Henning Hansen


Henning Hansen was a Danish architect.

Early life and education

Hansen was born on 18 July 1880 in Odense, the son of master joiner Hans Henning Hansen and Johanne Jørgensen.
Hansen completed a joiner's apprenticeship in his home town. He was also educated as an executing architect from Odense Technical School in 1899. After moving to Copenhagen, he was trained in drawing at Vermehren's drawing school. He attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts' School of Architecture from 1899 to 1907. In 1910, he won the academy's small gold medal for his design of "a manor house". This earned him the academy's great travel stipend. The journey took him to Greece and Spain. During his stay in Greece, he attended the École Francaise d'Athénes and participated in the institution's excavations at Delos. Other journeys took him to Italy, France, England and the Netherlands.
In 19111913, he worked as an assistant for Martin Nyrop. He was also influenced by Andreas Clemmensen and Ulrik Plesner for whom he had worked as executing architect.

Career

In 1911, Hansen established his own architectural studio. Not long thereafter, he won 1st prize in the competition for the design of the Danish pavilion at the 1914 Baltic Exhibition in Malmö. His winning proposal, which combined inspiration from Renaissance manor houses with influences from the Arts and Crafts movement, won him the Academy's Annual Medal. In his design of an expansion of KFUM's headquarters on Rosenborggade in Copenhagen, he also combined inspiration from historical styles with influences from English architecture. Many of his other early works were single-family detached houses, frequently designed in collaboration with Louis Hygom. Unlike many of his contemporaries, such as Povl Baymann, he did not turn to Nordic Classicism or Modernism wholeheartedly, but was more inclined to switch between different styles, just like he with inspiration from his old teacher, Matin Nyrop, remained fond of eclectic, decorative details.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Hansen designed a number of large housing estates in Copenhagen. Borgerbo had made the most out of an iregularly shaped site in Amager. With Solgården, Hansen adopted a significantly more innovative approach to modern residential architecture. The design broke with the traditional perimeter block by leaving the southwestern corner open to let in more sunlight. The main entrances were also placed on the yard-side of the buildings, unlike what was normal at the time, and the ground-floor apartments had small front gardens separated from the rest of the courtyards by low walls. Kanslergården in Østerbro set a new standard for public housing with its large apartments and mansion-like Baroque Revival architecture.
In 193031, he designed Danish Bicycle Club's new velodrome in Ordrup north of the city. In 1936, he won 1st prize in the competition for a new Frederiksberg Town Hall. Construction started in 1941 but was uit on hold the following year due to scarcity of materials during World War II. After Hansen's death, it was completed to a completely reworked design by others.
In 1917, Hansen was admitted to the Academy's plenar assembly. In 19201929, he was a member of the Academy Council. He was president of Akademisk Arkitektforening in 1919–1922. He was also involved in the publication of the magazine Architecten and headed Yegnehjælpen. In 1921, he was elected for Copenhagen City Council. He was a member of numerous commissions.
Hansen was created a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1914. In 1930, he was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog's Cross of Honour.

Personal life

Hansen was married to the architect Agnete Frederikke Laub Hansen on 16 September 1915. She was the daughter of engineer Holger Axel Hauning and Johanne Arngoth Haae Laub. Her brother was the architect Thomas Hauning. Their mother's sister was married to Martin Nyrop. Hansen and his wife were the parents of architect Hans Henning Hansen.

List of works