A Qualified Utopia: The Work of Jørgen Bo and Vilhelm Wohlert at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Doctoral dissertation defense by Michael Sheridan, an american architect, author and expert on modern Nordic architecture. The defense is open to the public. 

The dissertation examines the work of the Danish architects Jørgen Bo (1919–99) and Vilhelm Wohlert (1920–2007) at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, located on an old estate, in Humlebæk, Denmark.

During 1956–1991, the two architects completed six buildings that extend a nineteenth-century villa and create a continuous circuit around the museum park. The formal variations between those buildings have inhibited investigation and resulted in a major gap in the knowledge of modern Danish architecture.

The missing link is the role of Knud W. Jensen (1916–2000), Louisiana’s founder and director until 1991, whose instructions to the architects led to the variations between the buildings.

Opponents

• Professor Charlotte Klonk, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
• Professor Helena Mattson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm

Defense leader
Jakob Brandtberg Knudsen - Royal Danish Academy, Dean of Architecture 

The defense is public and will be conducted in English and video recorded.

The dissertation is composed of 3 volumes and is available for review at the Royal Danish Academy – Library. 

Ex-Auditorio opponents must sign up with the Leader of Defence, Jakob Brandtberg Knudsen at jknud@kglakademi.dk

Program

• Welcome by Dean of Architecture, Jakob Brandtberg Knudsen.
• Presentation by candidate Michael Sheridan.
• First opponent, Professor Charlotte Klonk.
• Short break. Ex-auditorio opponents need to sign up with the Dean during the break.
• Second opponent, Professor Helena Mattson.
• Advertised ex auditorio, Professor Peter Thule.
• Any other ex-auditorio opponents.
• The public defence must be concluded at 19.00 the latest.