By Thorsten Overgaard. February 27, 2025. Click here to read the original Danish edition.
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Preface: THIS STORY was originally written and photographed for the March 2009 issue of the monthly magazine of Jyllands-Posten (the largest newspaper in Denmark) and was a 20-page story. I picked it up from the cutting room floor and thought it was still a good story to tell, thus here is the republished version.
Maybe part of the story is that Jens Kaiser, who was the editor then, like me, loved history, architecture, and good storytelling. Unlike the trend then and now, we disagreed with the idea that "people only have time for short stories" and created a monthly feature about some big or small subject that we felt was interesting—maybe not for the entire world, but very interesting for some of the people in the world.
Thus, we would sit in his office, drink coffee, and have bread with cheese while we conspired about which stories to do. We never asked anyone outside the room if they thought it was a good story. If we liked it, we did it, and the newspaper printed it. If anyone at the newspaper questioned our judgment, Jens Kaiser never bothered me with it. We just went on with one 20-page story after the other, and as far as I know, nobody ever bothered us.
On one hand, I believe this is like living in a fantasy world, but on the other hand, I still feel there is a need for someone who tells the stories they feel should be told, the way they should be told. Storytelling rather than just news reporting. I would love to read a 12-page story in The New York Times or a 25-page interview and photo reportage in Vogue. |
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University of Aarhus - A city within the city
Thinkers come and go, but Aarhus University remains. That thought strikes you when you visit Aarhus University and realize that its buildings are soon turning 100 years old.
Thinkers come and go, but Aarhus University remains. The first buildings were completed in 1933.
Aarhus University is meant to be the place where the foremost research and knowledge are shared.
That’s simply how it is with universities, and if you spend time in this environment—perhaps by taking a walk through the University Park if you don’t have seven years for a degree—you will likely understand why it was such a milestone when Aarhus University had its first Nobel Prize winner in 1997. That was Dr. Jens Chr. Skou, who received the award for his discovery of the sodium-potassium pump. A second Nobel Prize was in Economic Science in 2010, to Dale T. Mortensen.
For those who have not spent time roaming the halls at the university in their daily routine, it may from the outside seem like just a collection of yellow brick buildings where people sit and read books. That’s why we present a glimpse of the many activities taking place here, ranging from teaching to research. In an era where everyone talks about the knowledge society and knowledge sharing, few places are as advanced as this.
Aarhus University’s excellence in architecture is not just about the yellow bricks and the famous skylights by famed Danish architect C.F. Møller, but about the entire vision and spirit of the university. It functions practically, still stands as if it were just built, and yet exudes a soul, as if it intends to remain for hundreds of years to come.
The university was included as one of 12 Danish architectural landmarks in the Danish Cultural Canon. Some of the others include the Sydney Opera House by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and Aarhus City Hall by Danish architects Arne
Jacobsen and Erik Møller, while interior design and furniture were created in collaboration with Hans Wegner.
Then and now: Each floor consists of a hallway with 12 rooms that share a common area and kitchen in one. Here at “Kollegium 5”, dishes are being washed, and conversations take place under the IKEA lamps. Later in the evening, you can turn on the flat-screen TV and lounge in the well-worn Børge Mogensen sofa (another famous design piece). The black-and-white photo is from 1942:
Cooking has always been the responsibility of the students themselves, but in this 1942 photo, there is help with the hot meals because a club of male dormitory residents hired the cleaning assistant "Babs" to come and prepare warm meals at lunchtime. (Photo: A.E. Andersen. University Historical Committee's photo collection).
When the dormitory rooms were designed and built, they featured architect-designed chairs, tables, and lamps.
Unfortunately, no originally furnished dormitory room remains, but here is one that is authentically furnished, even though it in no way resembles the room from 1942 in the black-and-white photo.
The backside of the buildings facing the university park is cozier than the facade facing the main street. Here, a couple of students' bikes are parked under the professor's window.
A student on a bicycle (also known as “an iron horse” in Danish) riding up Victor Albecks Vej behind the main building. The road is named after Victor Albeck (1869-1933), one of the key figures behind the establishment of a university in Aarhus. Before that, he had transformed Fødselsstiftelsen (The Birth Foundation) from a modest maternity clinic for unmarried women into a respected hospital.
The cathedral-like grand hall in the main building might be a hint at the heights knowledge can reach. Here, exams are held under the careful supervision of a proctor. Both the ceiling and walls slope, offering new ways to perceive the space depending on one's perspective. And interestingly, despite its size, it remains an intimate room.
At once reminiscent of a simple Danish public school, yet with a hint of Oxford, Cambridge, and other proud university cities. Here is the main entrance hall..
That the university is more than just reading books can be seen in the basement of the Institute for Physics and Astronomy, where Denmark's largest particle accelerator is located. Here, Jørgen S. Nielsen is adjusting the 40-meter-long accelerator, which was named Astrid when it was built in 1989. Each day, electrons are accelerated up to 580 million volts to generate synchrotron radiation, which researchers and students use for studies such as DNA analysis, surface structures (nano), greenhouse gases, multiple sclerosis, and more. In 2009, the university was granted 37 million DKK for Astrid2, which became operational in 2014.
A research team from Portugal is spending a late evening with Astrid. There isn’t much of a light show in this research, nor any empty pizza boxes – most of the work involves data collection and computer calculations.
Known as "The Book Tower," this is the view from the top floor of the 17-story State Library, where Hugo Skou and Majbritt Ramsgaard Jensen are looking out. Everything published in Denmark—books, newspapers, magazines, etc.—is preserved in at least two copies for posterity: one in Copenhagen and one in the Book Tower here in Aarhus.
This is what the Book Tower looks like inside. Here is the 4th floor underground (there are 17 floors above and 4 below ground). In fact, this is an underground extension built 40 years ago, and since then, the State Library has also been expanded with a storage facility in Skejby.
In the middle of the Book Tower, senior assistant Jørgen Fusgaard sits scanning articles. This is done as requests come in. In this way, the State Library continuously digitizes its materials.
During World War II, the Gestapo used the dormitory buildings as their headquarters in Jutland. So when the British bombed two of the dormitories to rubble in 1944, large parts of the main building were also hit. In fact, architect C.F. Møller was buried under the main building, which was still under construction at the time. When he was dug out a few hours later, his first concern—despite his own injuries—was whether the arches had been damaged. They had not.
A view over Aarhus University and downtown Aarhus from the book tower.
"Arkitektens Trøst," (Silver Lace Vine) as the vegetation here is called, has become part of Aarhus University. Here, a ventilation opening can be seen through the ecological cover.
“Søauditoriet”: By the lake in the university park, a newer 3,400 m² auditorium building was constructed in 2001, featuring five auditoriums that are often used for official events. Like the rest of the university, the building was designed by C.F. Møller's architectural firm, which has been responsible for most of the university's buildings for 90 years. The building is located directly across from C.F. Møllers Allé, one of the park's roads.
The amphitheater in Universitetsparken, used for outdoor events during the summer months, is located between the dormitories and the main building.
Everyone can take a walk or bike ride through Universitetsparken. Try it yourself.
C.F. Møller's precious arches, which still stand as modern architecture this many years after they were built.
Fact box about Aarhus University:
The first buildings were constructed in 1933, five years after Aarhus University was founded in 1928. The architects were Kay Fisker, Povl Stegmann, and C.F. Møller, after which it was the latter and his firm, C.F. Møller Architects, who oversaw the continued expansion. So far, the university has grown to nearly 300,000 m².
35,000 students attend the university daily, which is maintained by 8,500 employees.
www.au.dk is the university’s website, featuring video clips, research reports, and much more.
Among those who have attended the university are Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, her son King Frederik X of Denmark (as well as his father-in-law John Donaldson, who taught there but did not study at the university), former Prime Minister and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Bjørn Lomborg, author Thorkild Bjørnvig, former Aarhus mayor and current Minister of Finance Nicolai Wammen, author Tage Skou-Hansen, former ministers Svend Auken, Lene Espersen, and Bertel Haarder, rock star Steffen Brandt, neurosurgeon Richard Malmros … and countless others.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark not only attended classes as a young princess at Aarhus University but also lived in dorm room No. 402 in 1961-1962 (she studied political science and archaeology).
More to come
Bon voyage with it all. Sign up for the newsletter to stay in the know. As always, feel free to email me with suggestions, questions and ideas. And hope to see you in a workshop one day soon. This story was photographed with Leica Digilux 2 and Leica R9 DMR.
/Thorsten Overgaard
Aarhus is the second-largest city in Denmark.
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