Bent Helweg-Møller


Bent Helweg-Møller was a Danish architect. His works include the listed Villa Vendle in Tisvilde and Svane Apotek in Copenhagen as well as the Berlingske Building in Copenhagen and an extension of Odense City Hall in Odense. He has also renovated a number of historic properties, including the Niels Brock House and Heering House on Christianshavn and Klostergården on Amagertorv in Copenhagen.

Early life and education

Helweg-Møller was born on 8 June 1773 in Odense, the son of later savings bank manager Hans Jakob Møller and Anna Sophie née Helweg. He matriculated from Odense Technical School and completed a mason's apprenticeship in 1903. He studied attended the Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1904 to 1908 and worked at Anton Rosen architectural firm from 1906 to 1909.

Career

Helweg-Møller established his own architectural firm in 1910. Some of his earliest works were large villas and renovations of historical buildings. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he turned to the new Functionalist but often combined it with Art Deco elements and an unusual attention to detail.
He served as architect for Berlingske Media, expanding the company's head office in Pilestræde. He received a number of high-profile commissions from companies such as Berlingske, Magasin du Nord and A. C. Bang. In 1933, he won the first prize in the competition for an extension of Odense City Hall.
He was a member of Akademirådet in 1933–43 and again in 1946.

Porcelain and furniture

In 1910–14, Helweg-Møller worked for the Royal Porcelain Factory. His designs for the company included a series of memorial plates with architectural motifs.

Exhibition architect

Danish pavilion at the World Expo in Rio de Janeiro
Royal Copenhagen pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris

Selected works

Mosegårdsskolen, Stolpehøj 150, Vangede
  • A/S Lastic, Lersø Parkallé 108, Copenhagen
  • Interiors for Nye Danske, Stormgade 2-4, Copenhagen
  • Dansk Kautionsforsikring, Gammeltorv 14, Copenhagen