Kay Fisker

Kay Otto Fisker (14 February 1893 – 21 June 1965) was a Danish architect, designer and educator. He is mostly known for his many housing projects, mainly in the Copenhagen area, and is considered a leading exponent of Danish Functionalism.

Education and education Kay Fisker was born on 14 February 1893 in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. His parents were pharmacist Asmus Marius Fisker and Petra Louise Jacobsen. He entered the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1909 and while there worked at the offices of leading Scandinavian architects such as Anthon Rosen, Sigurd Lewerentz, Gunnar Asplund, and Hack Kampmann parallel to his studies.

Career In 1915, in collaboration with Aage Rafn, Fisker won a competition to design the railway stations along the Almindingen-Gudhjem railway on the Danish island of Bornholm.

A key building in his production was Aarhus University (1931–43), considered to be one of the most important examples of Danish Functionalism, which he designed in collaboration with C. F. Møller, Povl Stegmann, and Carl Theodor Marius Sørensen. Kay Fisker also designed the Danish Academy in Rome. Fisker emphasized the importance of our surroundings being characterized by a whole - as opposed to simply consisting of a number of individual, sensational works. According to Fisker, architecture should be a framework for a 'natural' way of life, not an end in itself.

Selected buildings Railway stations, Bornholm (1915–15) Valnøddevænget 10, Helsingør (1918) Hornbækhus housing, Copenhagen (1922) Vodroffsvej 2, Frederiksberg (1929) Århus University, Århus (1932–43) Vester Søhus housing, Copenhagen (with C. F. Møller, 1935–39) Fogedgården, Copenhagen (194346) Dronningegården housing, Copenhagen (with Eske Kristensen, 1943–58) Voldparken housing, Copenhagen (with others, 1945–51) Danish Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy (1963–65)

Awards 1926: Eckersberg Medal 1947: C. F. Hansen Medal 1958: Prince Eugen Medal for architecture 1964: Heinrich Tessenow Medal