Jan Utzon (born 1944) is a Danish architect. The son of

Jørn Utzon Jørn Oberg Utzon (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. In 1957, he won an international design competition for his design of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon's revised design, which he completed in 1961, was the b ...

, with whom he worked closely on several prestigious projects, he has completed a number of fine works of his own including the

Performing Arts Centre Performing arts center/centre (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is usually a complex housing performance spaces for various performing arts, including dance, music, and theat ...

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

."Jan Utzon"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 6 October 2011.

Early life

Born on 27 September 1944 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Utzon was brought up first at Hellebæk near

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

in the north of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

until the family moved to Australia in 1957. He studied at the

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is a professional school or institution specializing in architectura ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

(1964–66) and at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

(1966–1970).

Career

Deeply influenced by his father's approach to architecture, Jan Utzon soon began to collaborate with him taking on key supervisory tasks in major projects such as the Kuwait National Assembly Building. In many cases, it is difficult to estimate to division of responsibility in projects undertaken by Utzon Associates where Jan worked both with his father and his brother Kim. These include the Paustian House in Copenhagen and the Skagen Odde Nature Centre in the north of

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. Jan also set up his own design office on

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

where he authored many interesting projects. One of his most successful is the Performing Arts Centre in

(1997) with its theatre and concert hall combined with the earlier art museum. Its large communal foyer catering both to the concert hall and the museum is particularly appealing and was achieved on a modest budget."Jan Utzon"
''Kustindeks Danmark & Weilbachskunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 6 October 2011. Utzon Architects and Johnson Pilton Walker, Architects in collaboration, have explored options to improve the existing Opera Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. Utzon has also been active in the developing countries. Working for

Tvind Tvind is the informal name of a confederation of private schools, humanitarian organizations, and businesses, founded as an alternative education school in Denmark circa 1970. The organization is controversial in Denmark, where it runs a number o ...

, he built the Shamva,

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, headquarters for the Humana People to People organisation, as well as a large training and conference centre at San Juan de las Pulgas near Ensenada in Mexico's

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

(2008). File:Utzon paustian interior.jpg, Paustian House, Copenhagen, in collaboration with Jørn Utzon and Kim Utzon File:Keld Gydum-IMG 9868 skagen odde naturcenter cropped.jpg, Skagen Odde Nature Centre, North Jutland, in collaboration with Jørn Utzon

References

External links

*
Photos of TG Pacifico
the Utzon-designed headquarters for the controversial Tvind Teachers Group, located 30 miles south of Ensenada on Mexico's Baja Peninsula. {{DEFAULTSORT:Utzon, Jan 1944 births 20th-century Danish architects 21st-century Danish architects Modernist architects from Denmark Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Living people