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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.«
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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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