Carl Theodor Sørensen
| Carl Theodor Sørensen | |
|---|---|
 Carl Theodor Sørensen in 1949 | |
| Born |
Søren Carl Theodor Marius Sørensen 24 July 1893 Altona, Hamburg, Germany |
| Died |
12 September 1979 (aged 86) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Occupation | |
Søren Carl Theodor Marius Sørensen (24 July 1893 in Altona, Hamburg, Germany – 12 September 1979 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish landscape architect who is considered to be one of the greatest landscape architects of the 20th century. A contemporary of Thomas Church, Geoffrey Jellicoe and Luis Barragán he was a leading figure in the first generation of Modernists in landscape design.
Sørensen was a prolific author producing eight books, editing two volumes and writing hundreds of articles. Only one short book was translated into English and another into German and Dutch. His books covered open space in urban life, horticulture, the history of garden art, principles of garden design, education and autobiography.
Sørensen worked with Copenhagen schoolteacher Hans Dragehjelm (1875-1948) on the first ever adventure playground in Emdrup, a district of the Danish capital Copenhagen in 1940. Photos from the time show children playing with bricks, digging in the mud and building dens with wood and nails. In his book Parkipolitik i Sogn og Købstad (Park Politics in the parish and market town), Sørensen stated his belief that "children's playgrounds are the city's most important form of public plantation". He believed children needed sun and open space to play in and hated the trend for dark, shady courtyards as play spaces. He called them skrammellegepladser ("junk playgrounds").
His designs reflected the Modernist movement and include strong geometric shapes and graceful landforms.
Major Projects
- Eidsvold Værk in Norway – garden
- The Kampmann Garden
- Vitus Berings Park I[1]
- Vitus Berings Park II
- Herning
- Klokkergården
- Høstrup Park
- The Church Plaza in Kalundborg
- Bellahøj Open-air Theatre
- Århus University
- The Mølleå Canal in Åbenrå
- Kogenhus Memorial Park
- The Golden Chain Garden in Middelfart
- The Sonja Poll Garden – designed for his daughter in 1970
- The Allotment Gardens in Nærum
Bibliography
- Om Indretning af Haver, 1930, 1941 (sammen med P. Wad)
- Parkpolitik i Sogn og Købstad, 1931 (genoptryk), København 1978, ISBN 87-7241-405-7
- Om Haver, 1939.
- Buske og Træer, 1948 (red. sammen med Valdemar Jensen og H.K. Paludan)
- Frilandsblomster, 1949 (red. sammen med samme)
- Europas Havekunst fra Alhambra til Liselund, 1959, 1979.
- The Origin of Garden Art, 1963 (genudgivet på dansk i: Havekunst, Sophienholm, 1977)
- 39 Haveplaner. Typiske haver til et typehus, 1966.
- Haver. Tanker og arbejder, 1975.
References
Literature
- Andersson, Sven-Ingvar – Hoyer, Steen: Carl Theodor Sorensen: Landscape Modernist. Danish Architectural Press. ISBN 87-7407-223-4
External links
- Natural Play in natural Surroundings Urban Childhood and Playground Planning in Denmark, c. 1930–1950 (Ning de Coninck-Smith)
- First chapter of Landscape Modernist
- AdventurePlay.org.uk
- World Cat listing — publications and library listings
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