The world-renowned architect Jørn Utzon is the man who created the Utzon Center in Aalborg together with his son Kim Utzon. The Utzon Center became his final work before he passed away at the age of 90 in November 2008.
Jørn Utzon’s hometown, and especially the waterfront in Aalborg, is an ideal location for a building where Utzon’s distinctive approach to design within both architecture and product design is at the center.
”I hope with all my heart that this little house could stand as a place where good thoughts meet, and where students from the school of architecture will come when they want to be together and discuss. It will become a true powerhouse for architecture and human life in the future."
The most remarkable of Jørn Utzon’s works is the Sydney Opera House, which is one of the most famous and iconic buildings of the 20th century.
The creation of this exceptional building and others has, among other things, its origins in the maritime environment of Aalborg, where Jørn Utzon spent some important years of his youth.
Can Lis was built in 1972.
After Jørn Utzon left the Sydney Opera project in 1966, he decided to settle on Mallorca. The Utzon family first bought the plot up in the mountains, where Can Feliz is located today, but the authorities initially did not allow him to build on this beautiful mountainside.
Instead, Jørn Utzon bought the plot near Porto Petro, situated on a steep cliff by the sea. And the realization of Can Lis began.
Note: Utzon Center cannot assist with stays or visits to Can Lis. Please contact the Utzon Foundation at canlis.dk.
The Utzon Center was inaugurated in May 2008 and is a meeting place on Aalborg’s waterfront, where architecture, design and art, exhibitions and conferences, meetings and culinary experiences come together.
The Utzon Center consists of two exhibition halls, Spidsgatterhallen, a workshop for students from Architecture & Design at Aalborg University, the Utzon Library, the Utzon Archive, det Obelske Auditorium on the first floor with a view over the Limfjord, and Restaurant JØRN.
The entire building is centered around Atriumgården.
”We have built the Utzon Center around a courtyard, because my experience from life by the Limfjord is that it is windy. The courtyard then has a glass corridor around it, so that you can reach all the departments from there. The age of a person gives a certain richness, and in the same way I hope that the courtyard gives a richness to the place.”
His father, Aage Utzon, was a ship engineer in Aalborg and an outstanding boat designer, an avid hunter and a nature enthusiast, who, with his legendary Spidsgatter boats, helped develop an entirely new generation of sailboats in Denmark. The father’s mindset and working methods influenced Jørn Utzon, which is evident in his maritime motifs. Furthermore, Jørn Utzon draws on the inspiration and knowledge he gained during his childhood in the shipbuilding environment at Aalborg’s harbor.
The ship engineer’s and boat designer’s way of thinking and working helped lay the foundation for the son’s interest in design. Aage Utzon gave Jørn Utzon a lifelong passion for sailing, nature, the sea and clouds – and an unusually sharp understanding of the relationship between form, materials and construction.
The Utzon Center therefore owns a Spidsgatter designed by Jørn’s father, Aage Utzon. It is a 30m² Naval – also called Sisu. The same name Jørn Utzon gave to the supporting beams under the deck of the Sydney Opera House.
The Spidsgatter boat was purchased by Utzon Center A/S in 2009. It is stored and not accessible to the public.
