Danish Nationalbank, Copenhagen, Denmark

Architect	Arne Jacobsen
Date Built	1978
Location	Niels Juels Gade & Havnegade
Description
The Danish National Bank building occupies a site close to the Copenhagen inner harbour. It was designed in the 1970s by the world famous Danish architect Arne Jacobsen and it is generally considered to be one of his finest works. Jacobsen died before the building was comlpleted and it was finished under the supervision of the architectural practice of Dissing and Weiting, who went on to design the Oresund Bridge. In her book, “Architecture of the Scandinavian Countries” Marian Card Donnelly describes the building as being, “Six storeys high, with two basement levels, its exterior rises in long marble slabs behind a high wall that surrounds the whole site. There is one entrance, an unpretentious one on Havnegade."

The images below are from the bank's website, where they are available for download.

Marian Card Donnelly adds that, "Two major surprises await the person entering for the first time, however. A huge vestibule rises with tall windows on the street side, an open stair partly filling the wall opposite the door, ...

... a high blank wall stands on the interior side, through which there is a passage to the banking offices. ...

.. The Danish weaver Kim Naver designed five red and gold tapestries for the deep niches of the first level ... From this almost grim introduction one passes to the centre of the bank, which is built around a patio filled with plantings."

In 2009 the Danish Heritage Agency listed the building siting its, " ... architectural and cultural historical values," adding that, "... the principal elements that make the building worthy of listing are its architectural presence it its urban surroundings, its layout, the exquisite choice of materials, the elaborate and consistent details and the gardens."

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