 1994 (Danish)

literature

• Mission Interministérielle de Coordination des Grands Opérations: "Architectures capitales", Paris, 1988, Electa Moniteur, ISBN 2-86653-041-1 (French)
• Ernst Seidl: La Grande Arche de La Défense in Paris: Form - Power - Sense, Hamburg 1998 (German)

Web links

• Johan Otto von Spreckelsen. In: Structurae
• Johan Otto von Spreckelsen. In: arch INFORM .
• "Tête Défense" competition: La Grande Arche