S_BilledeborgenKøbenhavnsRådhus_1905-2005

FROM UNIFORM TO SHIRT SLEEVES Kjeld Klysner Nielsen,

Former city hall a ttendan t and later employed at the Danish association for public employees

»The employees no longer have so much insight into the municipal structure. A n d each func tion is assigned fewer employees.«

- How was that been possible?

» Well, apart from the fac t that people run their legs off, it is also a question o f better auxiliary equipment. When I began working in the C ity Hall, we woidd fo r example hau l every chair manually up through the trap door in the floor o f the M a in Hall. B u t then we managed to have a lift installed, and that was a gigantic relief and help. A n d it was the same w ith the huge seven-feet- long table tops we had to log into the Banqueting Hall. N ow there is a lift going up to the attic and trolleys fo r fold ing tables that are smaller. We also managed to have our uniforms changed, while I was working in the C ity Hall. I t began one truly hot summer, and some o f the attendants took o ff their dark jackets. This was not on. B u t then we agreed on a new uniform, which has a white or light blue shirt w ith dark shoulder straps, and on top o f that a dark blue sweater. Times do change, don 't they?«

(Conversation with AdW, April 2005)

MEDIEVAL AND MODERN TIMES Martin Nyrop’s City Hall as a quaint model

In the 1920ies Danish functionalists looked askance at contemporary foreign modernism. They believed that it frequently resulted in a formal or sham picture of unpleasant dining rooms, functionalism and a false scientific spirit rather than rational design. But first and foremost the Danish critics were, naturally, angry at the earlier historical gentility and equally hollow style imitation of the previous generation. Nonetheless, Danish functionalists did appreciate the City Hall of Copenhagen. In lectures and discussions they pointed out the sensible and functional design, the constructive divisions of the building, and the selection of modern technology. As a consequence, one has to pose the question repeatedly whether the quality of Ny rop’s City Hall really lies in the interplay of the various arts, sculptures and architecture, or if it really lies in the sensible planning and construction? In a way it is a superfluous or odd question as the City Hall still functions as a simultaneously modern and historical frame around certain parts of the municipal government. On top of this, it tells a story about the city and about contemporary

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