Arne Jacobsen - Denmark
Bellevue Theatre
Jęgersborg Allé 185 - 247
Gentofte, Copenhagen

1949 - 1954

Only a few years after designing the nearby Bellavista Apartments, Arne Jacobsen got the possibility to develop this complex,
consisting of a theatre and an adjoining restaurant. The theatre was principally thought for staging comedies and musicals.
As a special feater, a sliding roof acted as an attraction in summer, allowing views of the starry sky. As in other of his designs,
Arne Jacobsen was concerned to control every aspect of his building, designing all the elemens. In this case there are to be mentioned
the seats, the canopies over the emergency exits, the ceiling which sheds a diffuse, atmospheric light over the stalls and the door handles.
The door handles became an element, which was later used again by Arne Jacobsen in other projects.
The restaurant is located in a separate wing, which is connected to the theatre, and develops towards the interior of the parcel.
As a consequence of tis layout, there is left a stretch of green seperating the restaurant from the coast road. A gentle curve
in the first two corridors makes the articulated kink in the structure. Unhappily the whole complex was not an economic success.
As consequence, the theatre was converted into a cinema, and the sliding roof was never used again, while the restaurant was converted
into pravet houses.