EASTERN JUTLAND

The settling of Ice Age landscapes

The hilly moraine landscape of Eastern Jutland was created after the ice age. Melt water from the ice carved out rivers and inlets that flow into Kattegat on the east side of Jutland thus creating natural harbours which provided a basis for human settlement. Jutland’s largest city, Aarhus emerged as a Viking Age settlement at the mouth of a river – the city’s first port.

The Djursland peninsula is home to Denmark’s first national park, Mols Bjerge (the Mols Mountains), where large areas have now been designated for rewilding in order to promote native biodiversity. The characteristic moraine landscape is also home to eco communities such as Friland and Grobund which aim to develop more sustainable ways of living and building.

Skønvirke and non-profit housing in Aarhus

The medieval town centre of Aarhus is still visible in old street networks and in the few remaining original half-timbered merchant houses. The cathedral – the longest church in Denmark – was initially built in the 12th century as a Romanesque structure and is still a central feature of the town; over the centuries it has undergone several expansions.

Around 1900, Aarhus was flourishing, and the city’s development accelerated. Architect Hack Kampmann’s buildings from this period are significant features in the present-day city: Aarhus Theatre, Erhvervsarkivet (the Business Archive), Toldboden (the Custom House), Marselisborg Palace and Villa Kampen. These buildings were all built in the Skønvirke style, the Danish interpretation of Art Nouveau.

Aarhus University was built as a result of a project competition in 1931 won by architects Kay Fisker, Poul Stegmann and C. F. Møller with C. Th. Sørensen as landscape architect. The landscaped character of the campus has been maintained for close to a century now, despite many subsequent expansions. The modernist Aarhus City Hall is the result of another important competition won by architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in 1942. The building’s tower has become an icon of the city, despite initial objections and resistance to the modern architecture.

Numerous non-profit housing developments were constructed in Aarhus just before, during, and after World War II, and are continuing to be expanded through a democratic process involving users. By the end of the 1960’s, major non-profit housing estates were established and became urban districts in their own right, including the areas Gellerupparken and Rosenhøj. These monofunctional housing areas are currently undergoing renovation and transformation to increase social and environmental sustainability, and also as part of a political project to change the demographic composition of the areas.

Exchange of containers, technology and culture

Today, Aarhus is the largest container port in Northern Europe, with import and export connections all over the world. Previously, port activities and large-scale industry were Eastern Jutland’s main business areas. However, in recent years, Aarhus and the rest of Eastern Jutland have gradually become an internationally oriented knowledge region with many educational institutions – not least Aarhus University, with about 50,000 students and scholars from around the world.

Eastern Jutland is also a centre for high-tech companies, including the fields of IT systems and solutions for the green transition, such as wind turbines, heat recovery from wastewater, development of geothermal systems and sustainable solutions for agriculture and food production.

Several small and large theaters, a large concert hall, and numerous smaller music venues promote culture in the region. Additionally, Aarhus boasts one of Denmark’s largest art museums, AROS, and Moesgaard Museum, which presents prehistory in a stunning architectural setting. The experimental art museum Museum Jorn is located in the town of Silkeborg.

Picking up the pace

The Eastern Jutland motorway links the towns and cities on Jutland’s east coast together and contributes to concentrating development in this part of Jutland, also known as the Eastern Jutland Million City. The region is connected through a public transport system. By train, the travel time between Eastern Jutland and Copenhagen is just three hours.

Cars have long been the favoured mode of transportation, but today, cycling is gaining in popularity. Large towns and cities are improving conditions for cyclists, and a growing network of ‘cycle highways’ connects towns and cities throughout the region.

Aarhus has about 350,000 inhabitants and an annual net gain of about 4,000 residents, many from abroad. This population growth has led to a building boom and a process of urban densification that is now sparking local protests against the many tall new buildings. It is necessary to develop towns in the surrounding area as an alternative to continued settlement in the main city and to develop new housing types as an alternative to detached single-family houses – a type of housing that occupies large amounts of space without adding qualities to the original village structures.

Port, woods and seaside

Towns and cities along Jutland’s east coast are currently seeking to improve access to the seaside. Harbour promenades are being established, and harbour-front areas are being used for recreational purposes. In Aarhus, the library and culture centre DOKK1 on the harbour promenade acts as a meeting place for large-scale cultural events near the water. Both sides of Aarhus have easy access to woods and beach from the city centre via footpaths or cycle routes.

The proximity to sea and green space is a characteristic of many of the region’s seaside towns and cities. Thus, they all face the challenge of rising sea levels and are active in engaging in floodwater protection efforts. In the town of Ebeltoft on Djursland, the strategic development project Klimarobust Kystkultur (Climate-Resilient Coast Culture) aims to create a green vibrant harbour area that draws nature into the town and uses climate protection measures to secure good connections between port and town. This is just one example of the coordinated approach to climate resilience and urban development.

Maltfabrikken Ebeltoft

GOAL no. 10, 11, 12, 17

The characteristic red malt factory in the town of Ebeltoft was rescued by local citizens and transformed. In its new incarnation, the building is a gathering place for all, locals as well as tourists, and an even more striking architectural landmark for the town.

Many small towns were built around a single industry that provided local jobs and shaped local identity. The large industrial plants have a dominating presence in the cityscape and were often seen as landmarks of the towns. When they fall out of use, they often decay until they are eventually demolished, and we lose an important part of our industrial cultural heritage.

For many years, Ebeltoft was known for its production of malt. The town’s characteristic red factory from 1861 continued to produce malt right up until its closure in 1998, when it went into hibernation. Local activists joined forces to preserve and transform the former factory, and in the summer of 2020, the building reopened – now as the ‘people’s factory’.

Today, Maltfabrikken is a cultural and creative powerhouse open to all. Among the many new facilities are a culture centre, a library, play areas, a museum, an archive, a youth culture scene, artist residencies, workshops, a design shop, a concert venue, a restaurant and a micro-brewery. Outside, there are charming courtyards, a skate track and a rooftop viewing platform.

Maltfabrikken is well-suited to accommodating this mix of functions, because it is a multi-building complex that was formed in stages. The transformation expanded and tied the individual buildings together through a simple yet distinctive colour scheme with black plinths and red plastered exterior walls. New and old complement each other in this complex, where the architects preserved some of the old machinery and the graffiti.

This project demonstrates how an obsolete industrial plant can be revived as a local meeting place, an incubator for innovation, art and entrepreneurship and a tourist attraction in a transformation that also preserves an important cultural heritage.

Project details

Where: Maltvej 4–12, 8400 Ebeltoft

Completed: 2020

Client: Fonden Maltfabrikken

Architects: Praksis Arkitekter, Kristine Jensens

Tegnestue (landscape)

Feldballe School Feldballe

GOAL no. 3, 9, 11, 12, 13

The extension of Feldballe School is free from harmful chemicals and is designed to absorb more CO2 than it emits.

Climate and resource concerns underscore the need to find alternatives to chemicals, concrete and steel in construction.

In the small rural village of Feldballe, the local school totally redefines the standards for sustainable construction. Feldballe School was bought by local citizens for the purpose of preserving their school from closure. The decision was made to build an extension primarily of locally bio-based materials. The aim was for the extension to absorb more CO2 than it emits and to be free from chemicals.

With the roof made solely of certified timber, and a ventilation system filter made of seagrass, the school extension is built almost entirely of locally sourced, natural, and bio-based materials. The walls are made of compressed straw in wooden cassettes plastered with clay – a traditional method, but in this case, the straw components were made to measure based on a 3D model. All the components can be disassembled.

The natural materials lend the extension a warm, welcoming expression, and because there is no need for large ventilation ducts or suspended ceilings, rooms are spacious and high-ceilinged.

Straw is a leftover agricultural product that is normally composed or incinerated. When used in construction, it binds CO2 in the building. In addition, straw is free from chemicals with no off-gassing into the indoor climate, and it can be produced virtually anywhere in the world.

The new school building is an ambitious example of sustainable construction for the future and supports the school’s goal of preparing students for a future that calls for innovative regenerative solutions. This project demonstrates that it is possible to construct a radically different building using bio-based materials with a positive climate profile and a healthy indoor climate. It also shows that local enthusiasts can lead the way.

Project details

Where: Ebeltoftvej 56, 8410 Rønde

Completed: 2021

Client: Feldballe Friskole & Børnehus

Architects: Henning Larsen, straw components produced by EcoCocon